Page 78 of Bourbon Kingdom
“Because I was referring to my puss—”
“Tootse, Jesus! Come on,” Francy said, while dragging her away and waving to both Lyla and me as she retreated.
Lyla finished cleaning herself up, while I straightened up my paints and washed out my brushes in the bathroom next to my room. I was getting used to the small quarters and enjoyed my two roommates, even though they could be extremely overbearing, just like a certain southern gentleman who consumed my thoughts on a daily basis.
Just as I finished up cleaning, the phone Tootse handed me started buzzing on the table. Both Lyla and I looked at it as Jett’s name appeared on the screen.
“Are you going to answer that?” Lyla asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
Lyla shook her head at me and put her shirt back on. “Don’t ruin the best thing that’s happened to you because of pride.”
“Pride? Is that what you think this is? It isn’t pride, Lyla, it’s not wanting to get stepped on. Jett has a very strong personality.”
“And yours is stronger. Do you really think he is the dominant one in the relationship? Maybe in the bedroom, babe, but in life, you are. You hold the cards.”
The minute the words left her lips, I wanted to ask her if Jett told her to talk to me, because those were his exact words, that was what he’d told me many times before. I was the keeper, the one who called the shots, and at one point, I thought I really did, until he didn’t trust me to take care of our business.
“Don’t, don’t do this, Goldie. Give him a chance.”
“I want to, Lyla. But my life can’t revolve around him. I want to do something for me. I want to find out who I am, what I’m supposed to do in this world.”
With a soft smile, Lyla came over to me and pulled me into a hug while she whispered into my ear. “Sometimes, life has a funny way of helping you figure things out. You might not see it now, but I think Jett Colby was brought into your world so you could finally find yourself once and for all. I love you, girl. I think you know what to do.”
She kissed me on the cheek and took off down the stairs before I could yell back at her to give Kace a chance, because maybe he was her Jett Colby. That would have to be a conversation for another day. They would be perfect for each other, easily. They would just have to get past their demons first.
Shutting my door for some privacy, I grabbed the phone Tootse had given me, laid down on my bed, and touched the voicemail button to hear what Jett had to say.
“Hello, Goldie. It’s Jett. I was calling to inquire about our date. When you have some spare time, I would love to hear back from you. Have a nice day.”
I laughed out loud at the professional voicemail he’d left me. I could tell he was trying to control the way he spoke to me, being more cautious than anything, and add his southern politeness on top of that and the voicemail was ridiculous. Just so fucking Jett Colby.
With a quick swipe, I called him back.
The phone rang twice before he picked up.
“Goldie,” his voice rang through the phone. It was soft, almost relieved . . . it cut straight to my heart.
“Hi, Jett,” I held back the giggle that wanted to come out.
“How are you?” he asked, once again, being cordial, not the same Jett I knew.
“Umm, a little concerned.”
“Concerned? Why?” he asked.
“Well, you see, I knew this guy, this really hot guy, he kind of umm, took me by surprise by how fast and hard I fell for him, but he’s missing now.”
Clearing his throat, Jett said, “Do I want to hear this?”
“I don’t know, do you know where the real Jett Colby is?”
“What?” Jett asked, confused, but clearly satisfied that I’d said his name.
“Calling to inquire about our date?” I imitated his deep southern voice, but did a piss-poor job at it. “When have you ever talked to me like that?”
A sigh came from the phone, and I could envision the man settling in his desk chair and undoing his tie, then taking a sip from his tumbler full of dark liquid. Just thinking about him in such a position had me wishing I wasn’t at Diego’s house.
