Page 21 of Real Forever
Jake grabbed his laptop and set himself up at the sleek, black metal desk in his bedroom. The bank and the realtor had both sent over documents for the Calgary property he needed to review and sign. But as he read through the fine print of the first document, his mind wandered to Madison.
If the other night in the truck had been a date, it would have been the best he’d ever had. Madison was funny, and real, and so goddamn gorgeous. She had a habit of entwining her fingers through her hair up to her scalp and shaking her hands, fluffing her hair out. It seemed she did it mostly when she was stressed or frustrated, and every time it would release the scent of her hair products into the small space of the truck cab. It was inebriating. His cock twitched in his pants.Argh. I have got to stop thinking about Madison. Focus, Jake. You have to get this paperwork signed and returned.
Jake rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, adjusted his bulge, and took a large swig of water before returning his attention to his computer screen. He really had gotten a hell of a deal on this property and he was proud of the win. The Calgary real estate market was scorching and the property he’d managed to scoop up was likely to increase in value significantly over the next handful of years.
Forty-five minutes later he finished his work, changed into well-fitting jeans and a relaxed T-shirt, and headed back out to the living room.
“Ready?” he asked Zach.
Zach was leaning against the kitchen island, scrolling his phone and drinking a beer. “Let’s jet,” he said, before chugging the remainder of his bottle.
The men headed to the underground parking garage and jumped into Jake’s Lexus. As the car started up the Bluetooth stereo began playing from Jake’s phone.
Zach bobbed his head as they drove down Mississauga Avenue. “Yo, who is this?”
“Skizza. He’s this hip hop artist from Saskatoon. It’s good, hey?”
“Yeah, man. Really good. But where the fuck did you hear about him?”
Jake contemplated keeping Madison from Zach a little longer before ultimately replying, “Remember the friend I mentioned helping out the other night? She was listening to this Canadian indie artist playlist, and I was into it, so she sent it to me.” He braced for Zach’s reply.
Zach raised his eyebrows and stretched his hand over his heart in mock surprise. “I’m sorry—she? A girl? The secret friend I actually thought was completely fake is actually a girl?”
Jake snickered, “Yes, she’s a girl, but it’s not like that. I’m helping her out with something.”
“Oh I bet you’re ‘helping her out’ you dirty bastard.” Zach said, making air quotes with his fingers and bobbing his eyebrows.
“No, really. Nothing’s going on. You know I’m leaving for Calgary in a few months. I’m not looking to get involved with anyone anytime soon.”
“You know you two could just fuck for a few months, right? You don’t have to pledge your eternal soul to this chick. Most girls break up with me long before a few months are up anyway.”
“She’s not really the type of girl you just have sex with, dude.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. It means she’s cool. She’s funny and smart. She has this really straightforward way of saying what she thinks, you know? She’s… genuine.”
Zach stared at Jake, expressionless.
“What?”
“Kinda sounds like more than just some chick you’re helping, bro.”
“I admit she’s cool and honestly, she’s fucking beautiful. She’s completely out of my league. Even if I was in a position to start something with her, there’s no way she’d be into me anyway.”
“Well she’s got great fucking taste in music anyway.”
13
Madison
It was already darkwhen Madison pulled up to Jake’s condo building at 8:07 on Friday night.
Madison:Hey, downstairs.
Jake: Be right down.
Madison flippedthe sun shield down from the roof of the truck and flipped open the mirror. She applied some lip balm and then ran her eyelashes over her index finger. She didn’t often put makeup on, so she felt very aware of the heaviness of the mascara on her eyelashes. Using her fingertips, she fluffed the roots of her hair and then smoothed them. Then she tucked her hair behind her ears. Untucked it. Tucked it. She slammed the mirror closed.Calm down, woman.
