Page 124 of Trading Paint
“You thought he’d come see you?”
“Hoped I guess.”
“He wants too...believe me when I say, hewantsto.” She reached over and gave me shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means what it means. He’s a moody asshole when you’re gone and he’s constantly staring at his schedule trying to find openings.” She said lamely. “You don’t know how often he asks Alley if he any free time.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Now let’s go to Bellevue.”
“I have class in an hour. I can’t.”
“Oh please.” She stood straightening out her summer dress and reaching for her lotion in her suitcase of a bag she carried around. “I’m only here for two days, let’s go do something.”
Emma shot me a sidelong glance before lathering her legs with lotion.
“Just because you come to town doesn’t mean I can just blow off class for you.”
“Oh yes it does hooker.” She finished polishing herself. “Now let’s go.”
Emma was about as good atpresaudingas Jameson so in the end, I went shopping.
Emma talked endlessly about Aiden, Jameson’s spotter, who I had yet to meet. She had never talked about another guy since high school so it didn’t bother me that much.
Aiden, who was from Alabama, sounded like he was nice.
Those two days with Emma wereincediblystrenuous and I was thankful when she left. Emma was only tolerable in small doses and two days wasplenty.
Also, she redecorated my dorm. I spent a good week trying to find my underwear.
After my Economical Projections class and Emma’s departure that night, I called Jameson.
It was nice to hear his voice and a relief.He was stressed about racing and I was stressed with school. We both just needed to laugh. I could always count on him for that.
He spoke briefly about his engine specialist Harry and how he had spent most of the afternoon in the hauler for not paying attention to his temps in practice. Harry sounded like a nice guy but the way Jameson described him made it even funnier.
Jameson sighed. “I’m jealous Emma got to see you and I didn’t.”
“I would have preferred to see you overEm.”
He laughed and I could hear the faint rumbling of engines in the background followed by Spencer’s booming voice.
“Do you have any plans for Christmas?” I asked Jameson as I took a bite of my left over pizza.
“Who knows? I have to look at my schedule but I think that entire week I’m in Los Angeles filming a commercial and then I fly to Tulsa the following week.”
“It sounds like you’ll be all alone.”
“I could come see you maybe,” he suggested.
“I’d like that...but I’ll be here in school.”
“I could just slip in for a day and then leave for Tulsa.”
“No, no, no,” I said adamantly. “If you stay for one day, then I’ll want you to stay for more.”
