I'd spent nearly the entire fight with Rhoen sitting in between Luke and I. The seat off to my right had been vacant for the duration of that time. Amelia still hasn't come and joined us for the fight yet. I doubt she will after our earlier interaction, the one that had left me highly irritable and I'd venture to say it'd left her the same way.

I'd tried to shove Mellie and my conversation to the back of my mind while sitting next to Rhoen. I'd even tried to make casual conversation with him about manufacturing. Even after doing an extensive amount of research about his industry, he made me feel like a complete imbecile. All the while, Amelia's words about wanting to be with an older, more mature man, played throughout my head. With each and every well-versed word he spoke I felt that much behind a man like him. Age-wise, about thirteen years behind.

After talking with him the way that I had this evening, I've come to gather exactly what Amelia finds attractive about him. Rhoen is extremely smart, mature, and seems to have a great grasp of his business; manufacturing. If he didn't have a thing for Amelia, he'd most likely be someone I'd love to get to learn a thing or two from. Unfortunately, he's just a reminder of the man I want to be, which is the man Amelia wants. Older and put together, neither of which I am. I probably won't be either those things for a while either. It will take a decade and a half to get there, like it had for Rhoen.

"James," Luke calls over from the seat between us, "do you mind going and checking to make sure our business associate is alright?" About twenty or so minutes ago Rhoen had gotten up to use the facilities. Luke had started to get a bit restless with each minute that ticked by, which made me want to roll my eyes. The man can't be that important and he also is a grown individual. He should be able to find his way back to his seat on his own. I don't say anything though, I just nod and get up.

Once I make it to the entrance of the arena, I walk out a bit, recognizing three familiar figures standing close to a staircase. It was the very same staircase I'd left Amelia on. I shake my head feeling like a complete asshole because of the whole argument that had happened between us. The entire thing was quite stupid, never how I'd ever wanted to treat her and for that, I am disappointed in myself. Amelia isn't like any of the other girls I dated, she doesn't even compare, and the reason why I'd made that comparison, I don't actually know.

I begin to walk toward them when Amelia begins looking distraught. I stop when she starts walking my way instead. I plaster a sad smile on my face, ready to apologize, but she doesn't even see me. No, she looks completely shocked and lost in thought. The moment I'm about to intercept her she takes an immediate left, heading toward the building's exit.

I stare at her retreating frame before looking back to the two men still standing there, trying to gage what happened. Rhoen says something to Denver before quickly turning away from him. He's walking fast as hell in Amelia's direction. What the fuck is that? Denver looks completely confused but I don't take another moment to study him before heading off in the same direction as Rhoen and Amelia.

"Bright?" I pause at the familiar voice behind me. "I thought I recognized you."

"Stella," I turn around slowly, "or should I call you Adriana?" Her face goes ghost-white. I guess I'm the only one who knows I'm now working with her father. He'd ended up giving me her actual name in conversation.

"How do you know my-"

"Adri?" Denver's voice conveniently interrupts as he comes right up beside us.

"Sorry, I can't stay to talk. I have to go." I say to the both of them, not wanting to deal with this awkward conversation at all. I'm sure Denver can explain who I am. "I uh, I have to check on my friend." I nod off to the doors before going to them. Did I just call Amelia my friend? Well, she is. I don't let myself ponder that for too long as I head toward the exit.

I can see Rhoen and Amelia talking intensely through the one-sided doors. There's a total of five doors at the entrance, the one on the left is propped open. The one that's open is also the one next to Amelia and Rhoen. I make my way to it quickly, not caring that Rhoen may be a potential client. The way he's talking to her right now is one I've never seen any man talk to her and it makes a proper bout of anger flow through me.

I'll show him no man can talk to her that way. Amelia is my best friend, my girlfriend, and I won't let a man-

"I actually like you a lot, way more than I should, considering I'm in a relationship." What? I freeze automatically at her words. She what? "But you have kids and a wife, for Christ's sake, and I'm with Jamie." I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me completely. He's a— a father? He has a wife and kids? How the fuck had I overlooked that shit?

"He's a child, Amelia. He can't handle a woman like you." Rhoen's words make my stomach roll and my blood boil. He better not be talking about me or- "Maybe as a friend, and maybe in bed, but in other areas you have to know Jamie has not matured enough." He pauses, waiting for her to say something but she doesn't. Fuck. She agrees with him. As if that didn't already make things hurt enough he adds. "You know I'm right, Amelia."

I sit there and listen to the rest of their conversation, leaning my weight against the door. He talks about his marriage falling apart and the first time he saw Amelia. From the sound of it, he's infatuated with her. What man in their right mind wouldn't be? I let out a sigh as I watch him caress her cheek and ask her to get something to eat. She says she will and even though she tries to play it off as platonically, there's nothing platonic about the statements either of them had just made. Especially the ones he'd just made.

No, Rhoen wants her and like the manufacturing tycoon he is, he's going to go after her. It doesn't matter if I'm the obstacle. After doing the research on his company that I have, I know he's not one to quit. And knowing that fucking sucks.

✩✩✩

We'd met up with them at a bar, Luke and I. We'd joked and had good conversation over some drinks and appetizers. It actually went quite well, as far as business matters were concerned. I knew that had a lot to do with the gorgeous woman sitting on either side of Rhoen and I though. She'd smiled and been openly funny, not something she usually is with anyone other than me. He'd made her laugh, so had Luke, but Luke wasn't after her like Rhoen was.

With each grin and beautiful bout of laughter that came out of her mouth, I thought of how unfair I'd been. She'd come here to visit me for my birthday, even after it had become a bit awkward between us. I'd brought up the sex when she first came here because I'd wanted more. I wanted more because the sex had been great the first time. I wanted a second, third, fourth and who knows how many more to satiate my appetite. I wanted it even though I knew I'd probably end up pulling my dickish behavior, like I had tonight.

Typical Jamie behavior— fuck and then fuck it all up. Relationships were never my thing, at least romantic ones. My relationship with Amelia had been one of the only things I didn't fuck up. Well, now that we've had more than a handful of sexual encounters, of course things are getting fucked up. It's typical. If I just learned to keep my fucking dick out of things maybe we wouldn't be where we are now.

"Are you alright?" Amelia asks, as we arrive at my hotel room. "You seemed kind of off at the bar and you've been vacant the entire way here. Is something up?"

"Yeah, I think something is, actually." I open the door to my room and she steps inside hesitantly. "I uhm, I just think we need to have a serious talk right."

"Listen, we were both stressed earlier and we both said things we didn't mean to say, Jamie." I close the door behind me, following her inside. "Let's just move on from it. I'm sorry. You're sorry. It's fine. We don't need to go into any more than that." She sets her purse down on the desk and starts slipping out of her heels, her back still facing me.

"I am sorry about the argument we had earlier but uhm," I hesitate slightly before saying, "I think we need to have a conversation about you and me."

"What about you and me?" She lets out a little laugh until she turns around and looks at me. She stops laughing and says more seriously, "what about you and me, Jamie?" I give her a look of resignation and her face falls. "What about us?"

"I think maybe we should rethink the whole intimate relationship situation, Mellie." I run my hand through my hair. "I uhm," I don't think I've ever said uhm so much in my life, "uhm, I don't think it's going to work out for us."

"What?" She looks taken aback. "If this is because we got into a fight earlier then that's silly, Jamie. Fights happen in relationships. Fights even happened when we were just friends." I cock a brow at her because her and I never fought before. "Okay, maybe it was a rare thing, but it's not like it never happened."

"It's not about the fighting." Well, not entirely. She quirks a brow at me in much the same way I had her, waiting for me to continue. "It's about you and Rhoen." Her face scrunches in confusion.

"What about me and Rhoen?"

"I heard the two of you talking outside." Her face goes blank and then she gives me an ashamed look. "You like him, which is why you're looking at me like that."

"What did you hear?" Her voice is monotonous.

"Enough to know he's married, has kids, and that isn't enough for you not to like him." Which reminds me of my parents and, I'm not going to lie, it kind of stings a bit that she's still interested.

"He's separated from her."

"And now you're defending him." She lets out a sigh of frustration at my words. "I'm just stating a fact. You are defending him."

"Yes, I like him." I nod at her, already fully aware of that fact. "I like you more, you know I do. I love you, Jamie. You're my best friend."

"Exactly my point, Amelia. I'm your boyfriend, not your best friend right now."

"Can't you be both?" She says it earnestly.

"I would like to be both but I don't think that's working out for us too well. I don't think it's going to work when you go back to Boston either, especially with Rhoen already after you." I shrug. "We probably shouldn't have meddled with each other like this."

"Then why'd you say we should be in a relationship?"

"Because Amelia, all I could think about was being with you from the moment I left Boston." I look away from her feeling ashamed of myself for the next part. "I wasn't thinking about a romantic relationship, or our friendship, if I'm honest. I was thinking only about the sex we'd had. When you came here I just wanted to have sex with you again and even after that happened, you still seemed interested in another man. I could tell you wanted him and I got jealous. I didn't like thinking about you with somebody else."

"So, you're saying the sex is the only reason you wanted to be in a romantic relationship with me?" She looks hurt, on the verge of tears, and I hate myself for doing this to her but I give her a sharp nod. "Well, um," her breath hitches and I know she's trying not to cry.

"Mellie," I reach out for her but she pulls away, "you know it's for the best if we just-" She holds up a hand, halting my words.

"You're right. We're better off as friends." She states the words but the broken way she's looking at me right now is telling me that, that last part is going be rather difficult. "I'm just, um," she snatched her purse and quickly goes to the door that leads to her room, "goodnight." 

She closes the door quickly, locking it before I can get there. I'm about to knock when I hear her let out a cry, one that makes my fist drop to my side. I place my head on the door with a palm flat against it.

"I'm sorry, Mellie. It's for the best." I whisper the words to myself and push myself away.