Flashback is symbolised by -x-
Jesse's brilliant smile faltered when he glanced at Dimitri's intimidating figure. His gaze shifted back to me again.
"Hi," he said warily, stepping forward and sticking his hand out. "I'm Jesse Zeklos. Rose's boyfriend." Dimitri stood up, easily towering over my boo (Note the sarcasm.)
"Dimitri Belikov. Miss Hathaway's trainer." He shook Jesse's hand with a small smile playing on his lips. I saw Jesse wince slightly as he extracted his hand from Bellykov's grip. He acknowledged Mia and Viktor with a tilt of his head before turning to me.
"Can we talk, Rose?" he asked softly. "Please?"
I hated it when he used that voice, and he knew that. It was really hard to refuse to anything he wanted when he spoke like that. I bit back a sigh as I stepped away from the table. I was going to have to deal with this some time, might as well get it over with. Ignoring his open hand, I stalked back to the living room. Jesse followed close behind and sat down on the loveseat, patting the space next to him.
"I'd rather stand," I said, crossing my arms. "And I don't recall asking you to sit either." I was going to make sure he was as uncomfortable as possible. I could see him struggle to not roll his eyes as he stood across from me.
"So this is how you treat your guests, huh?"
"You're neither a guest nor a friend at this point," I snapped. "What do you want?"
"Rose," Jesse sighed, moving closer. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way." He frowned when I took a step back.
"There's no other way you could've meant it, Zeklos. You called me fat."
"But I didn't!" he said, running a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I never called you fat!"
"Yes, you did!" I exclaimed, putting my hands on my hips. "Are you calling me a liar?"
"There! You're doing it again!"
"Doing what?"
"Putting words in my mouth." He stood in front of meand gently grasped my arms. "I never called you fat and I never called you a liar."
"You implied it though," I said, pushing him away.
"Rose, come on. You kept saying that you felt a little sick, remember? I asked you if you wanted to cancel plans, but you insisted on going."
Oh. That.
-x-
I closed my eyes, willing the nausea away. I could feel Jesse's gaze on me as he wrapped an arm around me.
"Rose," he asked, his soft voice laced with concern. "Are you sure you want to go? We can always go another day, it's no big de-"
"No," I said, cutting him off. I sat up straight and took a deep breath. "This is our first date in weeks, and I'm not going to blow it off just because I feel a little queasy." My hands itched to roll down the window of the limo, but I knew I couldn't do that. I'd just have to suck it up and deal with this to maintain some privacy.
"It's just dinner, I'm sure we could do it some other ti-"
"Jesse. I want to go," I said firmly.
"Sure?"
I looked him straight in the eye, squishing down my growing annoyance. "Positive."
-x-
I bit my lip and looked away. My memory was coming back to me now. Jesse saw my expression change and his eyes glowed at the triumph.
"You acted normally after that," he continued. "But I was worried. I just didn't want you to get sick."
-x-
"Are you sure you're okay, Ro?" Jesse asked for the hundreth time. I sighed.
"Yes, I'm perfectly alright." And I wasn't lying. Maybe it was just motion sickness or something, because my nausea was gone and my impossible appetite had returned. I looked up as the waiter came around to take our order for desserts. "I'll have the swiss roll with mascarpone, ganache, creme anglise and raspberry coulis," I said, smiling at the him. He gave me a curt nod, but I caught him smirking as he glanced at my body.
Jesse lifted an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want that?"
-x-
Maybe it was because of all the gossip magazines talking about my weight gain, or maybe it was just because I wasn't in the best of moods, but I'd unnecessarily lashed out at Jesse for something he didn't even do. I'm seriously going to get that imbecile at the restaurant fired.
Jesse looked at me triumphantly. He'd won and he knew that.
Was this even a game to win in the first place? Why does it always a competition between us?
"I'm sorry if that came out wrong, but I never meant it that way, Ro bear," he added softy. Ro and Boo. The consequenses of the lovey-dovey stage of a relationship.
Tears pricked my eyes and I turned away to hide them. Jesse held my wrist and pulled me into a hug. I buried my face into the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry," I whispered.
He rested his chin on the top of my head. "It's okay," he murmered. "You made a mistake, but the important thing is that you came to your senses."
I frowned. "Hey," I said pulling away. "This was your fault too."
Jesse laughed. "How on earth are you going to explain that one? Is it my fault that you're hearing things now?"
I glared at him and folded my hands. "If you-"
"Rose," Mia interrupted from the doorway. "Your new yoga instructor is here."
"Already?"
"When I called, she said she was in the neighbourhood. She said that she'd just swing by to hash out a rough schedule for you."
"She'll be there in a minute, Mia," Jesse said, waving her off. She gave me a look before shrugging and walking off. I looked at him irritatedly. He had no right to order my agent and rep around like that Either he was ignoring the expression on my face on purpose or didn't even notice it. He leaned in to kiss me. I turned my face to the side. Childish as that was, it worked. Jesse leaned back, looking annoyed.
His blue eyes used to mesmerize me, make my heart flutter every time I looked into them. But now, I didn't feel anything. Instead, the thought of chocolate eyes and mahagony hair made my pulse race.
What the hell was wrong with me?
"I'll see you later," Jesse muttered. "Hopefully when you're in a more reasonable mood." He stalked away without a backward glance.
Mia walked in the minute he left.
"What did I ever see in him?" I sighed, leaning against the wall.
"Good hair, impeccable dental hygiene, hot body and fantastic publicity." She said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world. When I just stared at her, she said, "What? You know I only see things as either a profit or a loss. Go talk to Lissa or Avery if you want that sentimental crap."
"Such a joy to have you around, Rinaldi."
"I know," she said sweetly. "Now come on! It's incredibly rude to keep guests waiting."
"I'm trying to stall my impending doom," I grumbled.
"Yoga isn't that bad," Mia reasoned. "It's good for flexibility and constipation and stuff." I kicked at her heels but she danced out of reach. Laughter rang out from the room, sounding suspiciously male, which ruled out Viktor. I stepped into the dining room, wondering who on earth could make Dimitri laugh so openly.
Dimitri looked at me over his shoulder, still grinning. A small black and blue blob moved beside him. "Rose," he said, stepping aside. "This, is your new instructor, Tasha Ozera."
Boom. Bet you didn't see that coming.
Anyway. Jesse's a dick, isn't he? And a shoutout to RoBiNiSmYbOo for Jesse's silly nickname. :P I think we're all guilty of this, and misinterpreting things. I've done it so many times, and it's honestly gotten me into some awful situations.
You guys are all so wonderful and supportive. I wish you the best in life, and more importantly, a giant plate of fresh cookies. Virtual cookies make up for spelling mistakes and a short, blah chapter right?
Seriously though. Thank you guys :) Your reviews are probably the only thing that's motivating me to think of where to go with this story right now. :P