Traffic Girl Juliet Ch 26

Author's Note: There's been a lot of debate among my readers about whether they prefer longer or shorter chapters. I've come around to enjoying the longer chapters, as you can tell from this book in particular. But sometimes a shorter chapter with a discreet purpose still appeals to me. This is one of those chapters. Two key points for the story moving forward come through here. In a way, they're both bombshells. I hope you enjoy it.

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"This is absolutely incredible," Kat gushed.

"It's perfection," Jess said in awe.

"Absolutely beyond my wildest dreams," Rita added.

Katie stood quietly near the corner of the expansive kitchen. Her mouth was half-open, as if she wanted to say something, but the words were caught in her throat.

"Katie, what do you think?" Kat prodded her.

"Oh, I mean, like, yeah, I don't know," she stuttered.

"Come on, girl!" Rita encouraged her. "We want to know what you think!"

"I mean, I'm new, I don't really have an opinion," Katie said.

"You're part of us, so your opinion counts," Jess said emphatically. "There's no hierarchy."

"Yeah," I agreed, walking to Katie and putting my arm around her. "You're in. We need you to tell us if you like it or hate it."

I couldn't help myself and let my hand drift down to her ass, which was encased in tight white shorts. I gave her a little squeeze.

"It's better than a dream," Katie said. "I could live out at that pool."

"Well, girls, I think that settles it!" I said.

"Um, daddy, this might be a silly question, but, how can we afford this?" Kat asked shyly. "They want $18 million."

We had spent the last hour going through the not-yet-for-sale house next door to Juliet. "Next door" was a bit of a misnomer. Juliet's house was about two hundred yards away, and there actually was a small vineyard -- a vanity project from the previous owner -- separating this house from hers. There were no other houses on this side of the street. There were several across the street but nothing behind them, since it was near Runyon Canyon Park. So, obviously, it was private, but that was icing on the cake. The house was immaculate. It turned out, it was built by a young Silicon Valley hotshot who ended up having his marriage and company fall apart shortly after building this estate. So six months after occupying it, he had to vacate and sell. There was a tennis court, basketball court, two-bedroom guest house, massive pool complex with two hot tubs, full outdoor living area, and the most lovingly assembled kitchen I had seen outside of a three-Michelin-star restaurant. To top it all off, it had seven bedrooms, ten bathrooms, five-car garage, and upstairs and downstairs living areas. And it was every bit as high-tech as Juliet's place. I had fallen in love the moment we walked inside because I could instantly visualize us building a life here.

"So I have a surprise," I said in response to Kat's question.

There was a general murmur in the kitchen when I said that.

"I would have told you this sooner, but then this house came available, so I thought maybe it would be a good surprise," I continued. "But you probably noticed that Petey's movies have done extremely well this year."

Rita nodded at me, and a smile grew on her face.

"Last week, I got our share for the first quarter of this year," I said and stopped, allowing a little drama and tension to fill the room. "It was $25 million."

Gasps echoed around the kitchen.

"And the two big movies haven't even come out yet, as you know," I said. "So, I figure, what better place to stash the money than in real estate?"

"Oh my god," Jess said quietly.

"Is this for real?" Kat said.

"Holy shit," Katie said.

"How soon can we move in?" Rita said with a smile.

"Let's find out," I said.

The girls milled around the house while I called the seller's agent. I told her we could make a cash offer for the full listing price if we could accelerate the closing date. She sounded giddy when she told me she would consult her client and call me back as soon as possible.

I watched as Rita pointed to something out in the backyard while keeping her other hand on Katie's lower back. Kat snooped around the kitchen, assessing the storage space and layout. Jess wandered around the first floor. I caught up with her in the study, which had sleek, open, modern bookcases almost from floor to ceiling.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," she mimicked and turned around with a smile.

"How do you like it?" I asked. "Honestly."

"Perfection," she said. "Private. Quiet. Huge. It checks all the boxes, including that je ne sais quoi. I love it."

I heard what she said, but something was off.

"But?" I said, raising my voice a little. "There's something."

"What?" Jess said, brushing her hair back around her ears.

She looked amazing, wearing a flowing orange blouse with a pair of faux leather black pants. She was the picture of confidence and success. I loved how her ass filled the back. Her neckline was delicate, feeding down to the cleavage formed by her having left the top three buttons of the shirt open. It was enticing and didn't match up with the worried look on her face. There was something.

"Something is missing, though, right?" I said. "I can tell. It's written on your face."

"Oh," she said, jumping imperceptibly with surprise. "No, the house is literally perfect."

"Okay, so about that but," I said.

"One T or two?" she joked.

"One," I said, now looking at her inquisitively. She knew I knew something was up.

"So," she said and stopped.

I walked over to her and put my hands around her waist.

"You know this isn't how we operate," I said. "Just tell me."

She smiled. It was a warm, loving smile. Her lips had the faintest trace of gloss on them. She breathed evenly out her nose, and her eyes sparkled, dancing between blue and gray. She kissed me on the cheek, and I felt the heat radiating from her skin.

"I want to bring a date to Juliet's birthday party," she said.

Her words came out softly, wafting up to my ear slowly. I had to do a double take.

"A date?" I said, the words almost stuck in my throat.

"Yeah," Jess said, now sounding sheepish. "Um, a date."

I didn't know how to respond. Nothing came out of my mouth, though I could tell it hung agape. I was processing. So Jess filled the uncomfortable silence.

"We've been so busy with work," she said. "We've gotten so successful, right? I mean, I think you'd agree that both of us are more successful than we could ever have dreamed. But the pace of things, what with Daydream now and everything else going on, is just much more intense. So we ..."

I cut her off.

"So you want to add another element to make it even more complicated?" I said, probably with more sarcasm in my voice than intended.

"Well, no," Jess said. "Not more complicated. So we could use some options for making sure we get that outlet, that fun that you and I both know we need and crave."

I looked her in the eyes. I was searching for something. Jess was a true original. She was cut from the same cloth I was. This wasn't the whole story.

"What else is it?" I asked pointedly.

"I mean, that's it," she said. She saw my head cock to one side and then added, "Well, there's. It's also. John, so you and I are, like, we're the same, you and me. We have these appetites that are just on another level. Sure, Kat has a huge appetite for sex and partying. But she has other things that she wants just as much. Rita is even more that way. And I adore that. I love them for it. Very deeply. But me? You know how much my identity is tied to success. I have the same appetites you do. And look at you! Look. At. You. You are so fucking sexy and so fucking successful. It makes me wet just to look at you. And the thing is? Part of me wants to be you, too."

"Okay," I said, still processing, but I felt like we were getting somewhere.

"What I'm saying is," she paused and let out a deep, long breath. "What I'm saying is that I think I want a boyfriend. No. I don't think it. I want a boyfriend."

I took a deep breath, too. This was not a conversation I thought I'd be having today. Although, as my brain started working through it, it wasn't wholly unexpected. Jess had given up taking appointments through Infinity almost entirely. She had been pushing herself at work, and it dawned on me that this was the longest I had ever known for her to not have something going on the side. Whatever she had cooking now couldn't have been going on for long, but it did explain some of the behavior that, looking back on it, was strange. Like not coming to Vegas. I started to dread the answer to my next question, but I had to find out.

"Is it Tommy?" I asked.

Jess laughed.

"Oh, god, no!" she said. "I think Tommy has turned himself around a great deal, but, John, are you kidding? No way. After all his history with us?"

"So," I said. "Why don't you just tell me? It's easier that way."

"Sure," she said breezily. "It's Manny. I'd like him to come to Juliet's party as my date."

I don't know why, but I immediately blurted out, "But what about Kayla?"

"They're open, John," she said. "Kayla knows. She's even thinking about working with other male talent again in movies."

"Wow," I said. "This is a lot. Definitely not where I thought the day would go today."

"I know," she said. "I just ... in the past, I would have, you know. I wouldn't have been forthcoming. We haven't really had anything going on that you don't know about, but I'm feeling it, and we talked about it -- with Kayla, too -- and it's, well, I didn't want it to be like in the past."

"I appreciate that," I said.

"I've been thinking about it a lot," Jess explained. "It's not that I want an emotional connection with someone. I love you, John. You know I love you. But with the agency and the production company as busy as it is, and you as busy as you are, well, I feel like I would be better off with a stable option. Somebody I could have fun with and not get tempted into doing something stupid."

I had to admit, at least I could appreciate her logic. Part of me actually was pleased that Jess was treating it rationally.

"Boyfriend seems like such a formal title," I said with a little chuckle.

"Fuck buddy, stunt dick, whatever," Jess said with a laugh. "I'm not emotionally attracted to Manny. It's physical. Purely physical. He's such an alpha. He is so rough, and all that comes naturally to him."

"I know," I said, "and that sort of thing doesn't come naturally to me at all. And I know it's an itch you like scratched."

Jess turned on her flirtatious side now.

"I do," she said. "And you and I have never been monogamous. It's not in our DNA."

"That's a fair enough statement," I said.

"And maybe we could do a double date swap," she said, licking her lips. "Like you and Kat did with Nicole and Bryce. You wouldn't say no to Kayla, would you?"

"I have to admit, that could be a lot of fun," I said.

"It could be," she said. "And there's something appealing to me at this point about not sleeping around with a bunch of guys. I don't want to go back to taking appointments. I've got too much real work to do. But I do ..."

I cut her off and finished her sentence for her: "like that itch scratched."

"Exactly," she said.

"Maybe if I got to know Manny a little better," I said. "This all feels a little out of the blue to me."

"I think that's fair," Jess said. "So Juliet's party would be the perfect opportunity to get to know him a little better."

We heard footsteps approaching. I wrapped Jess in a tight hug.

"That sounds okay, I think," I said.

Part of me couldn't shake the feeling that Jess had ambushed me with this. She was telling me what she wanted, but it wasn't really a discussion. She was telling me what she was going to do, no matter what I thought. But, of course, that was Jess. She was aggressive. She took initiative. I needed some space to think about it. Maybe it was hypocritical, but I didn't feel comfortable with her saying she wanted a boyfriend. It sounded to me like she already had one. Rightly or wrongly, that seemed like a threat to us.

"Are you two christening this place already?" Kat said playfully as she walked into the room. "We don't even know if our offer's been accepted!"

"Why should that matter?" Jess said, matching Kat's tone. "It would be fun to just fuck in empty houses."

They laughed. And my phone rang. It was the seller's agent. It was a short call. Rita and Katie had found their way into the study with us when they heard my phone go off. They all looked at me.

"It's ours," I said.

The four of them mobbed me, and we ended up in a group hug with shrieks of delight bouncing off the walls of the empty house. A wave of emotion washed over me. I could feel it palpably in my body. It was a combination of joy and peace.

This is it, I thought. This is home.