The Love Of Money - S01 E206

Story 1 month ago

The Love Of Money - S01 E206

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 206

I could see the confusion on her face despite the lighting. "How would.."

"I had people look into it after we talked on the phone," I said. "God, Jess... it's amazing what you can get done with access to limitless resources." I sighed. "Why'd you wait a day after the interview to call me? Wanted a little cushion to make it seem like you weren't trying to get back together with me because I'm rich?"

This time, she didn't have anything to say. She looked away, and I could just make her eyes out in the lamplight and saw the shimmer of unshed tears. Then realized something.

Confronting her like this felt good, but considering how little time I'd had to mourn my relationship, it wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. Whatever hurt Jessica had given me had been cut short once I'd discovered I was a Gerrard. I'd been so distracted by life changes and pussy that I hadn't had time to mourn the loss of my relationship, and upon the realization that Natalie and I were both single, that little bit of pain felt even less significant.

In doing this, thought I would feel the kind of satisfaction I received with Bobbi. Instead, I felt like the biggest kid on the playground, beating on the smallest. Sure she had wronged me by cheating on me, but losing that relationship and then finding out the guy she dumped had inherited billions had to serve as punishment enough, right?

"You're right," she said, and I could tell by the quaver in her voice that she was crying. "I'm so sorry."

I wanted to ask her if she loved me, but I didn't want to know the answer. I'm pretty sure I had feelings for her-possibly even love - up until the moment we broke up. If she confessed that she'd never really loved me, that might open a wound that had been closed, and where was the sense in that? I doubted she would have admitted it anyway.

"You know what? It's fine," I said. "If I'd been dating you when I found out about the money, we might have kept dating, and who knows what would have happened with the others. I've had some amazing experiences since we broke up. I should probably send you flowers or something as a thanks."

She snorted, tittered through the tears, and reached into her

handbag to retrieve a tissue. We'd dated long enough that she could comfortably blow her nose in front of me.

"Are you seriously dating any of them?" She asked after she'd composed herself a little more.

"Why? You looking to fill that position again?"

She simply stared back at me, the shadows no longer doing much good at hiding her emotions.

"I'll take that as a yes," I muttered. "No. I'm not officially dating. them."

"What about Natalie?" Jess said. "I know you had a thing for her, and the way she reacted when I showed up, I think she has a thing for you."

I shook my head. "She's dating someone else. I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh," Jessica said, sounding surprised. "And those are the only ones?"

"No," I said. "There's been a few others." I counted them in my head: Helen, Erin, Danni, Ashlee, Shea, Natashya, Bobbi, Rose, Honey... Charity, maybe? "I guess roughly ten in total?"

I could feel the shock from her. "My God. Ten?"

"You judging me?" asked.

"No!" Jess was quick to respond. "It's just... we haven't been single for very long, and I didn't think you had it in you..." She tucked her hands between her knees and cocked her head to one side. "None of them are serious?"

"I don't know. One of them could be in the future."

"So... there's no chance for us anyтоге?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. I've already been asked that once this week, and I'm seriously considering it. I can't make up my mind on whether I'm ready for a committed relationship, though. Like I said, I've had some amazing experiences so far. It's hard to give that up."

"That's not a 'no," she said.

"Well, it's not a 'yes,' either," I retorted. "You've seen the competition, Jess, and it's not just the fact that they're all gorgeous. They're all amazing women, too."

"As long as it's not a 'no."

I studied her momentarily, then said, "Let me ask you a question. What do you think about an open relationship?"

Jess sat up a little straight as she mused over the question, "What do I think about being in an open relationship? God... I don't know. I've never been in one."

"I've been thinking about it. I think if I were in a relationship, it would need to be open. At least for now."

Jessica grew quiet for a moment, then said, "I guess that makes sense. I can see how there's something missing in sleeping around that a relationship would provide. That way, you can have both, right?"

"Yeah," I said.

She sniffled and wiped at her nose again. "Does that go both ways?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you're in a relationship that allows you to sleep around, what about her?"

I hadn't addressed this since Erin, where I'd made it explicitly clear that I didn't want her sleeping around with other men. However, I was aware that Helen was still available to her husband, and there was always a chance that Danni could find someone else if I didn't provide her with some kind of commitment.

"I don't know," said, "I don't like the idea of sharing with other men. Especially someone I'm in a relationship with. I think it would have to be one-sided."

"Isn't that a little unfair?" Jess said. Her tone wasn't accusatory.

"Maybe," I shrugged, "but that's just how it is. This probably sounds kind of shitty, but I'm the one in this position, and that's what I want. As long as I'm upfront about it, don't think it's entirely unreasonable. I'd hope she would at least be up for joining me with other girls."