‹ Prequel: No Place I'd Rather Be
Sequel: Love for You

Too Much of a Good Thing

Chapter Six

Day three.

James stared down at the calendar app on his phone. It had been three days since Jo left. When she arrived to California, she had left him a text message to let him know that the plane had landed safely and that Edith was going to pick her up. James felt relieved hearing that she had made it to Los Angeles safely. He was fine for a few hours after she left...then he started to miss her.

He worked out that same day, put all his anger and frustration onto all the push ups and pull ups. The heavy lifting of the barbell and dropping it onto the mat felt like a weight off his shoulders. But then he dreaded coming home to no one.

He had forgotten the feeling of living alone. Before he met Jo, he was perfectly fine with the bachelor lifestyle he lived. In fact, he loved it. He loved not having to worry about how messy his place was or how he only had to prepare food for himself when he actually got off his ass to cook. He liked having a place all to himself, not sharing it with anybody else. Of course that all changed when someone had moved in with him.

He didn’t hate living with Jo but while she adjusted to her new living situation, so did he. Before, no one was there to yell at him over a couple of shirts that missed the hamper or the unwashed dishes in the sink. It even took awhile to get used to putting down the toilet seat because prior to that, he was the only one using his bathroom.

He was used to it now. He did things the way Jo wanted and as part of an implied negotiation, Jo did things the way he wanted.

Being alone in the apartment was different when there was always someone occupying the space when he got home. By the third day without hearing from Jo, apart from the text she had sent him, he felt like he was losing it.

The only logical solution he could come up with was to seek advice from another female.

He exited the calendar app and called up Melanie. He knew she would be the perfect person to talk to about how he had been feeling lately. She picked up the phone and cheerfully greeted him. She was back in Philly covering stories that James had been reading online. It kept him up to date about what was happening back in the place he used to call home.

“Hey James, how are you?” Melanie greeted.

“Good, you?” He answered. She replied in the same manner.

“So umm...I kind of need some sort of uhh, advice.”

“Alright, shoot.” Melanie was all ears at that point so James started from the beginning. From the time he met Jo until the recent weeks of their constant fighting. He expressed how he feels defeated, tired, angry, and sad all at the same time. He didn’t know how to cope with his feelings and he felt like that was what lead up to their break.

Melanie picked at James’ brain a little more, trying to understand why he would ever come up with a conclusion such as his girlfriend cheating on him.

“She had been acting...well...out of character lately,” James told his friend.

“You mentioned that she was hiding a surprise from you?” Melanie recalled.

“Right,” he confirmed.

“Obviously she wanted the surprise to be really special which calls for being extra careful not to give you a single hint about it.”

James scratched the back of his neck, still not making any sense of what Melanie was telling him.

She took his silence as an answer in and of itself. “James, she knew how much playing for Pittsburgh meant to you. That store she’s planning on opening? It’s her way of showing you that your connection there doesn’t have to end with the trade. I’m sure she only wanted to make you happy.”

It started to make sense to him and he felt even more shitty than he did before.

“Don’t beat yourself up, James.” His friend said, knowing him all too well. “Couples fight all the time. Some just end it the minute things go wrong but you two? You two clearly love each other. You guys stayed through all those problems. Your break is only temporary and I do agree that it’s for the best.”

“I just wish I had known...I wish I didn’t say all those things to her…” James regretted.

“We say things we don’t mean when we’re angry. You let your anger get the best of you sometimes. You need to channel all that anger out onto something rather than onto someone, especially those you love.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I thought training would’ve been enough but I still come home, mad as fuck at the world.”

Melanie shortly laughed.

“I know you’re still hurt-”

“I’m not-”

Melanie ignored him. “I know the trade sucks. But you’ve had a great season with a new team and have someone loving and supportive right by your side. I think you just need to look around you and realize you’ve got everything that you need.”

James silently agreed. He never admitted how much the trade hit him like a train. He had been suppressing his thoughts and feelings about it to the point where he had slowly let out his rage onto the wrong things without even realizing it. He had come to terms with the trade. He knew he had to let go of the past and focus on what was in the present.

That starts now.

James sighed, “Damn, thanks Mel. It’s nice to get a reality check.”

“No problem,” Melanie replied. “I like these heart to heart talks. We should do this more often.”

James laughed and ended the call a few moments later with several ‘thank yous’ her way.

-

It was time for Jo to put on her mask. She did well smiling and posing for photos for the past half hour. The facade she had put up wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. Her cheeks were hurting from forcing a smile. Pretending to be OK was difficult but she had to do it for the sake of her job.

Standing in her little black dress, she posed right next to Edith and smiled for the hundredth camera she had seen all night.

When they walked away, Edith pulled Jo aside to ask if she was alright.

“I’m fine, Dee.” Jo said, using the nickname she had given her best friend back in high school.

“This will be over soon,” Edith said, trying to comfort her friend. She didn’t know much about what happened between Jo and James. All she knew was they got into a big fight and now they were on a break. Edith didn’t ask for details. She just gave her friend the support she needed more than ever.

The duo were at an event that they absolutely could not pass up on. There were lots of designers and fashion directors present at the event which allowed Jo to talk business and share a couple of her ideas with those people. Jo told Edith that she believed only a few took an interest in her new designs she showed them through her phone. Edith had a good feeling that more than just a few were interested in Jo’s work.

Jo mingled with a few more big names. She managed to push aside her sadness and got excited enough to show a genuine enthusiasm about meeting some of her idols. She didn’t want to get her hopes up by thinking that they’d offer her some sort of deal or even go for a collaboration with her work but the fact that some of them said they’ll keep in contact with her had her planning everything out before anything even happened.

After a while, her feet started to hurt. Her high heels were definitely not made for walking. Edith was somewhere, socializing and talking business, Jo was sure. Jo sat by an empty table and waited for the waiter to come back with her drink. Moments later, a gentleman, who was quite handsome, sat right next to her when there were at least five other empty tables.

“Tiring out there huh?” The handsome fellow said. All Jo could do was nod.

He flashed her a smile and introduced himself.

“Matt.”

Jo offered him a hand to shake, “Johanna. Johanna Perry.”

“As in J. Perry?”

Jo’s eyes sparkled in amazement. She hadn’t heard anyone acknowledge her store at the event just yet.

“Yeah!” She gushed. “I mean yes. Yes, J. Perry. That’s me. I mean, that’s my store.”

Matt laughed. “My girlfriend loves reading your website’s blog. She showed me a few of your menswear ideas. They’re great. Will we see that in stores soon?”

Jo blushed. “Oh gosh, thank you. I’m actually planning on opening up a store in Pittsburgh focused on menswear. I haven’t heard much feedback from the men of Los Angeles for me to add more to the store in downtown.”

“No way! I’m from Pennsylvania! It’d be cool if you opened up a store in Pitt. I’m even wearing one of your ties!” Matt proudly showed her. Jo hadn’t even noticed the silk, black necktie that was tucked in his fitted blazer. He untucked it and showed her the underside of it which had the tag with her name on it.

“I’m so flattered. Thank you so much.” Jo said. Their drinks arrived at the same time and Matt held up his glass for a toast.

“Cheers for an awesome store!”

“Cheers!” Jo clinked her glass against his.

-

They talked the night away. Edith joined them at some point and they laughed and talk like old friends. Jo learned that Matt was a professional male model. He had modeled for plenty of brands like Calvin Klein. She wasn’t surprised since he was gorgeous. He even asked Jo and Edith if they would be interested in having him a model. Both couldn’t say yes fast enough. They felt like having a professional model promoting their store would give them more publicity and credibility.

Matt talked endlessly about his job and his girlfriend, whom he had met in his hometown. They recently moved in together in Los Angeles after Matt gained more financial stability with his high profile job.

Jo couldn’t help but ask him nonstop questions about how it feels to live together with someone who were not his parents. That got a laugh or two out of him. He explained that moving in was hard for both of them. His girlfriend had to leave such a rural part of Pennsylvania and move to a big city like LA. It took her a while to adjust to the urban life which Jo understood. He talked about how they got on each other’s nerves and how he spent a handful of nights sleeping on the couch. Again, Jo could relate.

“How’d you guys work through it all?” Edith asked because she knew Jo wanted to know.

Matt took a drink out of his second glass of champagne. “Talking it out and actually finding ways to fix the problem. I know it sounds real cheesy but it works. Traveling for photoshoots and fashion shows also help since the distance gives us a chance to do some thinking. Sometimes couples need that--space.”

Jo nodded. She was glad that someone had confirmed she had made the right decision by taking a break from James.

She only felt it was fair to share her story without revealing too much. Matt would laugh, roll his eyes, and nod at some of the stuff she had to say. Their situation was all too similar. At the same time, Edith finally knew what was happening between the couple and couldn’t help but feel sad that it got to the point where they needed to take a break from each other in order to stop their relationship from falling apart.

As the night came to a close, Jo had exchanged numbers with a handful of designers and models. Edith dropped Jo back to her parents’ house and Jo couldn't wait to get out of her dress, freshen up, and call James. She was dying to hear his voice.

She purposely avoided any contact from him and it truly helped that she was able to focus on her thoughts without breaking down from hearing from him. After nearly a week without seeing him, she missed him more than ever. She knew what she wanted now and could only hope that he did too.
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Half way through this story! I know I'm still stuck on the trade and fight topic but I finally gave it some closure here. I've been trying to find ways to neatly tie it all together and so I hope it worked out here.

Still having a bit of writer's block but there will be more to come soon!