Angel eyes

Part twenty two

Shannon's p.o.v

Jess and I had been 'dating' for a few weeks. I managed to get to NYC for a long weekend twice, but that was all. We'd call or Skype daily, even enjoyed phone sex a few times. It was fun, but I was desperate to have her in my arms again.

I was sat having lunch with guys, daydreaming about Jess. Tomo was chatting with Emma while Jared sat playing on his phone. J "Hey Shan, there's a piece about your girl on here." He teased me. I pulled myself from my fantasy. Me "Yeah? What's it say?" J "Just stuff about the play and how..." He stopped and put his phone down. Me "Why'd you stop?" J "It's just boring...nothing of interest." I always knew when he was lying. S "Jay, what is it? what does it say?" He couldn't look at me. Before he could stop me I grabbed his phone and unlocked it.

The article started out about the play, but soon turned into a scoop on rumours of Jess rekindling her romance with her costar and former lover. There were photos of the two of them laughing and having dinner together. What the fuck? I threw Jared's phone back to him and slammed my hands on the table. J "Easy bro!" T "Hey, what's wrong?" I turned to Tomo, me "Did you know about this? Jess working with her ex?" Tomo looked surprised T "Yeah, I thought you knew. It's no big deal, they broke up ages ago, they've been friends for years." My head was pounding. I knew the media made shit up, but those photos looked so...intimate. I found a private spot and called Jess.

J "Hey baby, I'm so glad you called, I've had such a long day. You're voice is just what I needed." Me "Who's Ryan?" there was a short pause. J "He's my costar, I've told you about him loads of times." I struggled to keep calm. Me "You never mentioned you two used to fuck!" J "No I didn't and I'm sorry for that, but it's not an issue." I interrupted her. Me "Not an issue!" I started to lose it. J "Shannon, Ryan and I only dated for a couple of months, it was never anything serious. After the break up we stayed friends. End of story."

Me "How do I know you're not fucking him now while I'm away?" J "Oh my God! Seriously? that's what you think of me? No I am not fucking him! How do I know you're not screwing every fuckin little slut that bats her eyes at you while you're on tour?" I could hear her choking back the tears. Me "Because I'd never cheat on you." J "Good! neither would I."

All I could hear was her quiet sobs, then she took a deep breath J "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Ryan, but we are just friends." She struggled through the words, trying to stop herself crying. Me "Baby please don't cry. I'm sorry I doubted you. It's just hard, not seeing you...and when I saw the pictures of you two together, I just...I'm sorry." I longed to hold her in my arms...to comfort her...to show her how much she meant to me. She sniffed, J "God Shannon, I wish you were here with me." Me "Me too baby...me too."

Two weeks later, we had a couple of days free so I decided to surprise Jess. I arrived at her theatre and was about to call her to tell her I was here, when a guy came out laughing. I recognised him immediately as Jess's costar and ex, Ryan. I suppose he was good looking...if you like that kind of thing. R "Come on babe, we've gotta go!" Jess appeared from inside the theatre. J "I'm coming...I'm coming...keep you're knickers on!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her across the road. I watched as they walked arm in arm down the street.

OK, so I'm not proud of what I did next, but I didn't know what else to do. I could of just shouted after her, or called her, but instead I followed them. I kept my hood up and my head down, so as not to be recognised. We got on the N train, I made sure to stay hidden at the other end of the car. They sat laughing and chatting, at one point, he put his arm around her and kissed her head. I wanted to punch his pretty boy face.

They got off at 5th Avenue and headed towards Trump Towers. My heart sank as he took her hand and led her into Tiffany's. I tried to make myself look respectful, but the security guard still kept an eye on me. I watched as Jess and Ryan looked at some jewellery. What are they doing here? Guard "Can I help you sir?" I turned to him, me "No thanks I'm good." When I turned back, Ryan was knelt on the floor, holding a ring up to Jess. She was looking down at him, giggling. That was it, I was done, I walked out without saying a word.