Submission

Chapter 24

 Lorelei's heart was pounding as she weaved her way through the tables of the restaurant and headed toward the table of women. She had been worrying about Jody's birthday brunch ever since she left Jesse's apartment in the morning. Jody smiled when she saw Lorelei and stood. She rushed over to Lorelei and wrapped her arms around her. Lorelei was taken off guard and tried not to topple over in her heels.

"I'm so glad you came," Jody said. "I thought that Jesse would have convinced you not to come. I saved you a spot next to me."

Jody grabbed Lorelei's arm and pulled her over to the table. Lorelei was intimidated when she saw how beautiful the other two women were. She remembered Jody saying she was a model, and she wondered if they were too.

Lorelei tried not to wince as she sat down. The bruises covering her ass had been tender from Jesse's paddle.

"So this is Lorelei," the woman across from her said. Her eyes were bright blue and her blonde hair was twisted back into intricate braids.

"This is Lorelei," Jody said. "Lorelei, this is Lexi."

Lexi took a sip of her mimosa as she stared at Lorelei. She tried not to crumple under Lexi's intense stare. The girl next to Lexi, a girl with auburn curls, flashed Lorelei a smile.

"I'm April," the girl said.

"Nice to meet you two," Lorelei said.

"Jody, it doesn't bother you that Jesse is fucking her?" Lexi asked.

April swung her hand out and hit Lexi in the shoulder. Lexi rolled her eyes before finishing her drink. Lorelei looked at the mimosa sitting next to her plate. Jody must have ordered her one before she arrived. She knew that she would have to be careful to not get drunk at brunch. It would be tempting to, especially if Lexi would be making comments like that.

"I'm happy for him," Jody said.

"That's always what people say," Lexi said.

Lorelei swallowed past the lump forming in her throat as she opened the menu. She looked down to avoid Lexi's scrutinizing gaze. They were talking amongst themselves as Lorelei kept her head down.

"Is Lorelei a freak too?" she heard Lexi ask.

Lorelei looked up from the menu. She bit down on her lip to stop her jaw from hanging open in horror. Lexi was smirking, and Lorelei already regretted coming to this brunch. She should have listened to Jesse and not been so stubborn.

Jody smiled and put her hand on Lorelei's shoulder.

"Starter freak," Jody said. "She's discovering the lifestyle."

Lorelei wondered if these two girls were also into kink. She looked over at Jody to see she was not wearing the collar like she was at The Alibi. Instead, she had a thin chain around her neck. Lorelei wondered if it was supposed to be a subtle version of a collar. She noticed that Lexi had a similar chain tight against her throat. She wondered if they also had secret bruises and marks that they were trying to hide.

"That's fun," April said. "How do you like it so far?"

"It's been fun," Lorelei said. "Are you all into it too?"

Lexi laughed before taking another drink. Lorelei noticed the two empty glasses sitting in front of her on the table.

"It?" Lexi asked. "Are you too afraid to say BDSM? Kink?"

Lorelei shook her head. The waitress saved her by coming over and taking their orders. Jody ordered another round of mimosas for everyone at the table.

"You know," April said, "you are really pretty, Lorelei. You could make a lot of money if you took up modeling."

Lorelei let out a nervous laugh. It confirmed her suspicion that they were all models.

"No," Lorelei said. "I am not very good in front of the camera."

"Mateo is really good," Jody said. "He could give you advice and coaching. He has helped me out a lot."

"Modeling is really empowering," April said. "You would love it."

"I think I'll stick to my job," Lorelei said.

"You can!" Jody said. "The nurse fetish is a big market."

Lorelei tried not to shudder. She did not assume that Jody was doing fetish photoshoots. She wondered if Jody was doing porn. Jody was beautiful, confident, and very sexual. She could see Jody being a pornstar. She didn't understand why they were trying to recruit her into doing those kinds of photos.

"I don't think I could do it," Lorelei said. "Besides, I don't think Jesse would like it."

Lexi scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"He obviously hasn't changed much since he was with Jody," she said.

Lorelei's eyes went wide. She had brought her drink halfway to her lips and froze.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You haven't told her, Jody?" Lexi asked. "They used to be a couple."

Lorelei's stomach churned. She set her glass down, afraid that she was going to throw up. Jesse had never mentioned that they were a couple. He did mention that he moved to Toronto with his ex, and then later stated that he met Jody in Vancouver. She could not believe that she did not put the dots together earlier.

"You dated?" Lorelei asked.

"For three years," Lexi said.

"Shut up, Lexi," Jody snapped. She turned in her seat and put her hand on Lorelei's arm. "Lorelei, I was waiting to tell you. I thought that Jesse would have already had."

"He talked about an ex," Lorelei said. "He never said it was you."

There was an awkward moment of silence between all of them. Lorelei drained her drink from the glass and set it down on the table. All three of them were staring at Lorelei. She thought about getting up and leaving, but she did not want to embarrass herself further. She picked up the second mimosa that Jody had ordered her.

Lorelei's phone started to ring and she pulled it out of her purse. Jesse's name flashed across the screen. Jody leaned in to look at it.

"Speak of the devil," Jody said.

Lorelei declined the call. She wanted to talk to Jesse, but it could not be over a phone call in front of Jody and her friends. He called back and Lorelei ended the call as soon as the phone started to ring.

This is why Jesse did not want Lorelei spending time with Jody. He was afraid that Jody would mention their relationship. Lorelei remembered how he watched her so closely at the Alibi when her and Jody were at the bar and how he ripped her phone out of her hand when Jody called. She enjoyed being around Jody, and she did not want Jesse dictating who she spent time with. That was something Matthew would do. She was not going to relive that again.

"You're not going to answer?" Jody asked.

"I'm out with some friends," Lorelei said with a smile. "I don't need to talk to him."

Jody smiled and clinked her glass with Lorelei's.

"Cheers to that," Jody said. "You'll be good for him."

Lorelei smiled and drank the mimosa as Lexi ordered more for the table. Lorelei soon was light headed and could feel the room spin. Jody and April spent half of the brunch trying to convince Lorelei to pursue modeling.

She was gaining her liquid courage to confront Jesse about Jody.