Read Simon: Rockstar Romance (The ProVokaTiv Series Book 3) for Free Online

whatever had gotten to her last night was over and done with—I hoped. Only one way to find out.
    “Jessie, good morning, how are you? Simon here. It’s 8 AM, not too early, I hope.”
    “Hey Simon, no, it’s not too early,” she said.
    I paused, wanting to assess her tone. It seemed fine.
    “Hello,” she said. “You still there?”
    “Sorry about that, yeah, I’m here. I wanted to see if you’re free this morning?” I asked.
    “I’m actually on my way out to Lake Calhoun for a run. I can meet you later if you want, say 11:00.”
    “Are you up to having me join you for your run? A bit of exercise would do me good and I could check off one of the 10,000 lakes this blustery state is known for.”
    “I…uh…sure,” she said.
    “It’s okay if you don’t want to,” I said. “I can only go about ten miles max.”
    “Actually, I’d love to have you join me for a run. I think it would be absolutely great,” she said.
    “Why do I feel like you’re smiling in a wicked way? Not trying to knock me off and toss me into the lake, are you?”
    “No, do you know how to get there?” Jessie asked.
    “I can figure it out,” I said.
    “I’ll just come get you. It’ll be easier, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “Fifteen minutes?” she asked.
    “No problem. I’ll just go down to the sidewalk so you don’t have to find a place to park.”
     
    Fifteen minutes later, I watched her Jetta pull up. Jessie waved and I ran to the road and got in quickly, waving at the horns protesting the disturbance in their movement.
    “Where’s that Minnesota nice I heard about?” I asked, laughing.
    “Yeah, not there when it comes to driving,” Jessie replied.
    “Do you honk your horn like that?”
    “No, not really. I’d rather sing or think about whatever I have going on. That just gets me edgy.”
    “Makes sense. Do you sing good?”
    “I’m not tone deaf, but I definitely don’t have skills.”
    “Yeah, me either, much. I can do the small back-up bits, but I like leaving the main part of the vocals to Gauge and Hunter.”
    “How far do you usually run?”
    “The lake is a 3.1 mile loop, so it’s more like a sprint,” she said, giving me a little smile and a sideways glance.
    “Yeah, right. No one can sprint pace 3.1 miles, Jess.”
    “Maybe you can’t, but I can.” She gave a nonchalant shrug. She was bating me. She had to be.
    “Up for the challenge?” I asked.
    “What should we wager?”
    “Whatever you feel you can lose,” I answered with borderline arrogance; it was playful, but it was also kind of true.
    “Okay, well, I don’t have much money. Let’s see…I know, how about bragging rights? Everyone loves those, especially a business guy like you.”
    “Interesting offer, Ms. Martineau. Bragging rights reference success, which I definitely like. It doesn’t sound like something a humanitarian would really do, though.”
    “Oh, I don’t think you have us humanitarians pegged at all,” she said to me.
    I could not disagree with that.  Believe me, I felt compelled to figure out she meshed her heart of gold with the practical common sense and brain smarts that you needed for success. I had planned on asking about it last night, but that went awry fast.
    We got to the parking lot and the first thing I admired was the way Jessie looked. I’d loved that she had no make-up on when she picked me up, her hair piled up on her head in a kind of wild way, but her ¾ length spandex pants made her ass look incredible. I couldn’t help but notice and I had to focus so I didn’t stare.
    I looked around at the non-human scenery, admiring the area quite a bit. Big trees, a nice path, a beautiful lake, and nice Victorian style homes meshed with modern ones.  “This is a place I could see myself living,” I said. I looked at Jessie and she was smiling at me, but her nose was wrinkled quite a bit. It made me feel like she thought I couldn’t handle it. Who couldn’t handle Minnesota, really? Well, maybe in