Rock Bottom (Bullet) by Jade C. Jamison Read Free Book Online

and to offer advice and a shoulder.  She thought Sam would be perfect.  He wasn’t overly impressed by Ethan’s background.  He was kind and gentle, but she also suspected he could be firm if he needed to be.  She thought he’d be a good fit.
    Both Ethan and Sam approached as everyone else trickled out of the room.  She smiled at them both.  “Ethan, I realize this is your first group with us and you might decide it’s not for you, but i f you are considering staying with us, I’d like to have someone sponsor you.  Now, I’ll just briefly tell you what that is in case you’re not sure.  Basically, your sponsor is someone you can call when you feel like you’re going to give in.  They’re the voice of reason when your head is trying to tell you something else.”  Ethan nodded but didn’t say anything.  “This is Sam, Ethan.  You’ve been…three years sober.  Is that right, Sam?”
    “Yes, a little over three.”
    “Fantastic.  The idea is while no one has the exact same experiences, you’ll still be talking with someone who can empathize—based on past experience—but who can also offer advice if you need that.”  She looked at both men.  “Are you both okay with that?”
    Sam nodded, his usual quiet self, followed by Ethan.  “Yeah, that’s cool.”
    “Well, I’ll let you get to know each other and exchange numbers while I clean up the room.  And, Ethan, if I could also talk to you when you’re done, that would be great.”  She went to the coffee pot first and turned it off.  Normally, she wouldn’t ask to see the new guy on his own, but she had an apology to make, and she needed to do it before she forgot.
    She could tell that Ethan and Sam seemed to be hitting it off, in spite of the fact that they appeared to be very different.  And maybe that’s what Ethan needed.  He’d grown used to worshipping fans—he needed a mentor now, someone he could look up to, and Sam might prove to be that person.
    She’d just finished putting up the chairs and had pulled out her phone to check messages when Sam left the room.  Ethan walked over to her.  Oh, that wasn’t good.  He had that look again, that one that communicated that he believed he was God’s gift to the world.  She’d have to fight her urge to give him a piece of her mind.  He was not an ex-boyfriend, even though he reminded her of so many of them.  He was a client, just a guy—broken—and he needed her help.  So she kept her ire in check and said, “I wanted to apologize to you.”
    He still had the amused look on his face when he said, “For what?”
    “Well…I have this rule.  You can get to know each other outside, but I try to keep it first names only.  It kind of helps with the anonymity thing and lets all of you, I hope, feel a little freer about sharing and being open.  I was thrown off guard when you walked in late and just kind of interrupted everything.  And I guess it’s no excuse, but I broke my own rule.”  She let out a slow breath.  It wasn’t just a rule.  It was the rule.  And, off her game or not, she shouldn’t have done it.
    “It’s cool.”
    “It’s not, and I’m sorry.”
    He shrugged.  “Really.  One of your guys recognized me anyway.  It’s not like I could have pretended to have been no one.  It’s okay.  I’m used to attention.”
    Jenna had felt bad, but he was moving from humble and sweet to cocky in no time flat.  The only thing he hadn’t done was admit that he was not only “used” to attention, he thrived on it.  She could see that already.  But it too was probably some deep-rooted defense mechanism, something he did to hide his real self from everyone else.  Because she had stacked the last few chairs, she started walking toward the doorway.  Ethan followed.  She said, “I don’t know if Dr. Thomas told you, but I also do one-on-one counseling as a Certified Addiction Counselor.  It might be the kind of thing you need.  Granted, I