Jamar "Jam" al-Damiri

[jam-al-damiri]

Gemma was never really sure what happiness was. She’d never considered herself a happy person, but she was content with her life at the moment and that was enough for her. She’d planned on being a linguist by this point in her life, hoping to be a professor some day, but instead she was a household name, and really it wasn’t so bad. Everything had somehow brought her to Jam, and for that she had to be grateful. 

“Sounds like quite the moneybags,” she laughed. Neither of them had to worry about money, she didn’t know the details of his finances, but judging by his apartment, he was doing alright. As for her, Gemma had always been well off, she’d grown up with a hefty trust fund that gave her a comfortable life and on top of that, her royalty sales were more than enough to live on. “I do like it in the morning,” she mumbled against his lips. She wanted him right then, but understood why he wasn’t up for it. She couldn’t imagine doing his job. She was going to make a joke about getting off beside him later on, but when he lay his head on her shoulder she thought better of it. “You wanna go to bed?” she asked, running her hand through his hair. “You don’t have to stay up for me, we have tomorrow.”

Jam had grown up in a wealthy and prestigious family, his father had been a widely respected pediatric cardiologist back in Egypt and had taken a job with the CDC when he and his wife had moved to Atlanta a few years before his death, his mother worked as a translator for the UN after he and his sisters had gotten older and she’d come from a well respected family as well, so they’d lived very well during his childhood.  His initial work as a model had more than taken care of his bills  and funded his lifestyle after he finished his PhD, but it was his job at the club that really solidified his financial status. 

“What can I say? I provide an unusual service, and people are really willing to pay for it if they want the whole experience.  Thankfully the club lets me charge extra when I have to do something that I know is going to make me miserable, it’s not bad for a single nights work.”  Typically he wasn’t spent after a night of the club, but tonight was a special exception, “Feel free to wake me up how ever you wish in the morning,” he said, his voice tired but his tone suggestive.  “I do think bed is a good idea though, in a few minutes though, I’m too tired to get up right now.” 

[jam-al-damiri]

“Aw, tired? Why don’t you let me treat you to it?” She began walking towards the closet coffee shop, turning her blonde head to look at Jam while she talked. “It’s been pretty good. We’re working on transitioning into our fall stock and I can’t wait until it’s done. As much as I love dressing like a 70′s hippie princess in the spring and summer, fall and winter are my two favorite seasons for fashion. Maybe it’s just the fact that I get to be cozy all the time,” she grinned. “Yes, this time of year is huge for retail. Gotta get all those ads pumped out before Black Friday so they can make bank, you know?” 

Jam smiled, “Just a little bit, it’s my own fault though, I had a late night even if I knew I had to get up early.  I’ll let you treat this time, but I’m getting the next one.”  He followed a step behind her, letting her lead the way, “I don’t blame you, I got my fill of summer living in Egypt for as long as I did, I might not tolerate the cold very well, but I still love those seasons too.  You know, I don’t know if I’ve got the look you guys are looking for, but if you ever need some free ad work done, let me know, I don’t mind helping out a friend between jobs, just say so, it’ll be fun” 

[jam-al-damiri]

Caspar leaned against the outside of the building. With a smirk, he plucked the cigarette from Jam’s fingers and took a puff, before handing it back to the man. He breathed out a breath of smoke and laughed. “Why else would I be here, loser? Let’s get going before I have to give you back.” He pushed off from the wall and started walking towards a nearby cafe. “How’s the shoot going?” 

Jam laughed, “You know, I can spot you if you need one.”  He really didn’t mind, in fact he liked the fun back and forth he and Caspar had developed over the course of their friendship.  He had a lot of people that he knew, but he had a tendency to keep people at an arms length and it was nice to have someone in his life he could let his guard down around.  “Lead the way, and it’s going alright.  It’s not the most exciting work, but you’ll be seeing my face all over once the holiday season comes around, I swear every clothing company in the city has me appearing in their catalogs this year.  What are you up to today?”

[jam-al-damiri]

“Yeah, I don’t really think my parents care about that. I’ll always be Hungarian, but I want the benefits of the US. You know, like voting and such. Things I couldn’t do as an immigrant. I’ve also been here forever so it was about time,” she nodded in thought, giving a soft shrug. “Are you sure? I would feel bad if you did.”

“That’s nice, Egyptians are...well I can’t make generalizations about everyone, but my parents are kind of obsessive about where we come from.  Since I left, even though they’re living in the US now, they’re terrified I’m going to lose all my culture.  Maybe one day I’ll break down and do it, but for now I’m just going to stay as is.”  Jame smiled at her, “Of course I’m sure, this is a celebration, isn’t it? I wouldn’t make you buy your own drinks on your birthday either, what are you having?” 

[jam-al-damiri]

“Well, I have about four hours left of my break”, Maddox said with a grin. That was extremely subjective, it could be eight hours, he could end up working at the table while having coffee. He worked when he felt like it. He wondered out of his house to have a walk and a smoke, that was why Monkey wasn’t with him. He didn’t smoke around his fluffy child. It was his best attempt at quitting. “You should quit, Jam.” 

“Lucky.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy modeling, but it’s the time of year where all the clothing companies do their Christmas catalogs, so I’ve been playing Happy Families for two weeks and I might have the look for it, but it’s not really my style.”  He didn’t mind catalog work, but he preferred runway and higher level fashion work if he could get it.  “I would if I could, or maybe I wouldn’t, I don’t know.  I know it’s bad far me, everyone knows that, but I like it, it relaxes me.  What about you? Are you quitting?” 

[jam-al-damiri]

Sometimes Gemma wondered how different her life would have been if she’d met Jam sooner. Maybe she would have settled down, stayed out of trouble. It was easy to wonder, but she was happy to be with him then. Moving to Chicago had been a bit of a whim for her, having moved from Boston back to New York after leaving Harvard she’d spent long enough there, wanting a change she found a loft in Chicago and packed her cats, two years later she hadn’t gotten sick of the new city. 

“I hope he at least tipped well then,” she laughed, snuggling a little closer. “You just say the word and we both know I’ll make something else explode,” she winked, then snorted a giggle. It was nice to have his warmth around her, she found herself missing him when they were apart, which was new to her. “I’ll make sure I pass the message along,” Gemma kissed his cheek, catching the corner of his mouth.

Jam’s life had taken a turn that he’d never seen coming in the past few 15 years.  He’d planned to become an archaeologist and had gone so far as to get his PhD in Archaeology, but he’d gotten his first modeling job in college and had done so well, he decided to stick with it and when things ended badly with his old girlfriend, he’d moved to Chicago and never looked back. He wasn’t a religious person, but he believed that things weren’t just random, everything he’d done had lead him to the club where he’d met Gemma, and he was happy he was there. 

“Oh yeah, he’s definitely bankrolling our next meal together, weather we order in or we go out, he’s got us covered.”  He rolled his eyes, but in a playful way, “I might take you up  on that in the morning,  I’m exhausted right now, I could probably sleep here for hours right now.”  He smiled at her kiss and turned his head so he could kiss her properly.  “Are you okay if I’m not up for it right now? It’s not that I don’t want to, I just feel like there’s a drum circle in my brain and the shower and the Benadryl didn’t help.”  He laid his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes, he wasn’t asleep, but he could have dozed off right there.

[jam-al-damiri]

Luckily Zachary had a day off today because he really needed it. Work was exhausting and he didn’t get to be outside much, so when he was off, he was out walking and just enjoying the day. It was only whenever he thought he noticed a familiar face that he grinned and said, “I don’t know, stranger. I don’t let just anyone take me for some coffee.”

He then shook his head, obviously showing he was joking, “Sure. Come on, let’s go.”

Jam was the last person in the world who would be called “outdoorsy.”  He was only ever outside when he wasn’t allowed to smoke inside or when he was walking home from the club at night, otherwise you’d always find him inside.  Today he was working on a Christmas catalog that was being put out for a clothing company and their image didn’t involve him smoking, so he’d stepped outside and was glad to run into Zachary. 

“And I was going to treat too,” Jam said with a laugh, “It is on me, but I don’t know any places in this area, is there a good coffee shop around here?”“ 

[jam-al-damiri]

Since moving from New York to Chicago two years ago, Gemma had been in more beds than she could count. She had always been a bit promiscuous and didn’t pretend otherwise. She liked the thrill of hooking up and loved the companionship of having someone to wake up to, even if she never saw them again. With Jam it was different though, she seldom felt the urge to dash out in the morning or make any kind of escape.

“Sounds very spiritual,” she teased, having always related incense to some kind of religious practice. She was far from religious herself but she remembered going to mass on Christmas and Easter and smelling the incense. “Bet I can make you feel better,” she remarked, snuggling against him. “They weren’t too pleased to see me go, but I promised to get some of the fancy canned food on my way home so they eventually calmed down,” she chuckled. “Besides, I spent more time playing with them today than I did writing so they’re pretty humaned out.”

Jam found it funny that they’d both lived in New York before coming to Chicago, even if they hadn’t known each other.  His parents had followed him from Egypt and his sisters had followed them, and they were now living all over the country, with his favorite sister and her two children living nearby, it was nice to have them nearby, but he was very happy to have them close by.  He hadn’t mentioned Gemma to them yet, though she was sure they suspected he was seeing someone.  Right now though, he was just enjoying her presence and not spending every night by himself, he would have gotten a pet if he could stand having an animal in his home all the time.  He liked Gemma’s cats, but also enjoyed being able to get away from them when he was having a particularly rough day. 

“It was something,” he said with a laugh.  “The client was happy, that’s all that matters, but the end of the night I thought my head was going to explode, and I haven’t ruled that out as a possibility tonight.”  He relaxed and wrapped his arms around her, glad to have an opportunity to just cuddle for a while without having to work to please anyone.  “Bribery.  That works on my nieces and nephews too.  When you get home, make sure you thank them for sharing their mother with me.” 

[jam-al-damiri]

Orion had just gotten off work and he was admittedly a bit exhausted from doing an overnight, on call. Being a full-time paramedic was hard enough without him having a show tonight at the club. He was still in his uniform, pushing his hair out of his face before realizing who was talking to him. “Oh, hey!” He laughed. “I was just about to get coffee… just finished a 10 hour overnight.” He pointed out. The 6′7″ man slowed down to catch Jam’s stride. 

Jam had been working his day job for a few hours, pretending to be a family man for the Christmas catalog a clothing company was getting ready to put out.  It wasn’t the most exciting work, but it provided a good cover for his other job, which he kept a secret from most people.  Thankfully, Orion wasn’t someone he had to hide from, they didn’t work in the same place, but they ran in some similar circles and had become good friends over time.  “Sounds great! I was at the club until 4 and they needed me for this job at 7, I’m about ready to collapse.  I don’t know this area very well though, is there a good coffee place around here?” 

[jam-al-damiri]

Matt had been forcing himself to go out and take more walks recently because he realized he was becoming more stagnant. He didn’t know if it was his depression flaring up or he was growing lazy with age, but he supposed it didn’t matter as long as he tried to change it. It was out on that walk that he heard a semi-familiar voice. While he didn’t know Jam well, he liked him

“Oh hi!” He waved, pulling to a stop. “Yeah, we should go do that. There is a place down the street that is nice. Not my place so not free, but still good.”

Jam wasn’t really an outdoorsy person, he only went outside when he wasn’t allowed to smoke inside or when he was walking home in the early hours of the morning after work, his job made him feel exposed and vulnerable and he preferred to keep to himself.  That being said, when he ran into someone he knew, he never wanted to be unfriendly. 

“I think I can afford two cups of coffee, though I would rather go to your place. Lead the way.” He said with a smile, “I haven’t seen you in a while, things have been pretty busy, how have you been?” 

[jam-al-damiri]

While Gemma wasn’t exactly the best girlfriend in the world, she’d slowly come to find a routine with Jam in the last six months. She wasn’t entirely sure where they stood on exclusivity but she cared about him more than she was willing to admit to herself. 

After feeding the cats for the night, she collected her laptop and a few things and made her way to the place she’d come to consider a second home. After a day of writing, she’d been looking forward to some leisure time, but it wasn’t soon after arriving that she drifted off on the couch, her music still playing from the stereo softly and her computer open on the coffee table. Sleeping through his arrival, Gemma was slightly startled when Jam woke her, more so surprised that she’d fallen asleep than surprised to see him. “Hi,” she grinned, stretching her arms above her head. Her eyes were still lined with black liner and her jeans hung low on her hips, covered by a blanket. “C’mere for a bit,” she reached out towards him, finding his hand and tugging him towards her. “How was your night?”

Jam hadn’t been in a relationship for a long time.  He’d been in a serious relationship back when he lived in New York, but they’d had a breakup so bad he’d relocated to Chicago and had been single for a long time.  Meeting Gemma had been a chance encounter, she could have been paired up with any of the “performers” at the club, but she was assigned to him and after giving the the rundown of what went on there, he found that he enjoyed talking to her and from there they’d been seeing each other.  They hadn’t discussed the seriousness of their relationship, but he’d dated so rarely he wasn’t exactly entertaining a lot of offers, so he wasn’t seeing anyone else, but until they talked it out, he didn’t mind if she was seeing anyone else. 

He was exhausted, but he didn’t have a modeling job the next day, so there was time to sleep later, so he joined her on the couch.  “It was a long one, they paired me with someone who had me spend most of the night in the incense room and I always get a sinus headache when I’m in there, it’ll be fine in the morning though.  What about you? You obviously made it here alright, the cats let you leave without too much protest, I take it.” 

[jam-al-damiri]

Jam didn’t get home most nights until after 4 AM, the club stayed open until 3 and he always walked home.  Unless he was really feeling badly, he thought the fresh air did him good., he had a pretty standard routine every night, he’d pop a couple of Benadryl, take a long shower, stop at at a late-night food truck and then head home to sleep.  The routine had served him well, but for the last six months, he’d been spending more of his nights with Gemma, and it was a nice change to have someone to come home to. 

They were spending this particular night at his apartment, which was a nice as he’d developed a slight headache over the course of the night and he was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed.  Most of the lights were out when he arrived and he assumed she’d gone to bed, he didn’t expect her to wait up for him, but he found her asleep on the couch in the living room and left her for a minute, changing into something more comfortable before gently waking her, his voice a little heavy with congestion, but better than it had been on other occasions when he’d come home. “Hey, do you want to come to bed or should we stay out here for a little while.” 

@gemma-c-bg​

[jam-al-damiri]

It was starting to cool down outside and Jam was thrilled.  He’d grown up in Egypt and had been used to the heat, but he’d been living in New York and Chicago since he was 18 and he’d lost his tolerance for heat.  He had a catalog shoot that day and he was on a break for a little while, standing on the street outside the studio so he could smoke when he saw someone he knew. 

“Hey! You know, I’ve got about 45 minute left on break and I’m dying for some coffee, do you want to go grab some before I have to go back in.” 

@chicagcstart​

[jam-al-damiri]

“Huh? Oh, hey!” Nicolette smiled and strutted over to Jam, heels clicking on the sidewalk. “I just left the shop so I could use a little pick me up before I go home. Don’t really want to waste my afternoon napping on the couch, you know?” She laughed. “So, what are you up to today?”

Jam smiled again, “Great.  I had a late night and had to be up early to do this and I could use the biggest coffee one of these shops is legally allowed to give me.  Did you have a good day at the shop?  I have a shoot for a clothing company today, some catalog and website stuff and a few overly domestic catalog shoots, nothing too exciting, but it pays the bills.  Places are doing their Christmas shoots now so their catalogs will be ready in time, so I’m getting a lot of work at the moment.” 

[jam-al-damiri]

It was starting to cool down outside and Jam was thrilled.  He’d grown up in Egypt and had been used to the heat, but he’d been living in New York and Chicago since he was 18 and he’d lost his tolerance for heat.  He had a catalog shoot that day and he was on a break for a little while, standing on the street outside the studio so he could smoke when he saw someone he knew. 

“Hey! You know, I’ve got about 45 minute left on break and I’m dying for some coffee, do you want to go grab some before I have to go back in.” 

@chicagcstart​

[axelle-dherblay-deactivated2020]

“Do they have a manual on how to understand fuck boys? Because all of the messages I’ve gotten on this absolutely trash of an app my friend set me up on confuse the shet out of me.” Mak groaned softly, glancing at the newest notifications on her phone. “I’ve kept it around this long for some humor, but its just gotten weirder overtime. I think some of these are supposed to be pick up lines, but I have no idea at this point.” She shook her head before letting out a dry chuckle, slipping her phone away. “And apparently my new staple courtesy of my friend is I taste like pineapple so that’s fun. Anyways, that’s my fun experience with dating apps...I can see why most don’t like to use them. Have you?” @chicagcstart

[jam-al-damiri]

“They probably should, I’ve run into a few in my day and half the time it’s like they’re speaking another language.  And why do so many of them thing it’s attractive to post that “Shirtless, baseball cap and sunglasses, holding a fish they caught” picture? They all look exactly the same and it’s infuriating.  I don’t fish, but even if I did, you’d never see me take a picture like that.  I see why it’s funny though, the pickup lines can be good for a laugh, if nothing else.”  Jam smiled, when she mentioned tasting like pineapple and he wondered, briefly, if he tasted like anything, he’d have to ask Gemma later.  “I’ve been off for a while, you know I’ve kind of vaguely been seeing someone, but we’re pretty much officially together now so I haven’t deleted any of them, but I haven’t opened any of the ones I’ve got in about six months.”

[viktoriaaliz-t]

“Guess who is now officially an American citizen?” Viktoria smiled bright as she gave a little dance at the bar. It took forever, but she finally was free of any visas that she had. She truly didn’t realize how much went into it until she started the process three years ago. “I want to celebrate. Do you want to take a shot with me? Or I can buy you and drink and we can dance? Please celebrate with me,” she looked over at the person with puppy eyes that stayed with the smile. @chicagcstart​

[jam-al-damiri]

“Really? That’s exciting,”  Jam said, smiling.  “I still haven’t actually done that yet, I started on a student visa and now I’m on a working one, it would probably be easier to just become a citizen, but my mother would be devastated if I gave up my Egyptian citizenship, so maybe I’ll wait for a while.”  He checked his watch, he still had about two hours before he needed to go to work and he liked to have a drink before going to the club.  “We can have a drink, but you’re celebrating, so I’m buying, whatever you want, it’s on me.” 

[jam-al-damiri]