I watch them head out the door before I turn to check my phone again. Still nothing from Nathan. That's two text messages that he's probably not going to see until he's back in New York on Monday morning. I have to give up the notion that he's going to respond to me when he's with his family. He's already made it clear that they're his priority when he's there.
I turn to head down the hallway towards my bedroom when I hear a key in the apartment lock. I don’t want to entertain anyone. Maybe if I can get behind my closed door and into my bed before they notice me, I'll be home free.
"Jess." Rebecca's voice calls to me just as I have my bedroom doorknob in my grasp. "What's going on?"
"Naptime." I smile through gritted teeth. We haven't spoken much more than a few words to each other in more than week. With our conflicting work schedules and my routine of staying at Nathan's every night now, we just didn't connect anymore.
"Make it a siesta. We're going clubbing tonight." It's a statement, not a question and I'm not amused.
"We're not." I stress the words across my lips. "I'm so drained. I'm going to stay in and sleep."
"Bryce and that boring girlfriend of his are going with me. You should too."
"I don’t feel up to it." It's only a half lie. I know Nathan wouldn’t want me hanging out in a club when he's away. He's told me as much more than once.
"Just call Fingers and tell him. You can skip the guilty conscience that way."
"He..." my voice trails as I realize I can't confess that he doesn't respond to me when he's away. She won't get it.
"I'll come for a couple of hours," I acquiesce. If I just go, I won't feel as badly the next time I blow a dinner invitation with her off for a night with Nathan.
"Go to bed." She pushes me through the doorway into my room. "I'll wake you when it's time to get ready."
***
I know you won't see this but I'm going clubbing with my roommates. Don’t freak out.
I press send and toss my phone into my purse as the taxi pulls away from the curb in front of our apartment.
"Did you send a message to the old man telling him you were out having a life?" Rebecca's comment pulls a giggle out of both Trudy and Bryce.
"I did." I can't shelter a smile as I realize that I've missed hanging out with her. She knows what I need and one night with friends is exactly what I want right now.
"Coincidentally, we're going to start at the club where you met Fingers."
"Fingers?" A wide smile covers Trudy's face. It's the most emotion I've seen her express since she arrived.
"It's a name we call her boyfriend." Rebecca rolls her eyes as she motions in my direction. "Don’t ask."
"Why are we going there?" I whine into her shoulder. "I hate that place."
"You hate that place because his fuck pad is there." She doesn't try and temper her tone at all.
"He gave that up."
"Don’t be so sure, Jess." She cocks a brow. "Remember how I told you men like that never change."
"He's different," I say glumly. Why did I agree to go with them back to that club? I don't want to think about how many women Nathan fucked in that room when he's been so open with me lately. He may not have told me in so many words, but I could feel his resistance slipping away. I know within me that he's falling for me as fast and hard as I'm falling for him.
"You're second guessing him, aren't you?" I'm thankful that she whispers the question into my ear. I don't need Bryce and Trudy witnessing all the self-doubt I'm suddenly feeling wash over me.
"No." I wasn't. I didn't doubt him at all. He told me he gave up the fuck pad and he'd done nothing since that moment to make me doubt that.
Chapter 21
"He's in Boston, Jess." I can smell the tequila on Rebecca's breath even though she's three feet away from me.
"I know he is." I shoot back. I want to leave. I hate being in this place. Every time I pull my gaze up I see a beautiful women and I instantly wonder whether Nathan's fucked her at some point.