"You're not what I expected; you know that?" There was a chuckle in his voice.
"How so?" She questioned, more curious than anything.
"I think it was the Burberrys that threw me off."
"Do you have something against my shoes?" She looked down at her feet, admiring the beige striped sneakers that she had snagged for a great deal at Bloomingdales. "Just because I'm a female who wears designer brands doesn't mean I'm a snob." "They're my favorite color, and they match my outfit," she added.
He nodded his head and smiled. "That, they do."
"Well, you're not what I expected, either," she yawned. She wasn't a teenager anymore; her age was long past the nights of staying awake this late.
"Oh, and what were you expecting?" He asked, sitting up to take his jacket off. Jade wanted to ask why he was making himself more comfortable. Perhaps because he realized she wasn't drunk?
"I don't know," she replied instead, "At the bar, I thought you were just trying to get me drunk so you could have sex with me. But, here we are..." As she spoke the words aloud, it baffled her. She couldn't recall a time when a man wouldn't have taken advantage of the opportunity, even if she were drunk.
He gazed up at the ceiling and chuckled to himself, "Tonight, mostly had nothing to do with sex. In all honesty, you've been a breath of fresh air."
"Mostly?""Well, I would be lying if I said the thought never occurred to me, but tonight I enjoyed just letting loose with you. It gets tiring being surrounded by stuffy people who take everything so damn seriously all the time. Sometimes I want there to be more to my life than just work, and you've made tonight very interesting.""Yeah, well, alcohol seems to have a way of opening me up. I have my serious persona, too," she replied, "I'm very professional at work."
He thought to himself for a moment and then frowned. "Speaking of which, I have to go into the office tomorrow morning— well, this morning, I guess you could say."
"Oh mannn," she grimaced, "That wasn't a slur, I promise. It's just the thought of working on a Saturday with a hangover? No, thank you," she wrinkled her nose at the thought.
"I'm used to working weekends," he shrugged, seemingly not bothered by the idea. "It helps keep my mind off of other things."
"So, what do you do?" Jade asked, just trying to follow the natural order of conversation. Maybe this would lead to somewhere.
There was a long pause as he considered how to explain his job description. "I mainly deal with financial management, boring stuff. I work over at the Odyssey building." She could tell he was trying to play it off casually, but the tone of his voice said that he wasn't interested in talking about his job. She didn't blame him; she hated discussing work outside the office too.
"That's cool," she shrugged. She had no idea what the company was or what it did, but she always passed by the big, bold glowing letters on top of Philly's second tallest building that readout Odyssey every time she came into the city.
"So Jade," he emphasized her name like it was his new favorite word, "Where do you work?"
She sat up and tugged off her beloved sneakers, wiggling her toes. She turned to him, "I work at Unisoft. It's like an hour from here." She waved a hand in the direction she thought it might be.
He thought to himself for a moment, "Unisoft, that's an I.T. company out in Allentown, right?"
She smirked suspiciously at him, wondering how he would know that information. Most people never heard of Unisoft unless they lived in Allentown because it was such a small firm. "Um, it is. I'm a project coordinator, but I won't be there for long. Eventually, I'm going to start looking for something a little closer to the Philly area, so I don't have to commute every day."
"Oh, do you live in Philadelphia?"
"Not yet, but I'll be apartment hunting soon. Yay, my favorite," she responded with sarcasm."I take it you don't frequent Londons often either?"She gave him a puzzled look, "Londons?"
"The bar we were in earlier," He clarified, but her confusion had already given him an answer.
"Oh, God no," she sighed, "Going to bars isn't really my thing. I don't ordinarily drink anything stronger than wine either, because as you have witnessed, it makes me stupid." She hoped this would shed her into a new light. "As I said before, I've had a rough day. On the way to my friend's house, I saw the place and just thought that I could use a drink."
"Well, that's good to hear about you not going there. That place is bad news," He mumbled.
"Hm, well, I met you there. So what does that say about you?"
"I was only there for business."
"Uh-huh?" She gave him a puzzled head tilt, hoping for some clarity.
"When I excused myself earlier, it was because I had a meeting with the owner. We discussed him selling the place," he explained.
Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Ew. Do you plan on buying that dump? Why?"
"No, Odyssey sent me to negotiate with him because of the property that it's sitting on."
She shook her head in agreeance. "I feel like I need a hot shower and tetanus shot just from being in there," she snorted.
"Well, in any case, I'm glad we both happened to be there tonight," he smiled at her, "You've been a nice distraction from everything going on right now."
She was curious by what he meant but decided she didn't want to ruin the mood by prying. She could take a hint; he didn't want to talk about the serious stuff. He wanted them to keep their baggage zipped up tightly.
There was a moment of silence before he twisted his neck, staring at her now. He smiled, "I don't know you've managed it, but you've proven me wrong.""So, you finally believe me," she stated, turning onto her side. She propped herself up on her elbow, resting her head against her fist. "I'm not a..." she paused, trying to organize her thoughts. "I don't normally end up in hotel rooms with guys I don't know. The moment you entered the elevator with me, I sobered up," she admitted.
"Well," he whispered, turning onto his side as well, "Thank you for having patience and not kicking me out."
(Warning: This book does contain explicit sex scenes. If you're comfortable with that, feel free to proceed to the next chapter)Jade gave a shy smile. She couldn't deny the connection she felt as he gazed down at her. She sensed an inviting pull between them. His hand softly cupped her face and pulled her chin closer. He kissed her.Her heart and thoughts raced as the intensity between them grew, him no longer holding back. His mouth and hands wandered, causing a tingle to erupt over her skin; warmth and desire for him were felt in distant places. Jade forced back her subconscious. She was definitely sobering up, coming to terms with the reality of their situation. Her insecurities were now at the forefront of her thoughts. She took in a deep breath, trying to find a way to overcome her fears. It didn't matter how many men told her she was beautiful; she never felt it. Having sex meant that she couldn't hide behind her clothing. He would witness every imperfection. What if he took one look at her body and changed his mind?She closed her eyes, recalling her past relationships. There weren't
Jade's eyes sprung open to a loud, rapid tapping coming from behind the hotel room's closed door. "Housekeeping," a woman's voice announced.She pushed herself up from the soft, feathered pillow, trying to get her bearings together.Yesterday morning, the drive to Philadelphia, the bar, him, walking to the hotel together, what they did— the recollection flooded her mind at once. Her head was throbbing, and the fog of sleep had yet to lift. The clock on the nightstand beside her read that it was past eleven a.m."Just a minute," Jade pleaded, her voice dry and raspy. She sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. The room was dim, shadowed by an overcast sky. A sheet of rain drummed against the glass pane of the picture window beside her, the plump beads cascading down it like a waterfall. The other half of the bed was now cold and empty, only a slight indentation of his existence remaining on the pillow. She didn't remember him leaving. She barely ha
Jade wished she hadn't already paid for another night at the hotel but didn't bother mentioning it. She would be more comfortable hanging amongst her friend, anyway. As it grew dark out, they cracked open a second bottle, and Jade divulged what happened after she got off the phone. She spared no detail; every moment of it was too good not to share."You're shittin' me?" Marissa gasped, covering her mouth. The twang of a Georgian accent had slipped through with the wine. She hadn't lived there since she was a child, but it still emerged when she drank. You'd never know otherwise.Jade laughed, "It's not like Jonathon and I never... had sex ... obviously, but last night was just so much better. I can't even explain it. It wasn't so..""Vanilla," Marissa finished her sentence.
"Oh crap," The words barely escaped Jade's lips before she threw herself over the side of the bed and puked up warm, clear liquid onto the hardwood floor. It was all the water Marissa had insisted she drink before she went to bed last night. A sharp jolt shot through her neck from where she'd been sleeping on it wrong, and her head throbbed with pain."It's about time you woke up," Jade heard from the doorway. She looked up to see Marissa standing there in an oversized t-shirt and knee socks; her braids pulled back into a messy beehive.She didn't even seem hungover.Jade only wished she wasn't either. She felt miserable as she heard the scratching from Marissa's socks, shuffling down the hallway floorboards and then reappearing only moments later. She placed a large plastic bowl onto the bedroom floor and scooted it towards Jade with her foot. "Thanks," Jade muttered before hugging the bowl and heaving again. "What time is it?" she groaned and shifted onto
"Aren't these my pants?" Jade shouted as she walked through the living room, scanning the house for Marissa."They sure are. That's your shirt too," her voice replied from the kitchen. Jade hadn't even recognized the shirt. She wiggled her toes through the fuzzy socks Marissa had given her as she waltzed into the room."How old are these? I can't believe they still fit," Jade gleamed proudly."You left them here when I first moved in, so I don't know. Like a year, maybe?" Marissa shrugged."Oh," She replied, disappointed.Marissa slid a stack of pancakes covered in syrup and slices of banana in front of Jade before asking what her plans were for the day."I have like,thelongest list of things I need to do. I have to change the password to every account I have, find a place to live, find a new job—""A new job?" She interrupted."Well yeah, it would only make sense to find a different job. I only s
"Another crappy day,"Jade thought to herself as she stared from the living room window out onto the front lawn. Through the dawn, she witnessed brown puddles from the downpour quickly expanding, running over and down the edges of the sidewalk and spilling onto the pavement of the quiet street. The crackling thunder had startled her awake. Last night she had fallen asleep thinking of all the plans she wanted to fulfill today. She thought she might do a bit of shopping to personalize her new room, maybe even take a jog around the neighborhood and explore. She could feel herself getting antsy, the weather keeping her stuck indoors for far longer than she liked. She took a sip of warm coffee from her mug and let out a long sigh. She needed to keep herself distracted, and this weather wasn't helping."What're you doin' up this early?" Marissa yawned from the opening of the hallway. Jade turned in surprise towards the figure standing on the other side of the darkling
She could feel the anxiety swelling up inside of her. Her palms turned cold and sweaty as she held the phone and scrolled through her list of contacts. She quickly called the number listed for Grovington, the nursing facility her mother stayed in.Why hadn't she thought about that? She could never ignore her phone because of that very reason. How could she be so stupid?She was on the brink of crying as the number went straight to a voicemail, the recording stating that it was after hours. She tried again, hoping it was just a fluke. Again, there was no answer. Jade took a few deep breaths in, trying to control her breathing, trying to rationalize the situation. She listened to her voicemails, quickly skipping through them until she found one from the receptionist. Only it was too vague; it just asked her to call them back. If it were an emergency, they would have said something about it, right? She knew she was overreacting, but still— her mother.
She leaned against the reception window, causing the worker to look up at her. "Hi, I'm Jade Meadows. I'm here to sign the medication authorization form for my mother, Margaret Meadows." Her lungs burned as she was forced to take in a breath, overpowered by the stench of peach cobbler, urine, and old people. She looked back and forth between the two nurses, wondering how either one of them could stand it. They seemed unbothered, acclimated to the foul odor. The woman typed something into her computer and then searched through a tower of brown clipboards, handing her one. Jade scanned over the form to sign, noting that it looked identical to each previous one she'd agreed to."And are you going to visit your mother today?" The receptionist politely asked as Jade handed the clipboard back to her. She'd seen her dozens of times before but still couldn't remember the woman's name. She glanced down at her nametag,Rita.She hated Rita at that moment.