Page 39 of The Wrong Side Of Us

“You okay there, Natey?”

I glanced up, only to find Jesse holding up two glasses of wine.

“Thanks.” I downed the liquid in one gulp. Jesse eyed me curiously as she served me more wine. “I’m fucking tired.”

“I noticed,” Jesse murmured, taking a sip of the wine as well. “Everything okay?”

My girlfriend is pregnant, and I’m very worried about her, but yes, everything is okay.

“Yeah, everything is fine,” I said with a tight smile. ”Were you able to organize the exhibition?”

She nodded, sitting back and crossing her legs. “I was. Are you almost done with that paperwork?”

“Yeah.”

Jessica grinned. “Thank God. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

I chuckled, though I was sure it didn’t meet my eyes. I watched as she stood with the glass of wine in her hand and walked toward the window. Something was on her mind. It was rare that Jesse was ever this quiet.

“What’s going on, Jesse?”

“I wonder sometimes…about you, about Evelyn. How did you two get so lucky to find each other? How did she get so lucky to find a man like you? How you got lucky enough to find a woman like her?” I waited while she took a sip of wine, her gaze meeting my own after a few seconds. “I have to admit, I’m jealous.”

“Jealous?”

She laughed softly. “Of your relationship, silly. You two seem stable, happy.”

“We are,” I agreed. “You’ll find your own one day, Jesse. Just be patient. Have fun for now.”

“I can’t. That dude left me all sorts of fucked up.” I saw her throat move as she swallowed, her eyes shining with tears.

I knew she had been serious with the guy she dated. It just so happened that he wasn’t serious with her. I’d warned her after seeing the way he treated her, but she was so head over heels she didn’t listen.

“Dude wasn’t worth it,” I said, giving her arm a comforting squeeze. Jesse nodded, wiping away her tears before giving me a small smile.

“Let’s get back to work Maxwell.”

***

The condo was dark and quiet when I arrived. I turned on the light to the kitchen, and sure enough, the evidence of Evelyn’s dinner was there: an empty bag of cereal. Thankful that I’d eaten on my way home, I turned off the light and walked back to the bedroom.

She slept soundly on her side, curled up on the bed. I placed a kiss on her forehead and started taking off my clothes, brushed my teeth, and took my time just standing there.

I hated being away from her so long.

Finally, I made my way to the bed, pulled the sheets back, and laid next to her. She turned to face me, and her eyes fluttered opened.

“You’re home,” she whispered.

“I’m home,” I whispered back, brushing a curl away from her face. “How are you feeling?”

She giggled quietly when I leaned down and kissed her. “I’m better, just a bit tired. What time is it?”

“A bit past ten,” I murmured.

Evie frowned, now seemingly more awake. “It’s so late. Did you finish what you needed to do?”

“I did,” I answered. That relaxed her a bit, though I felt the need to warn her that the weekend would be crazy. However, as she searched out my embrace, I decided I could do that later.

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