Page 99 of The Wrong Side Of Us

Chapter 38

Nathan

I took a step back while Jessica took a step forward, still naked and with clear intentions as far as what she wanted to happen. My gaze fell on the bottle of wine that was open on the desk, and my fists clenched. She was drunk.

Those few seconds were enough.

Jessica took the opportunity to step directly in front of me, pressing her body to me and her hands on either side of my face, locking her lips with mine. I stilled my hands, not wanting to touch her waist or any other part of her body. However, when I took hold of her arms, my hands accidentally brushed the sides of the breasts, and she giggled, stumbling backwards.

“See,” she smiled lazily, her blue eyes sparkling, “you want me too.”

I shook my head, wiping the feel of her lips on mine away with the back of my hand. I walked over to the area where Jessica had dropped the robe to give it back to her, trying my best to avoid looking at her. I couldn’t believe she was doing this, that she actually believed that this was a way to get my attention. I would never deny she was beautiful and attractive, but this wasn’t going to ever happen.

“What the fuck are you thinking?” I hissed, my fist holding the robe in a tight grip. Either our friendship never existed to her or she’d completely lost her mind.

Shit.

“You want me,” she murmured, arching her back provocatively as she spoke. “I can tell by the way you’re trying to hold back.”

I cleared my throat, stepping back until I was by the door.

Fuck it.

This was bad, bad no matter how I looked at it.

“Come here, Nathan.” She bit her lip seductively, destroying any remaining trace of our friendship.

“You’re fucking insane,” I spat, slamming the door shut behind me as I walked out of the office and later locking the door to the gallery.

I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut and wishing the image of Jessica away. Taking out my phone, I dialed the only person who could handle her.

“Hey, man,” Thomas greeted me.

Not wanting to linger there any longer, I went straight to the point. “Come get Jessica at the gallery. Now.”

I hung up without a further word and got in my car, my hands hitting the steering wheel with fury.

Evie was understanding, but fuck, something like this was too difficult to understand. And I stood there like an idiot too long. Far too long. She would hold me accountable for the few seconds I remained stupefied in front of Jessica. How the fuck was I going to explain that?

Talking to her in person had been a stupid idea.

I had to tell Evelyn; there was no doubt about it. She would end up hurt again, but hiding this from her would cause her much more pain.

It seemed as if all the problems would never end for us, each one of them proving harder than the last.

Finally, I pulled out and began my drive to the house, trying to come up with an explanation that wouldn’t drive Evelyn completely insane.

***

I arrived at the condo only to find it empty. It was night time, so I was sure that Evie was no longer at the hospital. With everything that happened, I didn’t check my phone, even when I called Tom. She’d sent a message earlier saying she planned on visiting Carter too. The air in the house felt constricting, the clothes I wore suffocating. It felt like I betrayed Evelyn just by seeing Jessica. Granted, what she did hadn’t been my fault, but it felt wrong.

I tugged at the shirt I wore, taking it off and throwing it in the trash. I did the same with the rest of the clothing, eager to never see them again. To me, it was all dirty, stained, and worthless. Another woman’s body had touched it. I didn’t need a constant reminder of it. Surely, Evelyn wouldn’t want that shit around, either.

Guilt appeared. I’d cheated on Hannah, my ex-wife, with her sister and never felt bad at all because I never loved her, and she didn’t love me.

This time, it hadn’t even crossed my mind to cheat, and just having seen another woman in that state was too much to bear. Though I knew Evelyn well, like the palm of my hand, I had no idea how she would react.

No matter how I tried to word the situation in my mind, it still sounded awful.

---