Page 15 of Myself

“Jaycent ...” I breathe, closing my eyes. Then I feel his lips on mine. I wrap my arms around his neck, and just like last night, my body begs for more. But now, I know what he can give me. And it’s better than any dream I’ve ever had.

He pulls away too soon, and without another word, I watch him walk out of my room. When he closes the door behind him, he takes a piece of me with him.

I’m pulled out of that memory as a phone rings, and I look over and glimpse Conner pulling his cell out of his pocket and Dad written across his screen. He stands and walks out of the room without bothering to say a word to me.

I sit back in my seat, surprised that Jaycent even speaks to me now. What I did to him was wrong. I used him. I didn’t deserve him as a friend then nor do I now.

Another phone rings and my brother looks at his before hitting answer. “Hey, man,” he says with a smile on his face. “How are things going? The club open yet?” He nods his head to himself a few times. “Yeah, I’d love to come.” He looks at me, and his smile widens. “My sister will be back in New York as well, just in time for the grand opening, so I will drag her out with me.” I would love to go out with my brother; I’ll be damned if I let Conner stop me from spending time with him. “Yeah, that sounds great. Just let me know, Weathers,” he says before hanging up.

“A friend of yours opening a club?” I ask, wanting to know about him and the people he hangs out with.

“He bought some property from me and Dad a while back, and yes, now he’s opening a club on said property.”

“Cool,” I say softly.

He goes to open his mouth but a knock comes on the door, and he gets up to answer it. I expect it to be Conner, but instead, it’s Ashlyn, and I smile. She’s the only true friend I’ve ever had. I’ve never told her about my and Jaycent’s past, though, but she’s curious. It’s hard to hide the effect that man has on me, and she’s very observant. That’s why she’s my best friend. She doesn’t judge, and she doesn’t tell you how to live your life. She listens. I wish I could pull her to the side right now and fill her in on all the thoughts and feelings swimming in my head, but it will have to wait.

Instead, I plaster another fake smile on my face and pat the spot beside me.

Ryder gets her a beer, and he tells her about a party he once had, and I look down at my hands in my lap. That was the party when I saw Jaycent and Jasmine together. That was the one where I went into my room and cried like a girl who’d had her heart broken. And I guess in a way I had cause because I felt like we were never gonna have a chance. But I was only eleven at the time; what did I know?

“I hate to even ask, but where is Conner?” she asks.

“His father called. So he went out into the hallway to talk to him,” I answer.

“He wasn’t out there when I got off the elevator,” she informs me with a frown.

I jump up out my seat and head to the door, grabbing my cell out of my back pocket, cursing my skinny jeans for being so tight, to call him. But as the door shuts behind me, I see Jaycent leaning against his bedroom doorway staring right at me. And I wish I could talk to him without anyone around. I need to tell him how sorry I am for what went down between us last time I saw him. He seems to have let it go, though. So I continue in search of Conner.

I don’t have a signal in the elevator, but I stop on our hotel room floor first. After checking our room, I find he’s not there. Getting back onto the elevator, I go down to the lobby.

I get off and head over to the hotel bar, and my jaw tightens when I find him sitting there with a Bud Light in his hand. And a woman sitting next to him with several girlfriends. “What are you doing down here?” I demand as I approach him.

He turns to look at me, and his dark eyes look me up and down with disgust. “Took you long enough.”

“What?” I snap, tired of this game we play where I’m the lost puppy needing my owner to want me.

“I’ve been gone for twenty minutes. Or did you not notice?” he snaps.

My eyes narrow on him. He’s testing me? “Why are you even down here?”

“Excuse me?” the woman says, looking at me. Her dark green eyes assessing me, and her brows down in confusion. “But who are you?”

“Who am I?” I ask with a huff. “I’m his girlfriend. Who the hell are you?” I yell.

“That’s enough.” He growls, jumping off his barstool. He grabs my upper arm and drags me out of the bar.

“Are you serious right now?” I demand as he practically drags me across the lobby and toward the elevator.

“You’re making a scene,” he snaps, pushing the up arrow for the elevator.

“And you weren’t?”

“No,” he shouts, and his voice echoes through the hotel. “I was just sitting at the bar enjoying my beer.” The elevator dings, and then the doors slide open.

I walk in and yank my arm free of his hold. The doors close us inside alone, and I turn to face him. “We’re supposed to be on vacation. Together. And you’re sitting at the bar with another woman.”

He ignores me as he looks straight ahead. His jaw tight and chin lifted. He’s pissed. At me. Like I was the one who did something wrong. He rolls his shoulders as he lets out a long sigh, trying to calm his temper. “Conner?” I snap.

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