Page 73 of Finding Jess

Sam swallowed, a mix of feelings bubbling into her chest.

“You want me to tell you how bad it hurt to know I wasn’t even worth a second phone call? That after weeks of waiting, I—” Jess’ voice cracked slightly, and Sam resisted the urge to take her hand. “I cried myself to sleep because it felt like I’d lost you all over again. For the millionth time in my life, I—”

She stopped as her voice broke.The side of her body moved against Sam’s arm with a heavy breath.

“I’m sorry—”

Jess shook her head. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, looking at her with that burning gaze. “Because youdidn’tcall again.” She choked out a dry laugh that made Sam’s heart ache in her chest. “And maybe you really don’t know why. And if you don’t know, then it’s probably a good thing you never called again.”

Sam swallowed, shifting closer as she felt Jess’ body shiver.

“I thought—” Sam started, her own voice sounding more fragile than she’d expected. “I thought that if you wanted to talk, you would’ve called me back.”

Jess shook her head slightly, staring off into the distance.

“You weren’t the only one waiting,” Sam continued. “And yeah, when I saw you that day. When I saw you with Liz, I—” She swallowed as Jess turned, looking at her. She searched for any word she could find, forcing herself to say how she felt—what she wanted. “I wanted—”

Her phone began ringing in her pocket, and she paused. Jess’ eyes flicked down, looking at it before looking back up at her.

Sam sighed, reaching a hand in her pocket and pulling it out.

Tiana’s name filled the screen.

She swiped it open, holding it up to her ear. “What’s up?”

“Where are you guys?” Tiana asked, a soft murmur of voices in the background.

“We went for a walk,” Sam answered. “It’s not really a good time—”

“Do you have the room key?”

Sam pursed her lips, running a hand over her face. “Yeah. Why?”

“I didn’t bring mine. I need you to let me into the room.”

Sam loosed a breath, tilting her head back as she stared up into the dark sky.

“I mean, if you’re busy or something, though, I could ask someone at the front desk to help me get in,” Tiana muttered.

Sam closed her eyes, shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll come back and let you in.”

She caught the look on Jess’ face, her lips pressed into a firm line as she pushed up off the curb to stand.

“I’ll meet you at the room in a few minutes,” she said before hanging up.

Sam stood, pushing the phone into her back pocket. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Tiana needs the room key—”

“It’s fine,” Jess said, brushing her off as she started walking back down the path they'd come from.

Chapter sixteen

The club pulsed with energy, lights flickering over the crowd in rhythmic waves. Sam sat on the edge of the booth, trying to ignore the way tension sat heavy in the air between her and Jess. It had been like that since the previous night. They’d barely spoken all day, exchanging only a handful of clipped words, mostly for the benefit of the others.

Sam leaned her elbows against the crowded table at the club, tilting the rest of her drink back.

Scarlett suddenly broke off mid-sentence, her gaze shifting over Jess’ shoulder toward the bar. “Jess, that girl over there is totally checking you out.”

Jess turned, following where Scarlett was looking. She stared for a moment before turning back, swirling the last of the liquid in her glass.

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