“Give me back my bag,” I hissed.
“Only when I get you home,” he fired back.
“All right!” I gave in, only because I didn’t have the heart to fight right now. I tried to hold back the tears, which threatened to fall. He did the exact same thing Jason did when we first met. He walked me to his car and opened the door for me. I stepped inside and sat down, not bothering to utter a word to him.
“You know, Kassia, it would be a more enjoyable drive if you actually spoke to me,” he said sarcastically.
“Well, I find it much more enjoyable not speaking at the moment,” I murmured.
“Ray-Bans made you angry?” he asked.
“It’s none of your business,” I said.
“It is when I'm trying to find out whether or not you’re dating him,” he noted.
“Why would that be any concern of yours?” I asked.
“Because I wouldn’t mind asking you out,” he stated.
“You can’t be serious?” I choked out.
“Why? You are a beautiful woman and I want you for myself. What is so strange about that?” he asked. We had stopped at a red light, both of us now staring at each other.
“I'm not interested,” I said honestly.
“You might be. Look, finish up with Ray-Bans and try me. I might be more in your league.” I looked away from him, annoyed at the direction the conversation had headed.
“Just take me home.” I dismissed him.
We drove the rest of the way home in silence, which was fine by me. Once I was in front of my home, I quickly thanked him and nearly ran out of the car.
“I’ll call you later,” he rolled down his window and yelled out to me.
The moment I stepped into my home, I felt the safety of my world. Inside these four walls was everything I held dear, except for one thing. I wanted Jason here with me, but the reality was I had no confidence to truly face him. What could I ever possibly offer Jason to replace all that he had lost? I dropped my bag down onto the floor and headed inside. I slowly pulled off my jacket and made my way up the stairs to my bedroom. I peeled each layer of clothing off and dropped into my bed.
I wrapped myself with my large duvet cover and laid there in the dark; my mind wandering off to places I didn’t want it to go. I had opened my heart up to him because it felt like it was right. Why was I so wrong about him, about us, about everything?
The Annoying One
Time had gone by. It had been weeks since I heard from Jason. My heart broke further as time passed. Each day, which went by, only made my world seem bleaker. I dove into writing but nothing came out except disturbing stories of loss and heartbreak. They were depressing and desolate, not pleasing Tiff or my editor. The press surrounding my next book launch was exhausting; it only added to the stress I was already feeling.
“You’ll need to come out and do another book signing,” Tiff remarked as she went over the latest work I had sent her. “You realize why I came over?” she asked as she looked through her tablet.
“No, not really,” I said rather monotonously.
“Kass, I’m worried about you. This stuff…” She waved her hand over the tablet, “it’s good, but it’s so different than before. Maybe you should take a break? I think that after the next circuit is done I'm going to send you off somewhere.” She smiled and tried to encourage me.
“It’s nice of you to offer, but if you want me to get better you can do me a favor and ask your boss to lay off,” I nearly growled at her.
“What?” she asked, surprised.
Since the day he had dropped me off, Jeremy was nonstop with his pursuit. It was borderline crazy. The first time, I received flowers and my heart soared thinking they were from Jason. But the moment I read the note I seriously grew angry. It was from Jeremy, saying he was thinking of me. He even signed the note from the Coney Island gentleman. The next few deliveries I didn’t bother to answer the door in hopes he would get the picture, but he didn’t. The onslaught of texts asking me for dinner was his next phase.
I was working on my latest book. I found it to be the best I had written, but Tiff found it dark and bleak. I had an idea where I was going with it because my heart was clouded with everything that had happened. I couldn’t help but write like this. I stared at my work on the screen when my phone began to ring. It was the office Tiff worked at. Strange, they rarely called me.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Yes, is this Kassia Preston?” A sweet female voice came through from the other line.
“Yes,” I answered skeptically.
“I'm calling to inform you there will be a dinner for all our clients tonight,” she said ever so sweetly which made me want to reach through the phone and shake her. No normal woman spoke that way.