I shook my head in disgust. I wanted to yell back, “If I’d replaced him, then why the hell would I be at his game?” But I didn’t. I hated not defending myself. I convinced myself that I discouraged the heckling by staying silent.
Matteo tensed behind me, his body closing the space between us defensively. “Are you OK?” he whispered into my ear, and I jumped.
I swatted near my ear. “I’m fine. Don’t do that.”
“Sorry. Just making sure you’re OK.”
“If they’re gonna insult me, they could at least be creative about it.” I tried to smile, but disgust twisted my lips instead.
He followed close behind me until we reached the private entrance to the clubhouse. “I’m going to wait for Jack down here. We’ll meet you at the car.”
“OK. I’ll see you at the car.” He nodded before walking away.
I rounded the last corner when I spotted Trina sitting on a bench. “Hey,” I shouted toward her, hearing my voice echo off the walls.
She stood up and walked toward me. “Sorry about that. I got stuck on a bunch of phone calls, and now I have to leave for Brazil in the morning for some big photo shoot.”
“I’d say that’s insane, but I get it.” I shrugged, understanding all too well the last-minute trips and how unplanned work can come up suddenly. I hadn’t experienced it yet firsthand, but watched my coworkers handle it without complaint.
“Kyle won’t be happy.” She frowned, and I half smiled sympathetically. “He hates it when I’m gone. I think he secretly wishes I’d stop modeling and pop out some kids.”
“Would you do that?” I asked, remembering the argument Jack and I had last night.
“One day, yeah. But not right now.” She let out a deep sigh. “It’s hard though, trying to balance working and being there for Kyle. He’s on the road so often and he needs so many little things taken care of. I feel awful that I’m not around to handle it, but not awful enough to give up my career for him.”
I nodded my head, letting her know that I understood everything she said, but I didn’t want to get into it any deeper at that moment. There was a time and place for that discussion, and it wasn’t right then. At least not for me.
“Do you think I’m a horribly selfish person?” She closed her eyes tightly, as if she didn’t want to see just how selfish she might be.
“No. Of course not.” I touched her shoulder and her eyes reopened. “Why do we have to give up our careers for theirs? I mean, why is it one or the other?”
“Because it’s really hard to work and have a relationship at the same time. Neither one of us is in a typical sort of job, really.” She cast a glance toward the mean girls. “None of them work anymore. I heard that Kymber gave up some huge career to be a wife and mom,” she lowered her voice, “I think that’s probably part of the reason why she’s so ugly to us. She’s full of resentment.”
I nodded. “I don’t ever want to be like that.”
Trina laughed. “You won’t, Cassie. No matter what happens in your life, you’d never treat people the way she does.”
The door opened with a loud bang and Jack walked out, a cautious smile on his face. “Hey, Trina. Kitten.” He planted a kiss on my cheek and pulled me away.
“Hi, Jack,” Trina smiled. “I’ll see you later, Cassie.”
“Oh, wait.” I stopped abruptly. “Can we exchange numbers? I want to be able to text you. Especially if you disappear like you did tonight. I was a little worried.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Here.”
I typed her number into my cell phone before giving her a quick hug and catching up with Jack. He tossed his muscular arm around my waist and pulled me tight, our hips pressing against each other with each step.
“How was everything tonight?” he asked.
“Better actually,” I admitted, knowing that I’d been far less stressed with Matteo around.
“Anyone give you any shit?”
“Not really.”
He squeezed me and kissed the top of my head. “So it was a good idea then, right?” he asked as we headed toward the dark car where Matteo waited, once again wearing his work attire.
“What was?” I smiled playfully, thankful for the times my mind allowed the past to fade into the distance.
“Having Matteo go with you to the games. Admit it was a good idea.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “It was a good idea. Thank you.”
Two Bedroom on the Twenty-Third Floor
Jack
Cassie couldn’t take the day off, but she promised to meet me for lunch. Unsure of what to do with my rare few hours of freedom, I went online and searched for available rentals near the Plaza Hotel. I printed out a list of places on both the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side. I didn’t know the difference between the two, but Cassie would.