Trusting Jay(37)

My phone vibrated in my hand and my heart raced. Was is Jay, and would he be mad at me?



Go to the Four Seasons in one hour. Tell the desk your name, a key card will be waiting for you. J



“Was that Jay, what did he say?” Jenny asked when I looked up from my phone. I shot back.



Okay, see you soon



”He wants to meet up in an hour.”

In a moment of soberness, Jenny clasped my hand and said, “You need to be careful. Promise me. Something isn’t right about him.”

I ignored the comment, and they went back to drinking. The whole time my mind was racing, faster than it had all week. What was Calvin talking about? Why was Jay hiding from me?

I kept looking at the clock on my phone. Every minute, it seemed. Like it was the last day of school before summer break. When forty-five minutes had passed, I set the phone down and stood.

“I don’t want to be late,” I said.

“We’re going to walk you there in case you run into Calvin on the street,” Sam said.

“And you have to text me later so I know you’re okay,” Jenny added.

“Fine, let’s go,” I said.





31





I walked into the lobby and up to the front desk. There was a lump in my throat and I swallowed to try and calm my voice before speaking to the clerk.

“Hi, um, there’s a key here I’m supposed to get, um, I mean, you have it for me and I need it.”

“Your name?” the man asked.

“Abbie.” He looked at me and smiled. “White,” I added. “I’m Abbie White.”

He typed something on the computer, nodded and passed me a key card. “Here you go Ms White, room three eighteen, third floor, the elevators are to the left.”

“Thanks,” I said, snatching the card before he could notice my trembling hand.

When I reached the door, I inhaled sharply and tapped my card to the sensor. I stepped into the room, lit only by the dim light of a desk lamp. The door closed behind me.

With my hand on the doorknob I allowed my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Jay walked toward me, the light at his back casting an eerie glow around his frame.

“Abbie, are you okay?” He took my free hand and pulled me from the door and into his arms.

My heart pounded in my throat, preventing me from speaking. I nodded my head. He hugged me tighter, and I felt at home, back where I belonged. I took a few deep breaths, trying to rationalize with myself. Bargain with myself over the issues. If he could explain Calvin, then I would allow myself to sink into his embrace. And only if. But I'd already sunken into his embrace.

I kicked myself. I couldn’t forget the reason I was here or allow myself to forget all the strangeness of the past week; the no contact, the note, the bar. Jenny’s voice echoed through my head, ‘be careful,’ ‘don’t be gullible.’ I swallowed hard and cleared my throat.

“What’s going on Jay?” I tried my best to sound strong.

“I don’t know, tell me what happened.”

“Calvin came into the bar and yelled at me, saying I’m a whore who slept her way to a promotion, and that my boyfriend isn’t offering enough money.”

“Is that it?”

“He said you’d better pay up.”

“But that’s all he said?”

“Yeah, isn’t that enough? He was screaming right in my face, banging his fist on our table.”

“You’re fine now. Safe. I would never let anything happen to you.”

I looked up at him, my eyes wide, “But how does he even know who you are?”

Jay tucked my hair behind my ear and stroked my cheek with his thumb. “He doesn’t.”

“But...”

Jay swallowed the rest of my words into his mouth with a kiss. Though everything in my head was screaming not to, I kissed him back. His hand pressed between my shoulder blades, pushing my worries out of me. Forcing them up through my body and out of my throat. Except I turned my head away, determined not to lose myself in him



“I need to know what is going on. Something isn’t right. This isn’t normal.”

Jay sighed and loosened his grip on me. “It’s difficult to explain, and it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“It does matter, it matters to me,” I said, my jaw taut.

He moved to allow some distance between us and held the tops of my arms, positioning us face to face. In the back lighting I found it difficult to read his facial expression but I was facing the lamp, and the light shining on my face allowed him to see mine. I felt on display, bared for him to know everything about me but I couldn’t see deep into him.

“I didn’t expect this to happen. Calvin saw me with you on our hike that’s how he knows we’re together.”