"I'll be here," I whisper knowing that there's very little that could keep me out of his bed.
***
"We're going to interview today for another roommate." Rebecca picks at the salad on her dinner plate. "I was going to do it alone because I thought you'd be working. You always work on Tuesdays."
"Cassandra took the kids to a friend's for dinner tonight." I heave back in my chair. "It's nice to see her spending time with them."
She nods. "There's Bryce, He's the first and only interviewee."
I twist my neck
to the entrance of the restaurant. An attractive man is standing in the doorway. "He's going to be our new roommate?"
"My new bedmate with any luck," she says as she waves her hand in the air in his direction.
"Since when are we getting a new roommate and why a guy?" I know the questions aren't going to be answered but I have to ask them anyway.
"You must be Bryce." She stands and offers him a weak hug. "This is Jess. She's my roommate."
He nods and sits down between us. "I just moved here. I was hoping to score a place to live this week. Your ad didn't say when the room would be available."
Ad? Room? I'm guessing that the room he's talking about is the barely there extra room that Rebecca currently uses to house all of her designer shoes and clothes. I briefly wonder whether my room is going to become her secondary closet if this guy moves in with us. I barely have enough space for my own things.
"It's available right now." She smiles brightly.
I toss her a look and immediately realize that I don't have a leg to stand on. I just gave her some money for rent last week. It's her apartment. She's the one calling the shots.
"Rent includes everything?" he asks.
"Everything." She slides her hand in the air. "We're both really easy to live with."
He nods and I finally turn to really look at him. His blond hair is neatly styled. His brown eyes look skeptical but I can tell that he's really considering the offer. Moving to Manhattan is terrifying and it's even more intimidating if you don't have a place to live.
"I moved here just a few weeks ago from Connecticut," I toss out. "Living with Rebecca is great."
"I'll take it. Just let me know what you need from me."
I sit with baited breath waiting to see what Rebecca will throw out as a response to that comment. I pull my gaze to her face and she's white as a ghost. Her hand flies into the air and she points at the back of the restaurant. "Fingers is here," she whispers in a not-so-muted tone.
Chapter 13
"Fingers?" Bryce can't hide the laughter in his voice as he glances past me.
I shrug my shoulder as I smile back at him. "She didn't mean to say that."
"I did." She jumps out of her chair. "I'll go get our check and we can get out of here before he notices you."
Bryce throws me a quizzed look but I don't respond. I desperately want to turn and look. I've never seen Nathan outside the hotel or the club. I don’t know what he looks like in the light of the day, moving about in a regular place like this.
I'm instantly aware of how I'm dressed. Whenever I've been with him, I've always taken time to pick out a dress, to style my hair and to apply at least some make up. Today, I'm just wearing a white sweater, faded jeans and my hair is pulled back into a high ponytail. I know, from all the comments, I've heard throughout the years that I look like a teenager when I'm barefaced.
"Fingers is on the move," Bryce leans closer to me. "I take it you don't want to talk to him?"
I shake my head slightly. I don't. I don't want him to see me like this. Today I'm just Jess. I'm not the same Jessica who takes his body into mine.
"Jessica?" I cringe when I hear his voice next to me.
I keep my head tucked close to Bryce hoping that Nathan will think he's mistaken me for his Jessica.