My heart hurts less when I see him, yet it also feels like it’s being dipped in acid at the same time. Explain that to me, please.
ME: Dinner alone doesn’t sound friendly.
JAX: I don’t know about you, but I had sleepovers with friends when I was growing up. ;)
I burst out laughing, hating myself for not shutting off all communication. I don’t even know how he got my new number, and I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that he did.
“What’s so funny?” Ruby asks as she walks into my room looking like she just stepped off the runway.
Deciding not to let her know I’ve started backsliding, I motion up and down her body. “You look amazing.”
“You look like you’re healing nicely.”
I nod, touching my face that no longer feels as sore, even though there’s still some bruising.
My phone buzzes again, and I look at Jax’s follow up message.
JAX: Pajamas are mandatory. Friends don’t sleep naked. Unless you have something against clothes, that is.
ME: Lunch sounds good. Dinner is a firm no.
JAX: Pick you up from Pretty Posh tomorrow. Call off the guard dog receptionist.
ME: No work for once. I’m finally getting my weekends back.
JAX: Then I’ll pick you up from your apartment at eleven.
My fingers pause, and I start questioning my sanity. Am I really going to lunch with him? I start to tell him I’ll meet him somewhere, because my apartment does not need him in it, stealing the air, confusing me all the more.
“Get dressed,” Ruby says, reminding me that I’m ignoring her so that I can text the guy I’m trying—failing—to get over. She turns and starts rifling through my closet, and I drop my phone to the bed.
“Why?”
Someone else walks into my room, and I jump.
“Bella, will you grab those black boots in the back of the closet?”
Bella looks like sex in heels, but I vaguely remember meeting her. Certainly don’t know her well enough to let her rummage through my closet. She grins and waves at me before ducking into my huge closet and heading toward the back, while Ruby tosses a pair of leather leggings at me.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“We’re taking you to Silk,” Bella states simply, as though she and I are long lost friends and it’s not weird for her to be grabbing a pair of my boots.
“You said you wanted to get out more,” Ruby reminds me. “Even said you needed to get over your issues with groups. And I don’t trust you to be alone anymore, so I’m taking you with us.”
Silk is a nightclub. A very big, hard-to-get-into nightclub. But Dane Sterling owns it, so Ruby doesn’t have a problem walking right in, since she’s with Corbin and that’s Dane’s cousin.
“And the best way to get over a man is to get under a new one,” Bella adds.
How does she know about Jax?
And no way in hell am I getting under a new guy. Jax was the last one. It’s too painful. Mom has managed just fine for many years without a man.
Ruby chuckles while rolling her eyes, and I frown while watching them try to find the perfect shirt for me to wear with the leather leggings.
“You’ve showered today, right?” Ruby asks.
“I worked today, so yes; I’ve showered.”