The Virgin Duet(11)

Sam: I’ll call you or see you tonight. g2g.

Rolling my eyes, I slide the phone back into my pocket. He doesn’t need to go to the Palm. I think Nico’s family owns the place or something. He lets some of us sneak in the back because we aren’t old enough to get in. I stopped going because Nico would just stare at me. I used to have a blast there dancing all night, but it got weird after a while.

Grabbing the rest of my stuff, I phone for a cab before making my way to the front desk and paying for the next two weeks’ rent. I need to know that no matter what, Sam has a place to crash.





The rest of the day flies by. I loaded Bray’s fridge up with all kinds of different foods. I may have gone a little overboard at the store but I was just so excited about trying out some of the recipes I marked down last night. I found enough recipes to make dinner for the next five days.

Tonight I decided on crusted chicken with bacon and green bean casserole, and homemade mac and cheese. Then bread pudding for dessert. It’s a meal of comfort food and I know that’s something I could use right now. Setting the table, I bring all the food out at ten till seven, knowing he’ll be home any time like his note said. Vanilla doesn’t seem like someone who would be late for anything.

I went through and cleaned the penthouse the best I could, but there really wasn’t much to do. Besides the mess I made last night—that he already cleaned up—all I could really do was dust. I had extra time, so I unpacked all my stuff, though to be fair I don’t have much. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees I unpacked it in his room, closet, and bathroom. I even put my giant glittery Tinkerbell alarm clock on the side of the bed I slept on last night. He didn’t really give me any details as to what I should be doing. I know he said ‘dinners’, but if he wants me here full time, there has to be more he needs me to do.

When the clock hits ten after seven I decide to call him. I try his cell first, but after one ring it goes to voicemail. What is with everyone ignoring me when I call? Jesus. Next I try his office line. Maybe he got stuck working late.

“Spencer Holdings.” Cindy’s voice shrills into the phone.

“Is Vanill—, ,I mean Bray, in the office?” I ask

“I’m sorry but Bray and I are about to leave for the evening. We have a dinner reservation. Can I —” I hang up before she can finish. What the hell? He had a date but told me he would be home around seven. Maybe he didn’t plan to eat with me. The note didn’t say he did. But then why tell me when he would be home, and why say that I would be handling dinners?

Looking over at the table, I feel my shoulders drop. What’s wrong with me? I’m not his girlfriend. I don’t know how to be a girlfriend. Glancing down, I can’t help but laugh at the stupid blouse I have on. It’s the only nice thing I own, and I use it for job interviews. The dumb thing looks ridiculous with my multi-colored hair. I put it on for him. When I was cooking the dinner, all the food was turning out so perfectly, I wanted to feel like I fit at the table when we ate. I was doing something I told myself I would never do again—trying to fit in for someone else. I was trying to belong in a world that wasn’t mine.

Whatever.

Making my way to Bray’s bedroom, I undress and grab a pair of ripped-up skinny jeans, my boots, and a racer-back tee that reads ‘Polite as f*ck’ across my chest. I grab my shit, and head out. Looks like I’m going to the Palms after all.





BRAY


I lean back in my office chair and look out at the skyline behind me. I tap my pen to my lips and think about Rebecca for the thousandth time today. I sit up angrily and throw my pen on my desk. “I can’t work like this.”

“Everything all right, Mr. Spencer?” Cindy’s voice, that I never had a problem with before, is now grating on my nerves with every syllable she speaks. How did I not notice it until Rebecca pointed it out?

“Fine, Cindy. Please close the door on your way out.”

“Actually I was coming in to let you know I made reservations at Bella Vita if you’re ready to call it a day.”

This was unusual. I don’t eat out at restaurants unless it’s unavoidable. For some reason, her presumptuous statement irritates me.

I look down at my watch and see that it’s seven fifteen. I can’t bring myself to go home and see Rebecca yet. My note said seven, but I’m taking the coward's way out and waiting until she’s asleep. The darker secret, the one I’m not willing to admit to myself, is I’m waiting until she’s asleep so I can sneak in and lie beside her again like last night.

“No, thank you. Please feel free to enjoy the reservation yourself if you want to. I’ll be here a bit longer.” I don’t have the mental energy to deal with Cindy right now, so I let it go. With that I turn back around and face the city.

I hear her close the door behind me, and if I’m not mistaken she says something under her breath. I don’t know what it was, but for some reason I feel like it has to do with Rebecca. Although every thought I’ve had today has been of her. I can’t get her out of my head, and I’m ready to scream with frustration. I can’t go thirty seconds without wondering what she’s doing in our place. ‘Our place’. My God. I turn around to my desk and put my head in my hands. I’ve got it so bad.

I pull out my phone and check her tracker again for the tenth time in the past hour. I attached a GPS to her phone so I would know where she was at all times. I keep telling myself that was to keep her safe. I saw her leave this morning, but she only went to her old motel and then ran a few errands. I kept waiting for her to return home, and when she finally did, I could breathe a sigh of relief. That still didn’t keep me from obsessing about her all day, in fact I think it made it worse. Knowing she is in my home and around my things should give me anxiety in the worst way, but all it does was make me excited to think she’s becoming settled there.