Need Me (Broke and Beautiful #2)(31)

That told her everything she needed to know. It had been a onetime thing, and he regretted it. So . . . fine. Okay. Her affair with Professor Ben had ended with a bang. A seriously hot, unforgettable, drove-her-crazy-just-to-think-about-it bang. She shouldn’t feel betrayed. Or like her insides were being prodded at with a hot poker. She shouldn’t feel like she’d been picked up by a hurricane and set down somewhere else. But she did. Ever since class this morning, everything she’d done had felt like a considerable effort. Sitting down, standing up, eating, talking, comprehending words. She’d gone past her subway stop without realizing it and ended up halfway to Chinatown.

She was starting to think she’d imagined the whole thing. Ben had never been anything but her professor. There hadn’t been a connection between them in the closet or that day after class when he’d noticed her for the first time. He’d never thrown her onto a desk and given her pleasure with his brilliant, insightful mouth. Never. She’d made it all up. While she knew that simply couldn’t be true, the idea of it hurt more than anything. Knowing it could all be a memory so easily. No closure or even a formal rejection from either of them. When she’d walked out of the classroom that night, he’d been staring after her like he couldn’t wait to touch her again. What had changed?

The roof door slamming made her jump a foot in the air. “Jesus!”

“Sorry!” Abby put her hands out. “I’ve never been up here. I assumed it would coast to a close.”

“Well, it didn’t.” Honey pressed a palm over her pounding heart, seeing for the first time how Abby was dressed. In a short, black eyelet skirt and pink halter top, she looked incredible. “Where are you going?”

“Where are we going, you mean?” Abby clicked to the edge of the roof in her high-heeled Mary Janes and propped an arm on the brick wall. She kicked off one of the shoes and massaged her right foot. “Out. Louis has decreed that our two supergroups are merging into one giant, unstoppable supergroup. He and Roxy are working on a secret handshake as we speak.”

“He’s downstairs?” Honey came to her feet slowly, irritated by the way her pulse started beating in Morse code. “Who else is there?”

“Russell is in my room killing a spider.” She switched feet, massaging the left with relish. “It went under my bed, and unless he finds and kills it, we’re moving.”

“Obviously.”

Honey swallowed heavily, resisting the urge to shake Abby and ask about Ben’s presence, but her friend beat her to it with a knowing smile. “Ben is meeting us at the Longshoreman later. He had a late meeting.”

“Oh.” Honey tried to hide her cheeseball smile by ducking her head, pretending to survey her own boring outfit. If he was meeting up with everyone knowing she would be there, he couldn’t have blown her off completely, right? Maybe he’d just been busy and she’d dramatized the whole thing. Either way, she was going to see Ben in a few short hours, and there was no denying the excitement fizzing in her bloodstream. “I guess I’d better go change.”

“Roxy already picked out a dress for you. It’s on your bed.” Abby replaced both shoes and did a little dance. “How come you never want to wear my clothes?”

Honey pointed to Abby’s outfit. “I’d wear that.”

“It’s Roxy’s.”

“There you go.”

Half an hour later, Honey had changed into the most incredible little black dress she’d ever worn. It had white leather cutouts for pockets and showed just enough cleavage to be friendly. In the interest of making sure Abby didn’t feel left out, she’d pilfered a pair of red Jimmy Choos from an unopened box in her closet, surprised when they fit her feet, considering Abby was so much taller. All four of her friends whistled when she walked into the living room, so she put on a fierce model expression and cat walked over to retrieve her purse.

They spoke over one another on their way down the sidewalk to the Longshoreman, telling stories and making good-natured fun of one another, the energy that comes from the start of a night out singing in the air around them. This is when Honey loved New York the most. When possibilities are laid out before you like bright, shining swimming pools and you just have to decide which one to dive into. She didn’t have to wake up tomorrow on time or be in a lab until Monday. Free. She felt free. The homesickness she’d been experiencing was the furthest thing from her mind as cabs whipped past in streaks of yellow and stars winked between the skyscrapers. At the root of it all, she knew this exhilarated feeling came from the knowledge she would see Ben. Just seeing him was enough to make her float down the street on their way downtown.

When they reached the Longshoreman, they practically fell into the last available table. Louis pulled Roxy down onto his lap and propped his head on her shoulder. Russell yanked out two chairs for Honey and Abby, propping himself against the wall when there were no more seats available. He didn’t seem to mind, though. As if being on guard duty came natural to him.

“So, Honey. How are those premed courses coming?” Louis spoke up over the loud music. “Cut anybody open yet?”

“No. Are you volunteering?”

Laughing, he grabbed the pitcher of beer the waitress set down in front of them, pouring the foamy, gold liquid into plastic cups. “This marks the second time you’ve threatened me with a knife. Is that some kind of Southern custom?”