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Chapter 46
DARREN
Past
Ihated the way my call ended with Bridget. She had a legitimate reason to be upset with me. I had no reason to be upset with her, but I was anyway. I felt guilty and angry with myself, and I took it out on her. My reaction on the call was that she should have believed me when I told her nothing had happened. Or she shouldn’t have assumed anything was wrong just because of a few lousy photos taken when I was inebriated. I was an asshole.
As soon as we had hung up, I had thought about calling back to apologize, but she had said she wanted to study. And I thought maybe she would be more receptive to my apology after a night’s sleep.
It’s past midnight in Hong Kong, which means it’s just after eight in the morning California time. I give her a call from my hotel room but get no answer. Again. I had called Bridget earlier today, at the time I said I would call, but she didn’t pick up. I tried again a few times before it got too late for her. Did she forget I was going to call? I wondered. That’s not like her. Maybe she decided to go to bed early before her finals, but she would have at least texted me.
Unless she was still fuming about the photos Kimberly showed her. JD had admitted to sending her the pics, including one of me with Mei Ling, the niece of one of the Vanguards. She had come on strong to me, and I made the mistake of humoring her at the beginning. It only emboldened her. I connected with her afterward to apologize for my behavior and explain I wasn’t myself and that it wouldn’t happen again.
“Why would you do that?” I’d asked JD about the pics after my call with Bridget.
“I don’t know,” JD had replied. “I do stupid shit when I’m plastered.”
I let it go because I’m the one who fucked up. Feeling the stress of filling my father’s shoes and making a good impression, I drank more than I had intended that night. At one point, I had even misplaced my phone, which I never lose track of. Turned out JD was messing around with it. Said he was looking to see if I had a photo of Bridget’s ugly sweater to show Mei Ling, who recently launched her own fashion line.
Maybe Bridget would stop feeling suspicious of other women if I told her how I really felt about her? That I can’t imagine being with anyone else. That I want her to be the mother of my children. Pregnancy never struck me as sexy. Until Bridget. The thought of her carrying my child is sexy as hell. I’ve never wanted that with anyone before.
I dial her a second time and still no answer. Could she be ghosting me? Or maybe she woke up late and is rushing to get to her finals. I think she has at least one early final.
I’ve never wanted to apologize so badly in my life. I need to patch things up with Bridget. I’ve been distracted all day thinking about her. Why won’t she answer the fucking phone?
I text her to call me and wish her luck on her finals.
I skip going out tonight and wake up early to try Bridget again. It would be mid-afternoon her time. No answer. And no text. What the fuck is going on?
Today I have a meeting with the printing guys, then lunch with JD.
“Have you talked to Amy recently?” I ask JD when I sit down at the restaurant table.
“No. Why?” JD asks as he reviews the menu.
“I can’t get ahold of Bridget. She hasn’t answered any of my calls or texts.”
“Aren’t the girls studying for finals?”
“Not every second of the day. Can you call Amy for me?”
“Right now?”
“It’s around eight pm their time.”
JD gets out his phone and tries Amy. No answer.
“Maybe they’re out celebrating that they’re done,” he says, going back to the menu. “Fuck me. I can’t read this. All I know is that this character means beef and this one means rice.”
My Chinese reading abilities are no better. Although I’ve retained some of the speaking language, I haven’t kept up with reading or writing.
“Ask for the English menu,” I tell JD. “When was the last time you texted or spoke with Amy?”
“I texted her to let her know when I arrived. That’s about it. I didn’t want to disturb her while she was busy studying.”
His answer surprises me. He’s usually not that considerate.
“Stop worrying,” JD says after telling the waitress to bring an English version of the menu and two bottles of Tsingtao. “It’s not like Bridget’s cheating on you or anything. She knows she’s got a good thing.”
