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I turned in his arms, and he smiled again, a little more sadly this time. “See you soon, Luce.”
All I could manage was a nod, and when he leaned down to press his lips to mine, I felt tears spring to my eyes. Instead of letting them fall, I focused on the moment we were in. The moment I knew I’d cling to for the next two weeks until we could do this again.
“Lucy, it’s time to go.” Ellie’s voice was soft, and for a second, I thought maybe she’d softened too, but when I turned to her, there was still disappointment on her face, and my glimmer of hope died in an instant.
I faced Jason again for one more kiss, then picked up my bag.
“I’ll call you as soon as I get to New York,” Jason promised.
Still unable to manage words, I smiled, then followed Ellie off the bus.
Chapter11
From Zero To Horny
“Luce, are you planning to ignore me forever?”
Ellie and I sat in the departure lounge surrounded by people who were either reading newspapers, messing with their hand luggage, or talking to each other. I was in no mood for doing any of those things, so I sat beside Ellie in silence, both of us looking straight ahead as if we could hurry up the plane through the power of thought.
We hadn’t really spoken in over twenty-four hours. Not since Jason and I told everyone our decision. It wasn’t just me. Everyone on the bus was too uncomfortable to interact much.
“You think I’m being overprotective, but you must be able to see why after what happened yesterday,” Ellie spoke.
I shook my head. “None of the things that were written about me in the paper were as hurtful as the way you and Drew reacted.”Including the fact that my virginity was splashed all over the news for the world to read about.
“We were trying to save you from that!”
“It would have happened anyway, Ellie! It might have taken a bit longer, but it still would have happened. And if it had taken longer, at least we would have known whether there was anything worth everyone making such a big deal out of.”
That was my biggest problem with everything that had happened. Maybe, after all this, Jason and I wouldn’t have a hope in hell of sustaining a relationship anyway, but the chance to find out in a quiet, sensible way had been snatched away from us. The fact that Ellie couldn’t see that was a big part of why I was so angry with her. I truly thought she would understand.
“Isn’t that what you and Drew wanted?” I asked quietly. “When you first got together, you at least had a little time before your relationship was outed. Jason and I weren’t careful enough, but we only want what you and Drew wanted. Time.”
“I get that. And I understand you’re trying to do the smart thing by taking it slow, but life with Jason is anything but slow. I know he’s changed a lot, but he isn’t going to suddenly settle down and live a boring, normal life.”
Whowasthis woman beside me? This judgmental, assuming witch who wouldn’t hear anything I was saying. Was this how she was with Jason? Smothering, unrelenting? Knowing her concern came from a good place didn’t make it any better. It was like she’d forgotten everything she knew about me and Jason because she was trying to protect me from something I had already thought about.
That conversation cemented our silence for the rest of the journey home. A few hours on a plane followed by another few hours on a train seemed to stretch on forever. I spent some of the time sleeping and a lot more scribbling things down in my journal while occasionally checking the internet to see if any other rumors or ridiculous news stories about Jason and me had popped up. Luckily, it was still the same old crap, and I didn’t have anything new to worry about.
At least until I got home. Thankfully, Ellie didn’t come with me. She went straight to her own place, leaving me to receive a pretty frosty welcome from my parents. They both hugged me and asked how I was and if I needed anything to eat, but there was an atmosphere. I’d sort of hoped they would have mellowed a little, maybe warmed to the idea of Jason and me, but that obviously wasn’t the case. Disappointment and concern were heavy in their eyes. It was as if they’d bought into the press bullshit about how Jason might have taken advantage of me or something when they should have known better. Or maybe that wasn’t their problem. Perhaps it was just me being with Jason at all that did it. Either way, I didn’t want to hang around to ask. After grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator, I went up to my room and stayed there until the next morning.
* * *
I awoke to find I’d made the news again.
Photos of Ellie and me leaving Prague airport graced the entertainment pages and led to another flood of tweets to my Twitter account, all of which I ignored because I didn’t want to know what was being said. While I knew there were people who would support me, I didn’t want the hurt or drama of those who only wanted to cause trouble.
Early that morning, Derek had released a statement that politely told the world that my relationship with Jason was none of anyone’s business and would not be discussed further. He’d also blasted the accusations that Jason had somehow ‘groomed’ me, making it clear that any relationship we had was new and absolutely above board. We knew we wouldn’t change the opinions of people who had already made up their minds, but the rumors had to be cleared up somehow.
Aside from a quick breakfast and a mug of coffee, I pretty much confined myself to my bedroom, the only place I felt comfortable in my own home. All I needed was a mini refrigerator and microwave, and I’d never have to go downstairs again.
“Lucy?”
Dad’s stern voice through the crack in my door made me look up from my book. I knew I couldn’t hide from them forever, but I had nothing to say. Not yet. Maybe not for a while.
But Dad was Dad, and I knew that tone. That was his no-nonsense tone. Even Ellie couldn’t ignore it.
I placed my book on the bed beside me. “Come in.”
