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His eyes took on a mischievous glint. He started kissing a path down the center of my body, pausing at my mound and parting my legs so that he could see the wetness of my arousal. He dragged his tongue through my slit.
“Jonas,” I whispered.
My skin heated as my heart pounded in my chest.
“You’re so beautiful, Lily,” he whispered.
“Come on. This is embarrassing!” I moved to close my legs, but he moved faster, placing his entire mouth over my pussy.
“Oh, Jonas!” I cried out.
“No. Natasha.”
My roommate was in my bedroom, shaking me awake. The lights were on and temporarily blinded my vision. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, getting a full view of Natasha’s face in front of me. Her knowing smirk sealed my embarrassment.
I glared at her. “What are you doing in here?”
Natasha rolled her eyes. “It’s time for our run, silly.” She stepped back and pointed to her black and gold spandex outfit. “If you’d move to Manhattan with me, we could rent a place that has a gym and I wouldn’t need to wake you up to run with me. Think about it.”
“I thought you preferred running outside over the gym?” I said, challenging her logic.
“Whatever,” she said, as if that answered everything. “Your face is still messed up. Put on a pair of sunglasses.”
“Whatever,” I replied, climbing off the bed.
I didn’t fight the early morning run, even though I had only slept for a total of three hours the night before, refusing to take anything to help. Dani’s herbal remedy must be working. I walked over and took a look at myself. The bruises were practically gone. In a few days, it would be like it had never happened. I could move on. But I wasn’t there yet. So for now, I did as instructed and put on a pair of sunglasses.
I quickly pulled my hair into a bun and put my sweat pants, T-shirt, and sneakers on, then I followed her out of the apartment. Today was a new day and a new me.
Today I was determined to push myself harder than I ever had before. I managed to keep Natasha’s pace all the way through downtown and the boardwalk. As we made our way towards our apartment building, I decided to stop at a small shop instead of following her to the end. I dug out the emergency twenty dollars from my pocket and purchased some fat-free yogurt, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, along with Italian dressing. I picked up theVillage VoiceandTime Outfor ideas on what I could do this week, and made my way back to the apartment.
Once there, I ate a yogurt then walked back to the bathroom, where I looked in the mirror and noticed the herbal creams. Turning on the shower, I wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t allowed Dani to find out the truth. I might have been able to keep Jonas and meet him in San Francisco.
I stood under the water and let it beat against my sore muscles, thinking about how things could have been different if I hadn’t sent that text. If I hadn’t felt guilty for lying and had instead just tried to avoid seeing anyone for a few days, I would still have Jonas and his companionship. But now, I was alone again. I dried myself off, picking up my clothing and crossing the hall into my room, where I placed everything in the laundry.
Walking over to my stereo, I turned it on. Paul McCartney and WingsMaybe I’m Amazed. The music filled my room, along with the memories of my first dinner with Jonas at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Jonas had remembered me mentioning the music and left the CDs inside a trolley bag he’d gotten me as a gift, since he didn’t like me using my Boston University bag for luggage.
I took a deep breath and changed the station to Beyoncé andSingle Ladiesfilled the room. Yeah. She’s right. If he really liked it, you’d get a commitment. The annoyance blocked my sadness, and I was able to sleep for another two hours before I woke again. How long was this going to last?
I gave up and decided to do some spring-cleaning. I did my laundry and vacuumed my bedroom. This managed to swallow up the morning and most of the afternoon. When I finally sat down on the couch to turn on the TV, the front door buzzed. My pulse sped up. Natasha was off with Ari, so I knew it couldn’t be her now.
“Who is it?” I called out.
“Gregor.”
I frowned and walked over to the door, opening it up. The shocked horror on his face brought my awareness to my bruises.
“What the hell happened to you?” Gregor asked, his voice elevating.
I locked the door behind him. “Why are you here?”
He folded his arms. “It’s the Turner Classic Movie’s Alfred HitchcockRebeccanight. I know you invited me some time ago. Before everything happened. But… well, I hoped we could talk.” He shook his head. “Hold up. I want to know what happened to your face. It couldn’t be Jonas….”
“No. It wasn’t Jonas.” I motioned for him to follow me to the couch. “It was my ex. But before you tell me what I need to do, Dani has already taken photos. Ian Unger took a statement, and Declan is off to rehab. So it’s over. I’m letting it go.”
Gregor cursed. “Still, why isn’t that asshole in jail?” He took off his coat and slumped down next to me. “I’ll kill that worthless piece of shit. What did Jonas say?”
I licked my lips. “Jonas and I are… We’re not together anymore.”
