Jade
Jade began to open her eyes and yawned. She felt a weight on top of her and saw Dominick's arm resting across her chest, his palm cupping one of her breasts… The images of the night before replayed one after another. She took hold of Dom's arm and tried to lift it without waking him.
"Jade, we have to—" Nerea began as she entered the room, but she stopped abruptly when she saw her. "Holy shit, you slept with Dominick! You can't deny it now, I have proof," she blurted out, stunned.
"Shh… you're going to wake him up," Jade warned, alarmed. "Hand me the dress."
Nerea waAre youver, grabbed Jade's garment, and passed it to her. "I want details," she let out a mischievous giggle. "Can I see his ass?" she asked, just to tease her friend.
"No!" Nerea raised an eyebrow. "I mean—yes—no, I don't know! Just leave me alone!"
Dominick stirred.
"See what you're doing?!" Jade whispered-shouted, rubbing her forehead. She threw on the dress and scrambled out of bed. She did everything in a rush, then paused. "I feel… uncomfortable. Weird. It stings…"
"Oh my God!" Nerea was about to burst out laughing, but Jade ran over and covered her mouth.
"Shut up, I don't want a single comment about it," she forbade.
She went to her wardrobe, looked for clean clothes, grabbed her brush from the bathroom, and headed to her friend's bathroom with Nerea in tow. She sent the brunette to get Luka ready while she took a shower. She finished fifteen minutes later and stepped out looking as put-together as possible—considering the state she was in. She hadn't been thinking clearly yesterday, and she had ended up sleeping with him… the worst part was that she had enjoyed it so much that her body was screaming for a repeat performance.
"Is he ready?" she asked, watching Luka put on his little backpack.
"Yes, he's got everything in there. Where are we going?" Nerea inquired.
"Luka is staying with Casmin, and we are going to the pharmacy." Jade looked away; she didn't want to see the smirk on Nerea's face, who was surely imagining the reason for their visit.
While showering, she had remembered that Dominick hadn't used protection—and she didn't take any kind of birth control because she hadn't planned on being intimate with anyone. But, as always, he had arrived to change everything.
"I won't make a comment because Luka is here," Nerea said seriously, "but once we're alone…" she smiled like a lunatic, making her friend sigh.
Nerea kept giggling because she had been right. They dropped the boy off with Casmin and said goodbye to Floren, then got into the car. Nerea drove to the nearest pharmacy.
"You should start using a birth control method," the brunette suggested. Jade looked at her. "After what happened between you two, it's bound to happen again…"
"Of course not," she grumbled. "It was just a moment of weakness, nothing more."
"A moment of weakness?" Nerea laughed. "Oh, Jade, please! The moment you opened your legs for him, you gave him power over you. Don't deny it—for some reason you don't want to admit, you decided to do it." She stopped the car in front of the pharmacy.
The two of them got out and walked into the establishment.
"A morning-after pill, please," Nerea asked the clerk. The teenager behind the counter nodded. "Here you go."
The brunette paid, and they left.
"Do you want to go to a park?" her friend proposed.
"Are you going to keep annoying me?" Jade asked.
"Duh!" she shrieked.
Having no other choice, Jade resigned herself. She knew all too well she would never win against her friend; she always had the last word. They got into the car, and a short while later, they were sitting on a bench.
"Why do you refuse to face the fact that you like Dominick?" Nerea probed.
Jade finished drinking the water she had bought to take the pill. "Why do you think that?" she replied with another question, turning slightly to look at her.
"Seriously? Are you still asking that? You went three years without even thinking about sex, or being with a man after what happened, and now Dominick arrives and—poof! Out of the blue, you sleep with him, he kisses you, and you've already had sex. Don't try to fool me… Better yet, don't try to fool yourself by saying you don't like him, because apparently, he's the only one who awakens desire in you." The brunette crossed her arms.
"That has nothing to do with it; it doesn't prove anything. Besides, I can't like Dominick. We simply don't click…" Jade explained, trying to convince herself. She tied her hair up in a high bun.
"You didn't click? Maybe, but he left a little souvenir on your neck from what you did last night," the brunette informed her, pointing at her friend's neck.
Jade's eyes went wide. She grabbed her friend's bag and searched for a small mirror she always carried. Jade grit her teeth when she saw the massive hickey Dominick had left her.
"That bastard… now everyone will see it," she complained, putting the mirror back and letting her hair down again.
"I don't know how to advise you, you're such an idiot, Jade." Nerea leaned back on the bench. "You don't want to accept what you feel for him. You're angry because he probably gave you the lay of your life and it bothers you that you enjoyed it. But why? Tell me please, because I don't understand. What's stopping you from being happy? Why don't you just accept what you feel?"
"Because I'm afraid! Happy now?" she snapped, fighting the urge to cry. She hated doing it, but she couldn't help it. She lived under constant fear… since the day she left New York three years ago, there hadn't been a single day when her mind didn't play tricks on her, creating terrible scenarios.
"I'm afraid to trust him. I'm afraid of falling in love and it ending up being just a game, a lie. It terrifies me, the idea of giving myself completely to a man I don't really know. Nerea, the only good thing between him and me is Luka; beyond that, we only share bitter memories..."
"And what does last night mean, then?" her friend asked. Nerea realized in that moment that Jade was simply afraid—afraid of feeling things for him because she didn't trust him. She realized Jade had only been pretending to be a strong woman all this time.
"Last night..." Jade looked at her friend through her lashes, "I don't know how to explain it. He made me feel so special. It was magical. He said things that, now that I'm analyzing them, leave me not knowing what to do. I don't think straight when he's too close to me. He confuses me, he wraps me up, and by the time I'm conscious of it, I'm already agreeing to one of his proposals."
"Jade, life is based on risks. You have to make a decision because Dominick looks very determined to win you over. Give yourself the chance to listen to him, and if you feel something more than just desire for him, you have to accept what you feel and take the risk. No one leaves this life without a heart broken by love, and you, babe, won't be the exception. In fact, you should talk to Dr. Ernes. I'm sure she'll give you better advice on these things than I can."
"I don't have an appointment with her. Besides, she'll probably tell me practically the same thing you are. You two seem to be in league with each other," Jade huffed.
"The only thing for sure is that running away from what you feel isn't the solution. Eventually, everyone gets tired of waiting, and the moment will come when Dominick walks out of your life. Someone else will come along and enjoy everything you could have had. Even I would be hurt to lose such a prime specimen of a lover over indecision," Nerea said, laughing.
"You are the worst," Jade smiled.
"Alright, jokes aside, what do you plan to do? Because you left him naked in your bed," Nerea cackled. "It's funny, because it's usually the man who abandons the woman at dawn. Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. You know he's going to look for you, right? Because I'm sure he'll take what happened yesterday as the start of something else..."
"I need to think," Jade declared.
"More than you already have?"
"Nerea," Jade looked at her, annoyed, "you aren't helping."
"Okay, okay, I'm shutting up," she raised her hands in a peace sign.
"I just need to think about this situation, about him and me, and I can only do that by being away from Dominick. His presence confuses me, and I don't want to make a final decision without thinking clearly about what I want. Can you understand that?"
Nerea nodded. They stayed in that park for several hours while Jade planned how to keep Dominick from seeing her for at least three days. She decided to go to a small hotel on the outskirts of town. She didn't like the idea of being away from her son, but she had to do it—it was for his sake, too.
Dominick
He had gone to the restaurant that night to look for her, but she wasn't there. He stayed with Luka. He returned the next day, but she still wasn't there, and he did the same for the following two days as well...
Dominick was confused. He replayed their night together over and over, looking for any sign of something he did wrong, but to him, everything had been wonderful. Maybe it was too soon, he thought, maybe I shouldn't have rushed that moment. He cursed under his breath. He got out of bed and walked onto the balcony, contemplating the night. The forest rose splendidly before his eyes. It was late, but he wasn't sleepy; he only wanted to know what he had done wrong...
[...]
Tuesday
He was having breakfast in the dining room while texting his friends—Marcus had created a group because they had allegedly "abandoned" him. He smiled at his friends' antics.
"Sir, someone is looking for you. A woman," Ofelia informed him.
"Who...?"
"Don't worry, I'll announce myself," she exclaimed. Ofelia looked at Dominick, and he signaled for her to leave. She took a seat.
"What brings you to my house? Because I doubt this is a social visit." Dominick clasped his hands on the table.
"I'll get straight to the point because I don't like beating around the bush," she snapped. "I'm sick of seeing the back-and-forth between you and Jade, so I decided to intercede because my friend deserves to be happy. And even though I don't like you"—she sighed dramatically—"I'm sure she's in love with you. It's not my fault she has terrible taste." Dom raised an eyebrow, smiling. "Anyway, I want to know exactly what you want with Jade, to see if it's worth helping you... or if I should just finish convincing her that she deserves someone better—which is true."
"You'll help me if I convince you that what I feel for her is real?" He narrowed his eyes.
"That's right... So, Dominick, what exactly is it that you feel for her?"
[...]
Jade
9:35 P.M
Jade pulled her small suitcase out of the taxi. She had used those three days for introspection, following some old advice from her psychologist: writing her fears and anxieties on small notes and then burning them. It seemed silly, but somehow she felt it had helped... Those days away from everything had served to let her reconsider, to think about what she wanted, and more than anything, what she truly needed. She was almost certain now that she could make a concrete decision regarding Dominick. Someone she met on her trip had helped her see things clearly.
She entered the building and went up the stairs, reached the apartment, and went inside. She put her suitcase in her room and got into the shower. She spent a long time washing her hair, bathed, and stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.
"Jesus Christ!" she yelled, clutching her chest. "Nerea, for God's sake, you're going to give me a heart attack! What are you doing here? Are you going out? You're so dressed up."
"First of all: 'Hello, Nerea, how are you?'"
"Nerea..."
"Fine, grumpy," the brunette rolled her eyes. "Get dressed, we're going out. It's a beautiful night and we need to get drunk enough to be wearing our flip-flops on our heads. Good thing you already bathed; there are the clothes you're wearing." She pointed to the bed.
"That underwear isn't mine, Nerea." Jade eyed the red lace panties and the sheer bra.
"A gift from me. Put the clothes on and don't argue, I'm not in the mood. Move it, move it!" Nerea got up from her chair. "And don't worry about Luka; he's staying with Dominick tonight. He visited every day you weren't here," she informed her.
"That's... fine," Jade murmured.
"I'm going to the kitchen for something to drink," the brunette announced.
Jade sighed as she picked up the dress. She couldn't deny it was pretty. She let out a laugh looking at the underwear. She put everything on and left the room.
"Here, let's have a toast." Nerea handed her a glass.
"What are we celebrating?" Jade inquired, taking the wine glass.
"That tonight is going to be a great night, Jade." Nerea downed the contents of her glass in one gulp. Jade did the same.
Both left the apartment and got into the car. Jade brushed her hair and yawned.
"I don't feel well," she mumbled, her eyes fluttering open and shut. "My head feels heavy."
"You sure? You look great to me," her friend whispered, starting the car.
"I..." Jade was about to slump forward, but Nerea reacted in time.
"Hey, no, stay there." She leaned her back against the seat. She reached for her cell phone and sent a message.
Me:
We're on our way.