I don’t bother going back to my room. I bring my legs up on the couch and stretch across the cushions, watching the final frames of the movie before drifting to sleep.
Chapter 5
“It’s the start of a new day! It’s the start of a new day! It’s the—”
I hit dismiss on my cell phone’s alarm, groaning when I look at the time. Eight o’ clock.
Sitting up, I realize that I’m not in the living room anymore. I’m in Blake’s room, tightly tucked underneath a soft blanket.
There’s a plate of fruit and a Belgian waffle on my nightstand—along with a cup of orange juice, and behind them is a medium sized box.
Intrigued, I pick it up and quickly unwrap it—laughing the second I see what’s inside: A white silk slip and a note:
THESE are pajamas...You’re too beautiful to sleep in anything else...
I smile and quickly eat the food he’s set out before taking another shower.
Today is the day that I’ll finally be completely alone and able to think about what I’m going to do with my life. I’m definitely going to have to call David to tell him that nothing happened between me and Blake. And when I’m sure that I have the right words to say, I’ll call Adrian.
I put on the same clothes I wore yesterday—silently cursing myself for not making better preparations. I’m about to walk out of the room and look for Blake, but my phone rings. Adrian.
Don’t answer it...Don’t answer it...
It’s the fifth time he’s called me since yesterday, and I want to send it directly to voicemail, but I can’t help but pick up.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Paris...” His voice is low.
“What’s up?”
“What’s up?” He scoffs. “I call you over and over and leave a voicemail and all you have to say is, What’s up?”
“Do I need to repeat it?”
“No, I’ll tell you what the f**k is up. My girlfriend of six years randomly decided to ditch me on the same night that she knew that I was going to propose.”
“Aren’t proposals supposed to be a surprise? Maybe she was disappointed in your approach.”
“Come home now, Paris. We need to talk.”
“We’re talking right now.”
“Seriously?” He sighs, and then he changes his tone. “Look, I’m so sorry for saying all that stuff to you last month...And I’m sorry for being so selfish about my career, but you’ve got to understand. What’s two more years? I’ll still pay for you to go to journalism school, it’ll just be a little later than we planned. I’ve made sacrifices for you too, you know? I chose the cheapest law school so it wouldn’t be that big of a burden for you and I graduated early, Paris. Early. I could’ve stayed for another year, but I was thinking about you. Wasn’t I?”
“Adrian...” My heart is hurting. “Just stop... It’s over. I don’t want to be with you anymore.” I can feel tears welling in my eyes. “I know I should’ve handled this better, but—”
“You don’t really want to do this, Paris.” He cuts me off. “I know you better than you know yourself...And I really do appreciate all you’ve done for me. That’s why I want to take this next step in our lives and show you just how much I do. I’ve talked to one of the partners here and he said he’d be happy to give you a clerk job. It pays twice as much as what you’re currently making at that PR firm so... You’d be able to support me in getting my PhD—that’ll move me up to partner faster, have money for yourself, and who knows? By the time I get out of school, you may realize that you don’t really want to be a journalist, that you’ll be happy being my wife and raising our kids...In fact, most of the wives here at the firm don’t have master’s degrees, so it may be a bit strange if you had one.”
“You are so f**king selfish, Adrian.” My voice cracks. “Do you know that?”
“I bought you a two carat ring and I’m selfish?”
“I have a flight to catch. Is this all you called to talk to me about?”
“I said I was sorry.”
“And I said I was done. Anything else?”
He hangs up and I let out a sigh of relief, but I know it’s only short-lived. He’ll call back like he always does and I’ll answer. We’ll get into another argument until one of us hangs up, and then we’ll repeat this process until I crack and run into his arms again.
Except that last part is not happening this time...
“Paris?” Blake calls from the other side of my door.
“Yes?”
“We need to leave in ten minutes if you want to make your flight.”
I wipe a tear away and open the door. “I’m ready.”
I’m sure he can sense that something is wrong, but he doesn’t mention it. Instead he walks past me and picks up my bag, motioning for me to follow him out to his car.
We don’t speak on the way to the airport. In fact, I barely look his way.
That amazing kiss from last night is long forgotten; all I can think about is Adrian’s phone call and the two texts he’s sent since: “I find it so ironic that I’M the selfish one when you almost depleted our savings account for a random trip to nowhere. Is the real reason for your trip to meet someone else? Is that it? You want to f**k someone else before you marry me?” “I’m sorry for that last text, Paris...I didn’t mean that...I understand you wanting a break. Just call me when you’re feeling better and aren’t as upset...”