Becca.
It had been a week since I gave James another chance. Through it all, everything was going great, but I still couldn’t understand why he suddenly had the change of heart, considering he was so concerned about how Tally had felt before.
It was like someone had whacked him over the head, and he was an entirely different person. As much as he was amazing in bed, part of me internally giggled, wondering if he was having a mid-life crisis or something.
Regardless of the situation, I found myself rather content with how everything had been. Two days after we spent the night together, James told me to move into the apartment in Allegra’s building. At first I was skeptical.
However, once I got settled in, I started seeing how nice it really was.
No longer did I have to worry about how things were going or if somebody was going to find us. Instead, I could do my thing whenever I wanted.
Which included walking naked around the apartment. Something James really liked. Especially when I had my garters and heels on for him.
When he wasn’t around, I could watch what I wanted on TV. Come and go as I pleased, and most of all, James could be with me here as we would be if we were any other couple sharing a home.
Another thing that was nice…
It had been almost a week since Tally had reached out to me last. I wasn’t quite sure if she was up to something, but I tried to remain positive and understand that perhaps she just needed time to get through all of this.
At least I wishfully thought that would be the case anyway.
After all, walking in on your father and your best friend in the middle of having sex was not something anybody would be able to get over quickly.
The sound of the front door opening caught my attention as I stood in the kitchen making a cup of tea. I wasn’t expecting James yet, and my nerves sky rocketed.
“James?” I called from the kitchen as I came around the corner.
My nerves were on edge, but when my eyes met his, I smiled.
Placing down his briefcase and hanging up his jacket, his eyes met mine briefly, and a smile slowly stretched across his face. “Hey, sweetie.”
No matter how he tried to hide it, I could tell something was wrong. Usually, when he came in, there was another aura surrounding him that screamed intimidation and sexual desire. Yet, right now, he seemed stressed out.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him as he came closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, my eyes casting up into his as a sigh left his lips.
“Nothing. It was just a long day.”
I had seen James have a long day, and this was definitely more than a long day. There was a dark, hooded expression in his eyes letting me know something was deeply troubling him.
“I know you’re not telling the entire truth. What’s wrong? Please tell me.”
“It’s nothing,” he said as he pulled away from me and walked towards the bar, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. “I just had a run in with Allison.”
There it was. I knew it was something, and when he mentioned her name, my heart dropped into my stomach.
“Oh,” I replied, taking a moment to think about what my response was going to be. “What did she want?”
“She came to me explaining I needed to call things off with you. If I don’t, there are going to be consequences. She said I was making a fool of myself, hanging out with a woman that was the same age as my daughter, and also that our friends have even started making comments, which I kind of find hard to believe considering nobody knows outside of the group from Velvet I’m even seeing you.”
The frustration was obvious in his eyes. James was angry, and I wasn’t sure what he was going to do. “I see. Did she say what she was going to do?”
James met my glance and laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, she did, but I’m not repeating that.”
“Why not?” I asked with confusion, watching him down what was in his glass and pour another before walking towards the sofa to take a seat.
“Because I don’t want you worrying about it.”
Everything he said made perfect sense. It wouldn’t surprise me, honestly, if Tally was the one who had been spreading these vicious rumors around. I hadn’t caught wind of them until the day before, and only because Allegra came to me and told me the things she had heard.
I was concerned. This was exactly the thing I didn’t want to happen, and even though I was down in Miami, I worried it was going to get back to my school or even my father.
“Is there a way to get her to stop? You know that Allison and Tally are the ones doing this.”
James nodded his head. “There is a way to get her to stop. I can cut the relationship with you and send you back to New York under the declaration you were never to return and cause a fool of yourself in Miami again…”
My eyes widened in shock hearing what he said, but before I could open my mouth, he held his finger up to tell me to wait.
“... or I can simply give her hush money and continue our relationship, but then I would literally be giving her money until the day she dies.”
It was absolutely atrocious she was handing him these demands. “That’s enough, James. There’s no way you can continue to let her keep acting this way. I told you the separation would have been good for us. That you doing your thing would have prevented all these issues, and now the one thing I didn’t want to happen is happening. Can you see the implications this brings?”
“Of course I can, but instead of sitting there thinking nothing can be done, I’m over here fighting for the relationship I want with you,” he snapped with irritation.
None of it made sense to me, and as he called it a relationship, I couldn’t help but feel my heart break because this was not a relationship to him.
He didn’t want Allison dictating to him what he could and couldn’t do, and every day there were little things he did that made me see that.
Walking towards him, I took a seat, trying to consider what I was going to do. If I continued going the route I was, things were going to escalate and get worse.
If I called it off now and packed my things, I could be on the first flight in the morning back up to Yale to get my life situated there.
I still had three weeks before school was back in session, and even though all of this was going on, it would be the perfect time to find a new apartment because I doubted Tally was going to still want to share an apartment with me after everything.
“James, perhaps we should just call this quits. Look at how things are going. It’s chaotic, and everything is a mess. Even though we’re able to be ourselves here, we’re still hiding in the shadows for fear of what Allison or Tally would do, and that was exactly what you said that you didn’t want.”
James hesitated for a moment and quickly shook his head no. “I will not give in to them. In fact, I was going to let you know I have a gala coming up, and I would love for you to go with me.”
“A gala?” I questioned, raising my brow, curious to know more. “What exactly is the gala for?”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a black card with gold foiled letters on it.
The card read Royals Gala. Celebration of Miami.
“Will there be a lot of the prominent society people you work with here?” I asked with slight hesitation. I wasn’t sure that would be the place for me to go.
“Yes, there will be, but that’s the point. I don’t want to hide you. I want to share it with you.” The look in James’s eyes was genuine. I could tell he was being completely honest, but it still made me worry.
A high society gala meant Allison and Tally were going to be there. Anything with the words fancy and high society screamed for Allison and Tally’s attention.
“When is this gala?” I asked him, finally caving into the idea after taking a moment to think about it.
“It’s this Friday. Do you think you’ll be able to find a dress by then?”
Grinning, I shook my head, giving a small laugh. “Are you kidding… with Allegra, she would have me ready tomorrow if I asked it of her.”
James smiled, pulling me closer to him. “I keep forgetting she is only down the hall from here.”
“Yeah, she is. Since I crashed at her place, she comes by and sees me often, not that I’m complaining.”
His lips brushed against mine softly as he stared down at me. I wasn’t sure what this was, but a part of me liked to think we were more than we were.
“How are we going to deal with Allison?” I whispered, as I looked at him for answers.
I wanted him to tell me everything was going to be okay. I wanted him to guarantee me she would not tarnish my reputation and would eventually give up on everything.
However, something deep inside me told me she wouldn’t ever let this go. This woman was ten times worse than Tally, and that meant she could probably hold a grudge like no tomorrow.
“I will handle it. Don’t you worry about a thing. I won’t let her hurt you.”
His words were comforting, but no matter the unproclaimed promise, I couldn’t help but feel as if my future was slipping from my hands.
Was I being a fool to think normal was possible?