not what you
think,” he stammered.
Shrugging her arm out of his grasp
she replied more evenly than she thought possible, “This isn’t the time, Jace . I’m a little busy. We’ll talk later, okay?” She moved
away without giving him a chance to respond. She couldn’t do this right now.
She had to finish her shift.
For the rest of the night, she felt
his eyes on her, but she carefully avoided his gaze.
A little after Last Call, Tate
found Zek and told him she wasn’t feeling well. As it
wasn’t her habit, he was sympathetic to her cause. She felt guilty for leaving
him hanging, but she couldn’t be in the same room with Jace any longer. The kiss and his shameful expression burned a hole in her. And she
didn’t want to talk to him just yet. She just needed time to think things
through.
Grabbing her stuff, she headed out.
She turned towards her apartment but didn’t think she could stand the walls
closing in on her. Heading out down the sidewalk, she walked and walked with
her head bowed. Eventually, she arrived at the beautiful lighted fountain.
Sitting down heavily, she sat for a long time, just watching the play of light
against the water. She thought about Dr. Randall’s words about repairing her
foundation – about opening up to learn to trust someone. Well, she’d done that
and look where it’d gotten her. The problem was she
just wasn’t sophisticated enough to run in his circles. What experience she had
didn’t apply to this situation, and it was obvious he had plenty of experience.
She never thought Jace would hurt her like this… no, that wasn’t true, this
was exactly what she thought would happen. Maybe she should have just slept
with him. He might have stayed instead of avoiding her and then attaching
himself to the first available woman. Did he have no shame? He’d practically
flaunted the kiss right under her nose. Finally, the crisp night air caused her
to rise and head for home.
She’d really wanted things to work
with Jace . She felt a little lost without him
already. She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to depend on the normalcy and
naturalness of seeing and being able to go to him without reservation. Now,
that was all changed. She knew she had no hold on him – she’d always known
that, she guessed. She’d just so hoped. She’d known he was only hers for a
short while. But she was selfish and wanted a little more time. He was way too
good for the likes of Tate Morgan, aka, Patanga Moon.
With a heavy heart, she rose from the park bench with its view of the swans who
mated for life. She hoped Jace would find his mate and be happy. After having suffered a lifetime of
unhappiness herself, she'd not wish the same fate for him.
She’d gotten halfway home when the
rain started. She didn’t care, she just kept walking. It was after three when
she turned down the street to Zeal’s. The rain was really coming down now and
she was soaked to the bone. She was happy to see the neon lights of the
nightclub extinguished. More tired than she could ever remember being, she
turned and trudged down the side of the bar and headed towards her apartment.
Dejectedly, she grabbed the railing and pulled herself up the stairs. Reaching
into her pocket, she grabbed her keys and rose up on the landing.
She yelped when a figure dislodged
itself from the shadows.
Jace !
“Where have you been? Why did you
leave like that? Why are you out walking in the rain? You’ll catch the death of
a cold, you know.”
Exhaling deeply and swiping at the
rain on her face, she ignored what she considered the innateness of his words
and asked, “What do you want, Jace ?”
After a long silence, he said
softly, “You… only you.”
Tate turned from him – it hurt her
heart to see his beautiful face – to hear his words; words she desperately
wanted to believe. Wearily, she leaned her forehead against the door. “I told
you I couldn’t date guys in a band. This is why. I can’t… deal with…
think,” he stammered.
Shrugging her arm out of his grasp
she replied more evenly than she thought possible, “This isn’t the time, Jace . I’m a little busy. We’ll talk later, okay?” She moved
away without giving him a chance to respond. She couldn’t do this right now.
She had to finish her shift.
For the rest of the night, she felt
his eyes on her, but she carefully avoided his gaze.
A little after Last Call, Tate
found Zek and told him she wasn’t feeling well. As it
wasn’t her habit, he was sympathetic to her cause. She felt guilty for leaving
him hanging, but she couldn’t be in the same room with Jace any longer. The kiss and his shameful expression burned a hole in her. And she
didn’t want to talk to him just yet. She just needed time to think things
through.
Grabbing her stuff, she headed out.
She turned towards her apartment but didn’t think she could stand the walls
closing in on her. Heading out down the sidewalk, she walked and walked with
her head bowed. Eventually, she arrived at the beautiful lighted fountain.
Sitting down heavily, she sat for a long time, just watching the play of light
against the water. She thought about Dr. Randall’s words about repairing her
foundation – about opening up to learn to trust someone. Well, she’d done that
and look where it’d gotten her. The problem was she
just wasn’t sophisticated enough to run in his circles. What experience she had
didn’t apply to this situation, and it was obvious he had plenty of experience.
She never thought Jace would hurt her like this… no, that wasn’t true, this
was exactly what she thought would happen. Maybe she should have just slept
with him. He might have stayed instead of avoiding her and then attaching
himself to the first available woman. Did he have no shame? He’d practically
flaunted the kiss right under her nose. Finally, the crisp night air caused her
to rise and head for home.
She’d really wanted things to work
with Jace . She felt a little lost without him
already. She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to depend on the normalcy and
naturalness of seeing and being able to go to him without reservation. Now,
that was all changed. She knew she had no hold on him – she’d always known
that, she guessed. She’d just so hoped. She’d known he was only hers for a
short while. But she was selfish and wanted a little more time. He was way too
good for the likes of Tate Morgan, aka, Patanga Moon.
With a heavy heart, she rose from the park bench with its view of the swans who
mated for life. She hoped Jace would find his mate and be happy. After having suffered a lifetime of
unhappiness herself, she'd not wish the same fate for him.
She’d gotten halfway home when the
rain started. She didn’t care, she just kept walking. It was after three when
she turned down the street to Zeal’s. The rain was really coming down now and
she was soaked to the bone. She was happy to see the neon lights of the
nightclub extinguished. More tired than she could ever remember being, she
turned and trudged down the side of the bar and headed towards her apartment.
Dejectedly, she grabbed the railing and pulled herself up the stairs. Reaching
into her pocket, she grabbed her keys and rose up on the landing.
She yelped when a figure dislodged
itself from the shadows.
Jace !
“Where have you been? Why did you
leave like that? Why are you out walking in the rain? You’ll catch the death of
a cold, you know.”
Exhaling deeply and swiping at the
rain on her face, she ignored what she considered the innateness of his words
and asked, “What do you want, Jace ?”
After a long silence, he said
softly, “You… only you.”
Tate turned from him – it hurt her
heart to see his beautiful face – to hear his words; words she desperately
wanted to believe. Wearily, she leaned her forehead against the door. “I told
you I couldn’t date guys in a band. This is why. I can’t… deal with…
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