“It’s about time you guys showed up,” Gavin says when he walks over to us. “Help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen.”
“Hey, Gav,” Candace says.
“Hey, gorgeous. I can’t believe you haven’t left this ass-hat for me yet.”
Smiling at him, she pokes, “If it weren’t for your delicate language, I might consider it.”
“Leave her alone,” I tell him, feigning irritation, before taking her to the kitchen to get a couple beers. But as soon as we walk in there, my gut confirms that this was a bad idea. Gina is standing with a group of women, and the wink she shoots me makes me very nervous. I hand Candace her beer and send Gina a message when I lean down and give Candace a kiss before taking her back into the living room.
I don’t want to say anything because I don’t want to draw any attention and embarrass Candace. Plus, last I heard, Gavin was still f**king her, so I’m just hoping that for Gavin’s sake, she’ll stay away from me.
We take a seat on the couch with one of my old college buddies, and after introducing him to Candace, we begin catching up. I keep my hand on her knee while I talk to my friend, but my mind is elsewhere. Bringing Candace here was more for her than for me. She had expressed to me that she was curious to get to know my friends since I’m now a part of her small circle with Jase and Mark, already knowing so much about the three of them. But these friendships here are superficial. None of them have a clue about Candace, and probably just assume she’s a random chick I’m banging. There was a time that I would hang out with these people on a regular basis, but it’s been a while.
The evening wears on, and eventually Candace leans into me, saying, “I’m gonna go get another drink. Want one?”
“Yeah, babe. Thanks.”
When she heads into the kitchen, Gavin flops down next to me.
“What the f**k is Gina doing here?” I ask under my breath.
“Dude, relax. She’s chill.”
“You still seeing her?”
Cocking his brow at me, he says, “First off, you know I don’t see anyone. But I haven’t hooked up with her in a while. Between you and me,” he says when he shifts himself on the couch, “she was only f**kin’ me to get to you.”
“What?”
“Yep. Her roommate told me, and that’s when I backed away from that crazy bitch,” he says with an exaggerated shudder.
“That’s sick,” I tell him and then add, “And you’re trying to tell me she’s chill?”
Gavin starts to respond, but I’m no longer listening when Candace walks back into the room, fuming mad. She doesn’t even stop when she passes me and snaps, “Take me home,” and then heads out the door.
Grabbing her coat, I don’t say shit to Gavin or even look back when I go outside.
“Candace,” I call out, and when she gets to my jeep, she turns, and I see the humiliation all over her face as she yells at me, “Did you sleep with that girl in there? Gina?”
I release a hard breath, hating that I have to do this to her, but she cuts me off before I can even open my mouth.
“Forget it. Just take me home.”
She opens the door and hops in. She’s pissed and rightfully so. I knew it was a mistake to bring her to Gavin’s. Why the hell would she want to see what I’m trying to forget? I don’t know what the f**k Gina said to her, but I hope I never run into her again.
As I start driving back across town, Candace is silent, staring out of her window.
“I didn’t know she was going to be there,” I start to tell her, needing to clear the air because I can’t stand her being upset like this. “When I saw her, I didn’t want to say anything to draw attention.”
She doesn’t speak. She only pulls her one knee up to her chest and turns to face out the window, giving me nothing but the back of her head. I don’t know if she’s crying or not, but the fact that she won’t talk to me hurts.
“Candace, say something.”
But she doesn’t. I know she wants to go home, but I’m selfish and don’t want her to run from me, so I take her to my place. Pulling up to my loft, she quietly says, “Ryan, I really just want to go home.”
I don’t respond when I get out of the car and walk around to open her door. Holding out my hand for her, she doesn’t protest when she takes it and follows me inside and up to my room.
“Ryan, what are you doing?” she finally asks when I drop her hand to grab her some clothes from my dresser.
“You’re not going home. Here,” I tell her when I hand her a pair of my boxers and a t-shirt.
She takes them and makes her way into my bathroom, closing the door behind her. I quickly change, not enjoying a second of this tension, but I’m not letting it go unresolved.
“Ryan,” she calls to me when she cracks the door open. “Can you bring me my purse?”
Picking it up off the bed, I go hand it to her before she shuts the door again. It bothers me that I’ve never seen her undressed. That she always hides herself in my bathroom to change. I’ve never been so in the dark with a girl before, and I don’t know what to make of it.
I turn the lights off but leave the shades on the panoramic windows open so that I can watch the rain that is now falling hard. The moon must be full with the glow of the clouds that casts a faint bluish hue throughout the room.
When she finally comes out of the bathroom, I watch her as she pads across the wooden floor and climbs up onto the bed. I never get tired of seeing her in my clothes, and when she slides in, I instinctively pull her into me, face to face.