Chapter 33

"Goodbye, Nik." Jane inhales deeply to keep her tears at bay.

"Not goodbye. See you later," Nik says as he wraps his muscular tan arms around her waist one more time before she leaves. He gives her a gentle kiss on her forehead before backing away so she can board his jet.

"Okay, see you later." Jane turns away, headed for the entrance to the plane. She makes it halfway up the stairs before she quickly turns around and jogs back over to him. She grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to her level, and smashes her soft lips against his rough ones. Once she is satisfied with her goodbye kiss, she loosens her grip on him before backing away.

She boards the jet completely this time, refusing to turn around to get one last look at the man who reignited her soul after it had been hidden deep inside her for far too long. One last look may have been all it would take to go back home with Nik. She knows she can't be with him right now. Not until they get this bullshit situation sorted out.

Once on the jet, Jane places her bags in the overhead compartments and grabs a seat. She pops her headphones in and turns on some random break-up playlist recommended by Spotify. She buckles herself in and then leans her head back, closing her eyes.

---------

Steam from the gym showers fills the chilly tiled space. Jane wraps herself in a towel and makes her way toward the lockers to get changed back into the outfit she wore to school today. She spins the dial and opens the small metal grate to find that all of her belongings have been stolen. She is left naked and freezing in her high school gym girl's locker room.

She calls her mom and is able to get her to contact the front office to send someone out to help her. She waits and waits and waits. The ticking of the clock seems to grow louder with each second that passes her by. Then, as soon as the ticking started, it stops, and in walk a horde of men with the faces of all her past lovers. A chattering of harsh voices shreds through the silence.

The pointing, laughing, and commenting on her body in malicious ways is so destructive to her self-esteem. She can't bare the humiliation any longer. She tries to run away from the horrible men but the crowd continues to grow. She covers her ears and squeezes her eyes shut, trying to escape the hellish riot. Her body slams into something solid.

It's a person. She feels muscles rippling underneath the fabric of their shirt and can feel hot breath blowing across the top of her head. The figure envelops her. She opens her eyes and she is completely surrounded by inky black nothingness. She reaches out to find the body of whoever she ran into but is met with more emptiness. Her breathing is fast and uneven. Goosebumps shoot up her arms and down her legs. A pair of eyes materialize before her. They are chocolate brown and familiar, but they look directly through her as if she doesn't exist.

"Goodbye, Jane."

---------

Blood-curdling screams alert the visitor who enters the apartment. They throw their key and belongings onto the floor and race towards the origin of the pained screeches. They scramble to the bedroom and find Jane. She is shivering and crying out. Her arms and legs are reaching, grasping for anything to ground her. A cold sweat drenches the poor girl, causing her clothes to stick to every part of her skin.

"Jane! Jane! Wake up! Snap out of it!" The figure is clutching onto her shoulders now, shaking her, trying to bring her back to reality.

Jane's eyes shoot open. She finds her best friend, J, directly in front of her with the most terrified expression she has ever seen. She throws herself into his arms and sobs. She has been away from Nik for a week but still hasn't been able to get over her heartache. She misses him incredibly.

J squeezes her shoulders a few times before pulling away from the hug. When Jane seems to be in better condition, he exits the room and returns with a big bag of stuff. J starts pulling out items and placing them in the empty space between them. Cookies, movies, spa stuff, an assortment of various candles, and other sweetly scented decorations.

"We are going to get you through this. You and me. We can do this. Now come on, let's go get these cookies into the oven and this movie into your DVD player." J yanks Jane out of bed, pulling her out of the room and towards her kitchen. "You can't stay locked up in your depression cave forever. You need to get back to work and live your life girlfriend. This isn't good for you."

Jane nods her head, still unable to speak, shocked by the nightmare that her friend saved her from. Those eyes, that strong wall of a chest, that voice, it was Nik. Even in her own nightmares, she runs to Nik for protection. She lightly taps her palms against her pale cheeks, shaking any negative thoughts away. J is right. She can't live like this forever.

After enjoying the fresh cookies and goofy comedy special, J convinces Jane to clean herself up. She showers and gets dressed in some sweatpants and a t-shirt. When she finds her way back to her living room to greet J, he stands, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, clearly annoyed about something.

"No, Jane. We are going to get you all dolled up and we are going to spend the night out on the town. We need to find you a distraction. Who knows, maybe you will find prince charming number two and be whisked away again." J tries to cover his jealousy with fake cheer. Jane can still hear it poking through. She racks her brain, trying to figure out what is bothering her best friend. She eventually lands on the assumption that he is a bit hurt that she left for a whole week and didn't send updates on how it's going or stay in touch with J. They typically spend every free moment away from work together doing silly things like board games, gossip, karaoke, anything. She can understand how being away from her for a week with little to no contact could hurt his feelings.

"I don't really want to go outside right now." Jane folds her arms across her chest and turns her gaze towards her bare feet.

"I don't care what you want. This is about what you need, and right now you need to go meet some hot whatever and have some steamy rebound sex." J wiggles his eyebrows suggestively managing to bring a tiny smile to Jane's otherwise sorrowful face. She sighs and agrees to grace the outside world with her presence tonight in order to appease her irritated friend. She owes him anyway after everything he has done for her this past week.

J closed his food truck down for the week as soon as he saw the sorry state that Jane was in after returning from her mini California vacation. He spent the whole week nursing her back to health, cleaning her apartment, and basically providing everything he possibly could for her. Tissues, meals, words of encouragement, the whole nine yards. Taking all of this into consideration, Jane decides that she can be uncomfortable for one night if it makes her friend happy.

---------

Bodies grind against other bodies. Heat rolls of the horde of dancing drunkards in waves. The music is blaring, shaking the dance floor with its intense vibrations. Jane can feel the vibrations travel from her feet up to her chest. The atmosphere of the club, the dancing, the drinking, the complete disregard for anything other than feeling the music in one's bones, it's intoxicating.

J snakes an arm around her waist, ushering her towards the crowd. Jane allows herself to be thrown into the chaos. Jane dances with her best friend, swaying her hips, bobbing her head, just letting the music move her. J keeps his hands at her waist standing just behind the dazzling woman. J attempts to pull her closer, to press their bodies together but Jane keeps some distance between them, not wanting to breech that best friend boundary with this person that she shares everything with.

They dance like that for a few minutes before J grows frustrated. He pulls her out of the crowd toward the bar. He needs a drink. Jane follows closely behind him, entirely unaware of his anger. She's just happy to get a breather. She was starting to feel claustrophobic back there. J orders their drinks when they get to the bar. Jane takes a seat beside him. Before she can say anything he turns towards her, getting a little too close.

"I need to use the restroom. Don't go anywhere, got it?" J barks orders at her. It's unusual for him to be any way other than his typical cheerful friendly demeanor. It sends a cold chill down her spine. She just nods her head, not wanting to make him angrier. Just like that, J stomps away towards a dark hallway.

The bartender slides a drink down the bar towards her. Jane catches it, bringing the chilled glass to her lips, and taking a sip of whatever J ordered for her. She rubs the back of her neck, trying to figure out what made J so angry. She is lost in her thoughts and doesn't notice the tall figure approaching the space that J was previously occupying.

"Hey, can I get you something?" The velvety sound of someone familiar snaps her out of her trance.

"Oh um, I just got this drink," Jane gestures towards the barely touched alcoholic beverage. The deja vu of the situation stirs something in her. The gears start turning as she slowly gazes up to find those kind chocolatey eyes that she has spent the last seven days obsessing over. "Nik?"

"Hey, doll. I missed you." Nik pulls her from her seat, wrapping his strong arms around her. They fit like two puzzle pieces the way their bodies instantly mesh together.

-End Book 1-