A few days later, I felt much better than I had when I left Miami. Neal was far wealthier than I realized, and when he brought to his place, it all but took my breath away.
Tall vaulted ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, exotic plants... The list continued with no end to the lavish things he had in his upscale New York penthouse apartnt. It was his pride and joy though, and when he first showed it to , his eyes lit up.
I had forgotten how much I missed New York until I was back ho.
Now, I enjoyed the South. The only problem was you still had to drive everywhere for everything.
Being in New York City, I didn’t have to.
I could simply walk out of the building down to the bodega to grab sothing if I wanted, or even grab sothing to eat at one of the vendors on the corner. You never really know how much you miss sothing until it is no longer available to you.
Slipping on my tennis shoes, I made my way from Neal’s apartnt, heading to the bodega to grab a drink and a bag of chips. The past few days, I was addicted to a specific food I had put down due to stress.
Flaming Hot Cheetos and green tea.
Thinking about those now, my mouth watered with anticipation. The delicious crunch and flavor of the Cheetos caused my stomach to growl in longing.
As soon as my feet hit the pavent outside, I was t with the loud sounds of New York. The familiar rush of gasoline and sweat would be gross to others, but to , it felt like ho weirdly.
Before I could reach my destination, my phone rang as it had done many tis over the last few days. Glancing down at it, I hesitated as I saw the one na I wasn’t ready to talk to.
Jas had repeatedly asked to call him over the last few days, but I couldn’t.
The pain of everything was still so fresh in my mind, and as much as I wanted to tell him I was sorry for leaving, and bla everything on myself, I couldn’t.
It wasn’t my fault, and in the end, I had every right to be upset. Yet, no matter how mad I was, the growing pain of missing him was very prominent.
Letting out a sigh, I slowly hit the green button on my phone and answered the call. “Hello?”
“Becca. You finally answered. I’ve been so worried about you,” Jas said with a breathless response.
“Why are you worried about ? I thought you made it clear I was no longer your problem when I left. You seed to want your life simpler, so why are you calling ?”
I hadn’t ant to snap at him, but my frustration with everything finally slipped through, and anyone who heard could tell I was more than pissed off.
“Becca, please, just let explain,” he replied.
“Yes. Please elaborate, because I am entirely confused about everything. I’m not so girl that can just be ssed around with. From the beginning, I told you I didn’t want to be soone’s one-night stand. I wanted a relationship, but I wasn’t ready.”
It wasn’t entirely true. Yes, I wasn’t ready for a relationship, but in the beginning, I didn’t know what I wanted. The only thing clear to from day one was I wanted to have him f*ck senseless, and I didn’t want Tally to find out.
He accomplished one of those aspects, but the second one he failed on purpose.
“Look, I understand how you feel. From the very beginning, I didn’t think I wanted anything either, but the thought of you leaving things unsettled between us... it’s killing ,” he sighed into the phone, causing my heart to clench at his words.
Hearing him explain how he was the one suffering with my absence, and how everything was left off really tore at . He sounded like he was trying to make himself the victim, when in reality, I was the victim in all of this.
Granted, I hadn’t been the easiest person to work with. I was an adult, and I was responsible for my own actions, but he knew what was going on with his ex-wife and his daughter. None of them would have ever found out had he not purposely set it up so they would find out.
“So, you only called to try to make things better between us so you could turn around and feel better about yourself and about what had happened?” I asked in confusion as I tried to understand what exactly it was he wanted to say.
“No, it’s nothing like that. I just don’t want there to be bad blood between us. I do care for you, Becca. More than you realize.” The tone of his voice sounded more than exhausted.
“If you cared for , you would never have let Tally find out the way she did. If you cared for , you would never have let Allison treat like scum. If you, honestly, cared for at all, you would have co after and told you were sorry in person, and not just over the phone.”
A groan of irritation escaped him on the other end of the line. “Becca—”
“No, Jas. I don’t know what it is you’re looking for, but unfortunately, I have plans today, so I’m going to have to let you go. I hope you find the closure you’re seeking. It just won’t be with ,” I explained as I quickly hung up the phone.
Standing on the sidewalk, I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I let things sink in. I wanted to call him back and apologize for the outburst.
But I couldn’t. I wasn’t crazy, but he made crazy.
Never had a man, or anybody, ever complicated things in my life to the point of a ntal breakdown, until I t Jas Valentino.
Groaning with irritation, I grabbed what I was needing at the bodega and paid for it, quickly making my way out, ready to recluse back into Neal’s apartnt.
However, as soon as I returned to the apartnt half an hour later, I found a suitcase sitting just inside the door.
A smile crept upon my face as I turned the corner to find Neal standing there, staring out the window.
“Oh, my gosh!” I squealed with excitent. “I knew you were coming ho today!”
He laughed as I wrapped my arms around his waist, giving him a hug. I didn’t an to seem overly excited, but Neal and I had grown close over the ti we spent together since I t him in Miami.
“Yes, I was trying to surprise you, but when I got here, you weren’t here.”
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I ran down to the store to get a snack, I have been craving these Hot Cheetos.”
“Hot Cheetos?” he replied with a raised brow. “When did they make them hot?”
“Oh, my god. Are you being serious right now? Open your mouth,” I demanded, wanting him to try my favorite chips.
“No way. I will just take your word for it,” he laughed, shaking his head.
It was nice to be back on familiar ground with him. I had missed the banter we had the first two days we were together before he left for London, and now that he was back, I was curious to how long he would stay.
“So, how long do I have you for before they snatch you away again?” I tease as I move towards the kitchen to get a glass of ice.
He was quiet for a mont, and when I turned around, I saw the way his blue eyes stared at as if he was lost deep in his thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking about sothing.”
“Oh, yeah?” I grinned. “Who has your mind all fogged over? Are they cute?”
Laughter escaped his lips as he shook his head no. “I’m not dating anyone right now, Becca. I already told you that before. Stop trying to play matchmaker for .”
“I’m not, I’m not.” I giggled. “Just saying—”
“You’re rely acting like my sister, Becca,” he quickly added, causing to sigh and roll my eyes dramatically with a smirk.
He was right, though. I was trying to play matchmaker, but only because I didn’t want to see him alone. He was quickly becoming one of the sweetest n I knew, and I wanted him to end up with the right person.
“Why don’t we do sothing fun tonight?” I suggested as he dragged his suitcase towards his room with following behind him.
“Fun? I don’t know. I was kind of hoping that we can sit here and order in food or sothing,” Neal said as he pulled the items out of his suitcase, and put them where they belonged. “I’m here for about a week. So plenty of ti to hang out.”
Hearing he was here for at least a week made smile. I had to head back to school next week and being able to spend ti with soone rather than be alone sounded nice.
“Movie and a pizza it is, then,” I said, causing him to laugh. “No f*cking pineapple on the damn pizza, though, Becca!”
“I’m sorry... did I hear you wanted extra pineapple? Okay... yeah, extra pineapple.”
Picking up my phone, I looked over my shoulder just in ti to see him coming running out the door at with a smile on his face. Screaming with laughter, I moved quickly but not fast enough before he caught wrapping his arms around my waist.
“No, damn pineapple woman,” Neal almost growled in my ear, and the sound itself did sothing else to I wasn’t expecting.
Freezing in his arms, my heart racing, I bit my bottom lip, refusing to look at him.
He seed to get the gesture, and quickly he let go of and ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be silly, it’s fine. I’ll make the call, and you finish unpacking?” I asked as I peered up at him, slightly unsure.
“Sure thing.” He didn’t waste another mont as he turned and headed back towards his room. I found myself slightly confused by the way he was acting, but overall, I shook it off as overthinking.
Neal was a good friend to as well as being Allegra’s brother. There was no way the situation would be weird between the two of us. He knew where I stood with everything, and he saw as nothing but a friend.
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