Page 6 of Sweet Tooth
The few hours extra I had, I spent on an online business course my friend Chaz was letting me use his login for. I was learning a lot and had a great idea I was planning to do something with, but even if it did work out, it could take years.
And I sure as hell wasn’t ok with Jess giving up her dream for me.
“So, how do I look?” she asked.
I gaped at her. Just a few minutes, and she was transformed.
Her pink sequined crop top perfectly clutched her breasts together, while her silver bodycon skirt and matching silver jewelry made her look like sex on legs. Classy sex on legs.
“Uhh…” I said, and she smiled shyly.
“Is that a good uhh or a bad one?”
“A good one.” I stood up and walked over to her, sweeping my arms around her. “Definitely.”
She grinned. “Good. ‘Cuz I had to beg Tamara to lend me this.”
I snorted. “It’s not like she doesn’t have a wardrobe the size of our apartment.”
Jess only smiled. Even through Tamara landing some lawyer as a husband and now in a mansion that rivalled the ones you saw celebrities’ having, they’d both stayed friends. Tamara was still surprisingly humble, while Jess didn’t let jealousy get the best of her.
Seeing Jess like that, so radiantly beautiful in something I could never afford to get her, I had to sit back down on the armchair.
“What is it?” Jess asked, concern creasing her pretty face as she leaned over me.
“Nothing,” I said, “Just…” I looked her up, then down, a holding my face in a neutral expression.
There was no point in telling her that seeing her all dolled up like that just reminded me that I couldn’t properly provide for her.
“Zane?” she was saying now nervously.
“Forget it.” I stood up and kissed her. “Let’s get to that party of ours.”
—
The party was in full swing when we walked in. Chaz’s ritzy two-bedroom apartment was wall to wall jammed with people drinking, laughing, talking, all decked out in glitter, shine, or velvet.
“You came!” Chaz’s delighted roar cut through the crowd as he bulldozed his way through.
He gave me a back-beating bro hug. “I didn’t think you were gonna show dude.”
“I’m a man of my word,” I said with a shrug.
“Yeah, yeah,” Chaz said. “A man of your word, who also works sixty-hour weeks and comes out once a month if I’m lucky.”
“Jess wanted to come,” I said, which was true.
While neither of us usually had the energy for late club nights with Chaz, it was New Year’s Eve.
“You look great by the way,” he told her with a wink and a buck-toothed smile. “Though you probably know that already.”
Jess blushed and I slid my arm around her waist firmly. Even right now, there were a few guys staring.
Someone off in the distance yelled, “Chaz!”
Pausing, he gave us one of his all-American smiles. “My presence is needed elsewhere.” He was already threading through the crowd as, over his shoulder, he said, “But we’ll be in touch!”
Jess and I just laughed.
“How much do you want to bet he foists one of those weird dumpling things on us later tonight?” Jess said.
I sniffed the air. “I do smell something good. And I haven’t been to one of Chaz’s parties where they weren’t there.”
Some tiara-decked girl jostled us hard as she flung herself through the crowd.
“C’mon,” I said, pulling Jess along. “Let’s get some air.”
“Already?” Jess said as she stepped out onto Chaz’s balcony. The part closest to the door had some guys smoking near it, but further down at the end it was empty.
We got to the end of the balcony, leaning on the railing.
“It’s like even the night knows it’s New Year’s Eve,” Jess said after a minute. “Look.”
“You and your star gazing,” I said. But then I followed her gaze and shut up.
With the luminous full moon and the cloudless deep blue sky, speckled with the odd star, she was right. The sky was more beautiful than I’d seen it in months.
“Think that means we’ve got an easy year ahead?” I joked.
“Hope so,” Jess said quietly.
Her solemn face was heartbreaking.
“We’re going to be ok, Jess,” I promised her. “I don’t know how yet. But I promise, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure we’re ok – better than ok.” My hand found hers and squeezed it. “I’m tired of living in a shitty apartment working our asses off. It might not come fast or easy, but I’m going to get us out of here.”
Finally saying the words felt good, even if I had no actual plan of action.
“Zane,” Jessica started.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” I interrupted.
She frowned. “Well, with you, obviously.”
“More than that,” I said. “Ideal situation in five years. Don’t give me the realistic answer. Jess, tell me; where do you want to be in five years?”
