The Fake Girlfriend

Chapter 36- Twenty Four Hours

I was floating.

No, I was falling.

Deeper and deeper into this hole that was love with Nick.

His hands- and his long guitar fingers- were so gentle. They kneaded into my skin, imprinting their fingerprints into my flesh. I wish the marks he left would never disappear. I wanted to be branded forever so I would remember this night.

There weren't many words that were exchanged. Just quiet breaths and sighs because everything in that moment felt so right. Nick's lips were pressed into mine, never leaving me as my back was pushed into the mattress. I lost my shirt, my pants... my sanity.

He was amazing.

As he entered me, he never broke our eye contact, whispering, "I love you, I love you," into the small space between us like it was a secret song that only we knew. I loved that medley. I would never forget it as long as I lived.

With slow strokes, I realized that I loved to run my hands over his back, dig my nails gently into his skin, feel the muscles contract as he continued to roll his hips. He was intoxicating. I was so drunk and dizzy off of him that I forgot how we had even gotten here. I forgot all the dumb mistakes that I had made to push us apart. All that mattered now is that I was his and he was mine.

There wasn't anything magical that took place when we reached our climaxes. Just both of us breathing heavily into the hotel room, my toes curling with pleasure and Nick holding me as close to his chest as I could possibly get without disappearing into his flesh.

This would forever be my home.

***

I had spent most of the night curled into Nick's bare arms, nuzzling closer to him in my sleep. It wasn't until I woke up, with the sun shining through the blinds that I realized the space he had previously resided was empty.

The bed felt cold without him- bare. I suddenly felt too naked, too vulnerable and exposed. So much that I went to the shower and scrubbed my body with the cheap bar of hotel soap, holding my arms around myself when I was fully dressed.

Where did he go?

I looked at my phone and there were no texts, no missed calls, no emails or notes left to give me any proof that last night was real.

I tried not too think too much of it, maybe he went to get croissants and coffee like I had previously done with him. I remember how he had been pacing when I returned to his apartment with the warm bag in my hand. How his eyes were wild with worry and doubt and we later laughed about it over buttered pastries.

He'd be back. I just knew it.

The clock reached 11:30 a.m. and my stomach growled in anticipation of the food he might bring me. Maybe he was waiting for lunch?

My hands nervously tugged at my curls. We had just had sex... I just had sex with Nick Jonas who had previously confessed my love for and now he's not here...

"Should I text him?" I later spoke into the phone, biting my cuticles nervously.

Ruby, my fiery little friend, scoffed into the phone. "Of course you shouldn't," she said, as if it was the most obvious answer. "He left your place this morning. That means the ball is in his court."

I rolled my eyes. "I never liked basketball ball," I murmured.

"Well, I now know you enjoy other activities in your free time at least..."

I gasped. "Ruby!"

She became quiet through the phone as if she was contemplating my situation with long thoughts. "When do you come home?" she asked.

"Tomorrow morning."

She hummed into the phone. "Let's wait until tonight," she said. "If you haven't heard from him then, you have every right to march next door to his hotel room and lay it into him."

I sighed. That was agreeable. But, with the clock approaching five p.m. I nervously paced the room. I had ordered room service a couple too many times- charging Nick's card frivolously in the process. It was the least he could do for this absolute torture he had me in.

In a panic, I began styling my hair, encouraging my frizziness to lay down into curls. I darkened up my makeup more than usual- I was nervous and stalling, but if I was going to have to go with guns drawn, I might as well look good doing it.

My hands shook slightly as I zipped up my suede boots. I might have been overdoing the outfit a bit, but the styling of clothes was calming me down slightly. Leave it to fashion to induce a sliver of happiness into my life after the day I've had.

I smoothed down my t-shirt dress, taking a deep breath. It was 8 p.m.

It had been at least twelve hours since I've heard from Nick.

Twenty-four since we had slept together after confessing our love for one another.

This was not how I expected our first time to go. Of course I had spent sleepless nights fantasizing about the first time we would have sex. I assumed it would be on some exotic vacation he took me on- possibly tropical. With salty air and a breeze coming through white curtains.

A lot like Twilight, but isn't that every girl's dream?

What I didn't expect was a hotel room after I swore to myself that I would never get back with him. I swore that I would never open up my heart to him again because if I did, it could get hurt.

Maybe that's why he was doing this. To show me how he had felt when I broke up with him. To show me that he was capable of pulling the same trick that I had. You could only protect your heart if you were in control of the situation.

And like Ruby had said: the ball was in his court now.

This is what I deserved.

I had broke his heart after he had entrusted it to me. He had every right to do this to me.

Every. Freaking. Right.

I shoved a tear off my cheek. I had worked too hard on this makeup to ruin it like this.

My feet, clicking with the heels of my boots, took me out of my room and straight to his hotel door where I knocked as loudly as I could muster. I wanted him to know it could be no one else but me on the other side of that door.

But I waited. I waited once again. Five minutes turned into ten minutes and evolved to fifteen. No one opened the damned door.

I couldn't bring myself to go back to my room. It had been torture sitting in there for the past twelve hours alone with my thoughts. Since we were on the top floor, I walked to the end of the hallway to the door that lead to the rooftop pool- and thankfully it was empty.

The moon was reflecting off the water that glowed with a bluish hue from the lights within it. The sleek modern chairs were empty and I found myself sinking into one that sat next to the balcony. I felt as if I could see all of Seattle from here, the lights of the nightlife glittering into the night. It was beautiful. It almost let me forget about the ache in my chest.

"Raynnneeee..." I heard my name being sung off of someone's lips. The lips I had been thinking about all day.

 I glanced up.

Nick was standing there. Across the pool, giving me the dorkiest smile, his eyes shining...

"Are you drunk?" I asked. What was happening?

He chuckled, scratching the back of his head, letting his eyes rake up my figure that was tensely lounging in the chair. "Yeah," he breathed. "and you look hot."