When she got back, it turned out that vodka cranberries were the perfect pizza-eating drink. I wasn’t going to turn down a little oblivion at this point.
Cat being beside me under the blankets, watching trash TV helped keep my mind from the places it drifted to in the quiet of the hotel room on my own. I’d begun making plans for what would happen next, but it had to be outside the city. Crossing the bridge into Philly hadn’t been far enough to keep from running into Seth, but I could deal with Seth. Adding Hunter to the mix would rip my heart out and stomp on it. My job was portable. Maybe I would take Cat up on her offer to crash on her couch for a bit. It wasn’t like she was in her apartment much anyway. As long as I had a solid internet connection, a corner of a room, and my computer, I could do my work.
A fresh start in a new city sounded like a better idea all the time.
This could be my chance to mend my heart in a new place without the reminders of our time together. Maybe then I’d forget how much it hurt. Right now, it felt like the pain had been stitched deep into my heart, and I wasn’t sure how long it would take to heal.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have my time with Hunter become vague, distant memories of a place I’d left behind. But I didn’t know what other choice I had.
40
Sabrina
Sabrina - Zara (getting ready/going to NYE event)
The New Year’s Eve festivities were in full swing all over the country and city. Fireworks had been going off outside my hotel window since dusk. There was an electric air of anticipation and promise blanketing the city streets, but it hadn’t reached me. New Year’s Eve always felt like a letdown, like being packed into Times Square for one night of your life and ending up peeing into a Gatorade bottle while people barfed into KFC buckets, all while penned in for eight hours with a hundred other people in below-freezing temperatures.
I’d stay in my hotel room tonight, thank you very much.
The door burst open, and Cat walked in with a garment bag.
My stomach dropped, and I was shaking my head before she even held out the bag.
I waved my hands in front of me. “No.”
Her lips curled into that should-be-trademarked smile. “Yes.”
“Not tonight, Cat. Let’s hang here, order room service, and watch TV.” The whine was clear even to me.
“Oh, you mean the thing we’ve been doing for the past week? I’m antsy, Sabrina.” She rocked up onto her toes, which was impressive in those heels, and shook her shoulders like an impatient five-year-old. “This is the longest I’ve been in one place for years.”
“Shouldn’t that be a nice change of pace?”
“No, it’s making me feel like I’m going to burst out of my skin. Please, just go out with me. There are parties all over the city.”
I flopped back on the bed. “Thank you for thinking of me and trying to cheer me up, but I’m not in the mood tonight.”
Cat tugged on my arm. “Which is exactly why you need to go out. Shake off the post-Christmas blues for a few hours to get dressed up, dance, and drink with your friends.”
The door opened again. Damn key cards. Next time they left, I was flipping the door lock.
Zara rushed in, smiling wide. “Did she say yes?”
“Not yet.”
They both looked at me.
“Why don’t you two go together? You’ll have a lot of fun and be much better company for each other.” Turns out Cat aggressively giving out her phone number to anyone she felt might be a new friend had come in handy when Zara had called Cat after picking me up that night at the coffee shop.
“We want to go with you.” Zara sat on the edge of the desk.
“But—”
“I will burn this hotel to the ground if that’s what it takes to get you out of this room.”
Zara’s head snapped in Cat’s direction.
“See what you’ve unleashed?” I flung my hand in Cat’s direction. “You brought her here, not me.”
I pulled the pillow over my head. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I don’t even have anything to wear. All my things are still at Hunter’s. Any word on when I might be able to go over there, Zara?”
She grabbed for the pillow. “No, sorry. He’s been getting ready for the New Year’s Eve concert, so it’s been hard to track him down. But he’s probably so busy he’s not even in the apartment. I’m sure you could get them to let you up.”
I turned my face to the side so I didn’t smother myself, and peeked out. “I’m not willing to take that chance. I need to know he won’t be there. I can go pick up all my stuff and be out in a few hours.” Lugging all my equipment out would be a pain in the ass, but Ian or one of the other doormen would help. That would make moving out suck a lot less than it had moving out of my last place. Although my heart was broken in a different way this time.
Zara rubbed her hand on my leg and looked to Cat. “It’ll all be okay, but let’s put everything with you and Hunter on the back burner tonight. Let’s go out and have some fun.”
“Shouldn’t you be with Leo?”
“He understands. I’ve got a friend down, and I’m not leaving her behind tonight.”
I flipped the blankets over my head and shouted to them. “You and Cat go. Just let me stay here and watch the street-level fireworks display.”
“Sabrina, don’t make me come in there after you,” Cat chimed in.
“I don’t even have anything to wear.”
A heavy weight dropped across my chest and stomach.
I pushed the blankets back and peered down at the black garment bag draped across me.
“Don’t worry about the clothes. I’ve got you covered.”
“What the hell is it with people feeling like they need to dress me? Am I unable to dress myself?”
Cat shrugged. “At the moment, yeah. Be happy you’re getting choices. There are three dresses in there. Get into the bathroom and try them on.”
“You’re both actually going to make me do this?” I looked between them.
“If everyone plays nice, Sabrina puts on the dress, and we leave here with no more argument, I can leave the Duraflame logs and matches behind.”
Cat was madness wrapped in chaos, wearing Louboutins. She unzipped the garment bag and pulled three other dry-clean bags from inside without breaking her gaze. “You say I’m dramatic. I’m not asking you to drink Drano in a suicide pact. All I’m asking is for you to let us take you out tonight.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “If I have to shove you into that dress myself, I will. I’m not letting up until you come with us.”
Glaring at them both, I swung my legs off the side of the bed and snatched up the hangers. “How do you know I won’t lock myself in the bathroom until midnight?”
With a sigh, Cat took the dresses from my hand and led me toward the open bathroom door. “Because you’re ready for the distraction just as much as we want to distract you. Tomorrow you can go back to wallowing. Let’s spend tonight getting drunk, dancing, and pretending that everything will be okay in the morning. I’ve got one night of freedom, Sabrina. Please?”