24. Cole
COLE
Introspection was not in my nature, yet I found myself quiet on the ride to the reception. Several things were hitting me at once. First of all, James was clearly in love with Audrey. He’d never been a fan of his family, but running out on Todd’s wedding was still wildly out of character. He’d left because he was in love with his escort.
And he wasn’t the only one.
I wondered what my mom would have thought about Jenny. Probably, she would’ve loved her. Like Jenny, my mother was a warm person—the opposite of my father. If a stranger sneezed near us, she was the first one to always say, “God bless you.” That was one of the small, funny things I remembered about her. She was always smiling. She smiled at everyone in the grocery store and when we walked down the street. People always smiled back.
When I lost her, I lost my smile—my real one. But I felt like since I’d met Jenny, it had somehow come back.
I’d never been serious about a woman before. I had zero interest in forming attachments; I’d always believed a romantic relationship would weigh me down. But I didn’t feel that way about Jenny. Because she was an escort, she was wildly different from the wealthy society women I usually “dated,” if that’s what you could even call it. But it was more than that. Jenny wasn’t the type of person that you got to know—she just sort of happened to you.
Me. She’d just sort of happened to me. And I didn’t know what that meant, except that I couldn’t quite remember what I was doing before I met her.
And I had zero idea what I’d do after her job ended, and she was long gone.
Luckily, James was at the reception. But Audrey was nowhere in sight. Jenny went to the ladies’ room while I found my friend at the bar, double-fisting bourbons. Without a word, he handed me one. I watched, alarmed, as he knocked his back and immediately ordered another.
“What happened?” I asked. “Where’s Audrey?”
“She quit.” He ordered another drink.
I didn’t understand. “She quit…?”
“ Me. She quit me.”
“Oh fuck, James. Are you serious?”
He shrugged. “I’m serious about getting shit-faced.”
“What’re you going to tell everyone?” I asked. “We’re supposed to go on the trip tomorrow.”
“I told Todd she’s sick.” He eyed his crystal tumbler, assessing the amber liquid inside. “I’ve decided that, for tonight, this is how I’m handling it.”
“I’m sorry. That sucks.”
“You’re telling me.” He held up his glass. “Anyway, cheers. To Todd and Evie. I hope somebody around here lives happily fucking ever after.”
“Uh…yeah.” I tipped my glass toward his. “That’s quite the toast.”
He muttered something unintelligible. Before James could order another bourbon, I pulled him away from the bar into a quiet corner. “What happened? Why’d she leave? I thought things were going great.”
He shrugged. “Her mother showed up at the wedding. Did Jenny tell you?”
I nodded. “She said the mother’s bad news.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“What did she want? Why did she try and crash the wedding?”
“She’s after money. I’ve given her plenty to shut her up, but she keeps threatening me to get more. But I handled her today.” James sounded sure of himself. “She won’t be back.”
“But still, Audrey’s upset?” I asked.
“Yes, she’s beating herself up about it,” James said. “She said she had no business accepting the job in the first place and that she’s put me in danger.”
“She quit because she wants to protect you,” I deduced.
“Exactly. She thinks she’s not good enough for me. She says her mother will keep coming back and that it’s not safe for me to be with her,” he sighed. “Don’t tell me Jenny’s pulling the same crap with you.”
“We haven’t gotten that far,” I admitted. “Jenny hasn’t told me anything about her past.”
“Interesting,” James said. “Maybe she’s better off than the rest of us and doesn’t have one.”
“That’d be a neat trick,” I agreed. “But I don’t think she’s that lucky.”
“Probably not.” James downed the rest of his bourbon.
The prospect of watching my friend drink until he fell over wasn’t very appealing. Suddenly, I felt tired. I wanted to find Jenny and just go home. “We’re probably going to head out early—hope that’s okay.”
“I’d do the same thing if I had someone to go home with,” James said gloomily. “You’ll be there tomorrow, though, right?”
“Of course. I’m not going to abandon you with your family on vacation. Plus, Jenny’s excited. She’s never been to the Caribbean before.”
“Neither has Audrey.” He sounded like he might cry.
I regarded my friend. “You might want to lay off the bourbon,” I counseled.
“Fuck you, Bryson,” he said as he ambled back toward the bar.
At least he was acting alittlelike himself. It made me feel slightly less guilty as I abandoned him and searched the party for Jenny. She’d returned from the ladies’ and was drinking with the bridesmaids, who were all interchangeably thin and blond, except for one lone brunette. Jenny said something that made them all laugh.
“Your girlfriend isadorable,” cooed one of them, a non-descriptively pretty blond. “And she sure can party! Where did you two meet?”
I coughed. I knew the Madam had supplied us with a background story, but I couldn’t remember it.
Jenny nudged me. “The gym! Don’t you remember, babe? I was on the treadmill next to yours, and you couldn’t stop starin’ at my ass.”
“I was mesmerized by it.” I grinned. “Still am.”
“Nice,” said the bridesmaid, her voice wistful.
“You guys goin’ on the trip tomorrow?” Jenny asked the bridesmaids.
“Hell yes!” said the brunette. “I cannot wait!”
“Me either,” Jenny said eagerly. “I’ve never been to the Caribbean before.”
All of Evie’s bridesmaids were rich, just like her. They looked at Jenny like she had three heads. “You’ve never been to theCaribbean?” The blonde closest to us sounded baffled.
“Never.”
“Girl, we are going to have a good time! We’re going to drink rum out of coconuts and get wild!” The brunette raised her drink, and they all hollered, “Cheers!”
“Let’s do shots!” one of Evie’s cousins shouted.
They stampeded toward the bar. Celia Preston, who had just entered the room, gaped at the herd of hooting, hollering, already tipsy young women. She grabbed a martini from a passing server, then watched as they ordered rounds of shots and downed them.
“Jenny, are you ready to get out of here?” I asked.
“Sure.” She looked longingly at the crowded bar for a moment, then smiled. “I have all week to teach these whipper-snappers a thing or two.”
“That’s my girl.” I grabbed her hand. While Celia Preston was sipping her martini and scowling at the partying bridesmaids, and James was leaning against the bar with a fresh drink and a thunderous expression, we took the opportunity to sneak away.
“They’re all going to be seriously hung over in the morning, including James,” I said once we were safely in the car. “Did you talk to Audrey?”
“Nah, she wouldn’t pick up. What happened, anyway?”
“James said she quit.”
“What?” Jenny looked panicked. “She can’t do that! She needs the money for Tommy, he’s in a group home, and they can’t afford to keep him in there?—”
“Woah, easy. Who’s Tommy?”
“Dre’s brother,” she explained. “He’s got special needs, and their mom wasn’t looking after him too good. So Audrey found a home for him that’s nice, like, top of the line. He likes it there. But it’s wicked expensive.”
I made a mental note to give Audrey money for these expenses, then realized James wouldn’t hear of it. He’d probably already taken care of the brother. “I’m sure it will work out. I think maybe they just argued. But I don’t know if she’ll be coming on the trip tomorrow.”
“Oh, this sucks.” Jenny frowned and shook her head. “Dre’s probably upset that her mother showed up at the wedding. She coulda ruined everything. If the Prestons saw her and put two and two together, it would’ve been terrible. She’s probably mad at herself for the situation, even though it’s not her fault. She’s probably feeling real bad, you know?”
I reached for her hand. “It’s a shame her mother’s like that.”
“It is.” Jenny nodded solemnly. “Dre doesn’t deserve that.”
We were quiet for a minute. I wanted to ask Jenny about her own family, but I hesitated. After a moment, I asked, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I have a brother. Don’t talk to him, though. He’s a drunk.”
She said this matter-of-factly as if she was talking about the weather. “Oh. What about your parents?” I asked.
“Um…” She stared out the window. “I never had a lot of parental guidance, I guess you could say. I was pretty much on my own.”
“Oh,” I said again, lamely.
“Yeah, you know,” Jenny said. “People with solid backgrounds don’t usually end up hooking, if you know what I mean. It’s not exactly aspirational.”
Another awkward silence stretched out between us. I wanted to ask her so many things, but I didn’t know how to phrase my questions without sounding like an ass.
“I was a waitress before I was with the agency,” Jenny offered. “At the Sizzler in the Theater District. Real classy.” She winked at me.
“Did you like it?”
“It fucking sucked,” she said immediately. “You ever wait tables? No, of course not. You make, like, two dollars an hour plus tips. I never coulda lived on that.”
I put my arm around her. “I’m sorry if things have been hard.”
“Nah, you don’t need to be sorry, Coley. I’m takin’ care of myself. I have a little apartment, and I’m doing just fine, thank you.” She sounded a teeny bit defiant.
“Okay, Jenny,” I said.
“Okay, Coley,” she said and nestled against me. “I’m looking forward to our trip tomorrow. I just hope Audrey makes it, because it’d suck to be the only person there who’s never been to the Caribbean before, you know?”
“I know.” I kissed the top of her head. I most certainlydidn’tknow since my family had vacationed in St. Bart’s every winter since I’d been born. “But you’ll have the bridesmaids—they adore you. And you have me.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” She settled against me, and my heart swelled. “And you’re pretty good.”
“You’re pretty good too, Jenny.” I pulled her closer against me, inhaling her coconut-y scent.
I wondered what I would’ve done in James’s position had Jenny run off and left me. But then I reminded myself that I wasn’t prone to introspection, and I thanked God for that.