35. Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Avery
Corbin is coming with me to meet my family. Part of me still can’t believe he said yes. An even bigger part of me can’t believe he said yes without me needing to talk him into it. He’d agreed so easily. And he’s been totally on board with everything. When I told him it was a black-tie party, he hadn’t balked. He just made an appointment for a tux fitting. He also rearranged his schedule and coordinated with Noah and Jessie to close the shop for the weekend. They both looked shocked by his announcement. Jessie winked at me when no one was looking, making me blush. Noah seemed excited to have some extra time with his wife and kids.
I told my mother I was bringing a friend with me to the gala. I managed to skirt around defining my relationship with Corbin when she’d asked who he was. I’ll tell her when I get there. I don’t want her to have preconceived opinions before she meets him. Once she gets to know him and sees how happy he makes me, she’ll love him as much as I do.
Shit.
Love. My thoughts come to a giant, screeching halt. When did that happen? When did I go from hating Corbin to wanting him to loving him? It happened so gradually that I didn’t notice until it was too late. Well, that’s not entirely true. I had my suspicions weeks ago. I just ignored them in favor of focusing on all the delicious orgasms he gave me. I don’t know how he feels about me. I know he cares. He wouldn’t be coming with me tomorrow if he didn’t. Right? Maybe this trip is just what we need. Some time away from our usual lives so we can figure out what this is. It’s not crazy to believe he might love me too, right? If not now, maybe someday.
Speaking of Corbin, he’s supposed to be picking up his tux this afternoon between clients. We’re leaving in the morning for New York. I’m nervous for him to meet my mother and see where I grew up. He knows my family is wealthy, but I didn’t tell him everything. My family’s money is the least interesting thing about my life. I don’t want him to judge me based on that. I don’t want him to go into this with biases. I’m not sure if it’s the best way to go about it, but I’m hoping it will all work out. It’s not like I’m lying to him about anything.
Because Corbin had to reschedule his Saturday clients, he’s planning to stay late tonight to make sure he doesn’t break his commitments. He sends Noah and Jessie home at their usual time while he finishes his last client. When I try to stay with him, he hands me the key to his apartment and practically orders me to leave. Since I still need to pack a few things, I don’t argue too much about it.
After leaving Elemental Ink, I head to my apartment to grab the rest of my necessities before going back to Corbin’s place to wait for him. He said he’d be finished by 11, but I know sometimes his calculations are a little off. Still, when midnight comes and goes and he’s still not home, I start to worry. The shop is only a ten-minute drive from here at this late hour, even on a Friday night. I try not to let my imagination wander, but it’s not easy.
I finally break down and call him, but the call goes straight to voicemail. I text him to call me back as soon as he can; hoping that if he’s still working, he’ll at least send me some acknowledgment, but there’s no response. I call again, but with the same result. Now I’m starting to really worry. I pace the apartment trying to decide how long to wait before I go search for him. Boston is a big city, but I could at least go to the shop and see if his car is there, right? I wish I had Henley’s number. I’d call her and see if she’s heard from him. I wonder if I’m overreacting. He often forgets to charge his phone. It’s possible that it just died and he hasn’t noticed it yet. But it doesn’t explain why he’s not here. It’s not like him not to show up when he says he will.
“Fuck this,” I mutter, reaching for my keys.
I’m going to go look for him. If he’s safe at the shop, I’ll turn around and come back. He never needs to know I left the apartment. I reach for the door just as I hear a key in the lock. Relief hits me hard and fast when the door opens, and I see Corbin standing there. I launch myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“You scared the shit out of me,” I say. “Why didn’t you call me if you were going to be this late?”
“Sorry,” he says, exhaustion evident in his voice.
He kisses my cheek before easing me aside so he can close the door and lock it behind him. He looks more than exhausted now that I get a good look at him. He looks almost defeated.
“You okay?” I ask. “Did something happen?”
He huffs out a humorless laugh as he walks past me toward the bedroom. “Nothing new,” he mutters.
I follow him, my worry from earlier returning. Corbin is home and safe, but something clearly happened to upset him.
“Is Henley okay?” I ask.
He strips off his shirt and tosses it into the hamper. “She’s fine.”
“Corbin, look at me,” I say. “Is everything okay?”
He heaves a sigh as he turns to face me. There’s something in his expression that seems almost…empty.
“What?” he asks, his voice hard. “I’m tired, Avery. Do we have to do this tonight?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Do what? I’m just worried about you.”
“Well, you don’t need to worry about me,” he says. “I’m fine. I always am.”
He turns to walk into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Moments later, I hear the shower turn on. I stand there in the middle of the bedroom, wondering what the hell just happened and why it feels like we’re fighting. Things were fine earlier. What happened after I left the shop?
I want to follow him into the bathroom and demand he tell me what’s wrong. I want to force him to let me in, but I know how well that would go. Still, I can’t just leave him this way. Something is clearly bothering him.
I hear the water shut off and decide to wait for him to emerge from the bathroom. When he comes out, a towel wrapped around his waist and his dark hair damp, I almost forget why I’m waiting to talk to him. Part of me wonders if I should give up on talking and try to tease him out of his bad mood with my body. But I know sex won’t fix whatever is wrong with him. It would just be a temporary fix .
“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?” I ask, trying to keep my voice low and even.
“Not really,” he says, moving to the dresser to pull out some underwear and a pair of gym shorts.
I’m disappointed but not surprised by his dismissive tone. I could push him, but I don’t think it’ll get the results I want. Maybe a good night’s sleep will help. He’s clearly exhausted. It’s been a long day.
“Okay,” I say. “Let’s just get some sleep. We’ve got to be up early for our flight.”
He gets dressed and sighs as he sits on the edge of the bed, running a hand through his hair. He doesn’t look at me when he speaks.
“I don’t think I should go tomorrow.”
It takes me a second to process what he’s saying. When I do, I’m surprised and a little hurt. He’s backing out? “Why? Did something happen?”
He shakes his head, still not meeting my gaze. “It’s just not a good time for me to leave. That’s all.”
I know that’s not the reason he’s doing this. There’s something more that he’s not telling me, but I don’t know how to get him to open up. He’s never been the kind of man to talk about what he’s feeling, but he’s never shut me out quite like this. I also know him well enough to know that if I keep pushing him, he’ll feel cornered and lash out. The best thing I can do is give him time to come to me. No matter how much I want to badger him for the truth .
“Okay,” I say. “Will you drive me to the airport in the morning?”
“That’s all you have to say?” he asks.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say, Corbin,” I say, suddenly tired of this whole conversation. “I can’t force you to go if you don’t want to. Maybe some time apart is what you need. We can talk when I get back.”
His laugh is derisive. “Talk. Right. That’s what you do best.”
The comment hits me harder than I expected, making me recoil slightly. Part of me wants to tell him off, but the rest of me realizes what he’s doing.
“Why are you trying to pick a fight right now?” I ask. “I said it’s fine, and it is.”
“You say that, but you don’t mean it,” he says. “I can tell.”
“I’m not doing this with you tonight,” I say. “We can talk when I get back from New York.”
“Do you even want to go to this thing?” he asks, confusing me with the change of subject. “Because you don’t seem excited to go. How am I supposed to be happy to go if you seem like you’re dreading it?”
“It’s not that I’m dreading it, exactly,” I say. “I’m excited to see my mom. I just don’t like the spectacle of this party, even though I know it’s necessary.”
“That’s another thing,” he says. “What is this black-tie family thing, anyway? You haven’t told me shit about it. What kind of family event is black-tie? ”
“I was going to explain everything tomorrow,” I say. “My mother’s company—the Bradshaw Foundation—hosts a huge charity gala every year. It’s for a good cause and benefits a lot of people.”
“And you’re expected to be there?” he asks. “Why? You don’t work for them, Avery.”
“I have to be there,” I say. “It’s a lot to explain. My family is complicated.”
“It’s always complicated. Life is complicated. It’s messy, and raw, and sometimes it’s fucking hard.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I ask, feeling my temper finally begin to rise.
He scoffs. “I think you believe you do. But you don’t know the first thing about real hardship.”
Of course, that’s what he thinks of me. It’s not like I’ve given him any reason to think differently. Still, it hurts that he can’t see past my family’s money to realize that I’m more than some rich girl.
“I guess that’s what you would think.”
“So, tell me,” he says. “Tell me what I’m supposed to think.”
“I think you want me to be someone I’m not.”
“God damn it, Avery. Do you even know what you want? You claim you want to be a tattoo artist, but you’re dropping it the second your mother calls you to go to some fancy party. You say you want to break away from her expectations, but I don’t see you trying that hard to do it. So, which is it? You want to be an artist? Or do you just care about what they think of you? ”
“You don’t understand.”
“No. I don’t fucking understand. Do you?”
I know I could explain it to him. I could tell him the whole dark story and maybe he’d understand. Maybe he’d apologize and agree to come with me tomorrow. Maybe he’d go back to being the man he’s been for the last two weeks. The one who makes me laugh and holds my hand just because. The one I was falling for. But I don’t want that. I don’t want him to come with me out of pity or obligation. It’s clear that something happened tonight to make him change his mind about coming with me to meet my mother. He won’t tell me what it was, but it doesn’t matter. It’s so obvious now. I feel like such an idiot.
“This isn’t going to work, is it?” I whisper. “You and me. We were never going to work, were we?”
Corbin sits there silently, not moving, not looking at me. I wait for him to say something, to argue with my words. I wait for him to do or say something to show me he wants this to work. But he doesn’t say anything. That hurts me more than any angry words could have.
“I think I’m going to go,” I say, fighting against the urge to cry.
I move on autopilot, gathering up the bags I packed for the trip and carrying them out to the front door. Corbin still sits frozen on the bed, making no move to stop me from leaving. My eyes stay dry all the way to the car and the entire drive home. It isn’t until I walk into my empty apartment and close the door behind me that the tears start to fall.