Chapter Six #5
Heading up to her apartment, she quietly set her things down and slipped off her shoes. Gingerly, she crept toward the bathroom and made it a few feet before Chloe rushed out of her room.
She waved her cane frantically. “You’re home!”
“You’re awake? Don’t you have work in like, five hours?” Sophie asked.
Chloe headed toward the couch. “Yeah, but you just had your first … I don’t know what to call it. I’d be a shitty friend if I didn’t wait up for you.”
Sophie snorted. “Thanks for looking out for me.”
Chloe waved away the sentiment. “Of course, Soph, always. But why didn’t you text me so I knew you weren’t dead?”
“Sorry, I left my phone on the hall table.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “Just give me details now.”
Sophie laced her fingers around her knee and leaned back on the couch, starting with James’s apartment.
“I bet this place pales in comparison,” Chloe exclaimed.
Sophie nodded, even though she wouldn’t trade their apartment for the world.
At least three mysterious stains dotted the vicinity, but there were so many memories attached to them, it didn’t matter. The smell of cooking food from downstairs adhered to the walls, but as far as she was concerned, that was part of the charm.
Chloe grinned. “What was the sex like?”
Sophie was grateful that it was dark around them. She wasn’t embarrassed, at least not really. But now that the moment stared her in the face, something blocked the words on her tongue, and she wasn’t exactly sure what that was.
“It was amazing, but he’s more … possessive than I thought, and I didn’t think I’d be as into it as I was.” Her cheeks flushed. “Fuck, what’s wrong with me? I mean, I shouldn’t like that, right?”
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong,” Chloe exclaimed. “As long as he didn’t hurt you, and you didn’t feel forced to do anything. You didn’t, right?”
Sophie shook her head. She didn’t doubt that if she told him to stop, he would’ve, and if she wanted to leave or change her mind, he would’ve let her, no questions asked.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out.
Did you get back ok? I’m assuming you are bc Pip just texted me. Also, he said to give you Lina’s number
He pasted in a contact beneath.
She liked the message and tapped in a reply.
Yeah. Thanks for the ride
His answer mimicked her words earlier.
I can’t tell if that’s a come-on or not
She snorted.
Chloe cleared her throat and arched her neck to see the screen. “Is that him? He’s
already texting you? He’s not coming off as desperate, is he?”
Sophie shook her head, smiling. She appreciated her friend caring about her, but there was no need to worry.
To Sophie, it was clear.
If James wanted something more or for her to be the one standing next to him, that wasn’t possible.
She woke hours later to her phone buzzing furiously. Pushing aside the soreness that rocked her lower half, she squinted at the screen and groaned.
“What?” she snapped into the receiver.
“Hi to you too, Pee Pee.” Her younger brother’s voice flooded the room.
It’s a Saturday morning, what’s he doing up?
She checked the time on her phone and sighed. She slept later than she thought. Sighing, she flopped back on her pillow. “What do you want, Noah?”
Silence, punctuated by the closing of cabinets, ruled the other end of the line.
Annoyance crept into her throat. “Noah?”
“Mom wants you home this weekend.” He crunched down on something. “So be home.”
“What? What if I had plans?”
“Do you?”
“I mean, no.”
Not unless getting drunk with her friends and singing “Uptown Girl” too loudly was part of the plan.
“That’s what I thought,” her brother chirped.
“Shut up.”
“Be nice, you’re on speaker,” he said.
“XiǎoDān, it’s been too long since your last visit,” her mom reasoned, entering the conversation. “I miss seeing you.”
Sophie closed her eyes. “We FaceTimed two days ago, Mom.”
Plus, her last trip home was a month ago, but bringing that up wouldn’t help anything.
“Aiyah, in person, XiǎoDān.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll come up,” she caved. “I have to go now. See you Saturday.”
She hung up and groaned, climbing out of bed.
Guilt riddled her stomach.
Her trips would be much longer than just the weekend if it weren’t for her job, but if she got that promotion, it would make up for all that lost time.
All they had to do was be careful.
Yawning, she shuffled toward the bathroom only to be met with a locked door.
The door swung open and Oliver blinked. “Oh. Look who’s finally up.”
She flipped him off. “What are you even doing here?”
He shrugged. “I needed to borrow your stepladder. Speak of the devil …”
Chloe came out of the kitchen carrying said stepladder before setting it down. She turned to grab something else, using the wall for support instead of her cane.
“Leave her alone, will you?” she admonished. “You’d be tired, too, if you were getting fucked all night.”
“On the contrary, when Taylor and I—”
“TMI!” Chloe stuffed one of the apple slices on the plate she held into Oliver’s mouth.
Sophie snorted and took the plate from her friend. “Thanks for that.”
She put them on the coffee table before disappearing into the bathroom. When she came out, her friends were sprawled out on the sofa, laughing amongst themselves.
Oliver picked up an apple slice. “Soph, do you have a picture of the guy from yesterday?”
“Google him. James Tian,” Sophie grabbed an apple and went to sit next to Oliver.
“Excuse me?” He huffed a laugh.
“Just do it.”
His keyboard clicked and he choked on the fruit. “O-Oh, that’s why you said to Google him. I thought you were joking.”
“Let me see.” Chloe took the phone, reading aloud from the screen. “James Tian is the executive chairman of Lotus Art Consultation. At thirty-three, he’s amongst the youngest people over thirty to hold a spot on the Forbes Billionaires List, with a net worth of” —she gasped—“…Sophie?”
Oliver looked faint. “It says he’s the youngest son of the owner of Tian Corporation. As in the private shipping company?”
Sophie picked up an apple slice and played with it. “Yeah.”
“How are you acting so nonchalant about this?” Chloe squawked.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Sophie said. “So, he has money. He’s still a person.”
Someone still capable of shattering her just like that asshole had when she gave him a chance at that party.
“You made it sound like he was well-off,” Chloe spluttered. “But this isn’t I-Own-Multiple-Vacation-Homes rich, this is I-Own-A-Private-Island rich.”
“I think the real question here is what does James want?” Oliver asked. Like, is he using you for publicity?” Oliver frowned. “No, wait, you guys aren’t going public with it. Maybe—”
“Maybe he doesn’t have a hidden agenda,” Sophie shook her head. “But if you guys want peace of mind, I’m asking him to grab dinner Monday downstairs.”
Chloe and Oliver exchanged a look. “We’ll be there.”