“I could have given you a lift home.”
“Yeah. But, well…” Trihn shrugged. She didn’t have a response to that. She’d had a great time last night—an unbelievably amazing, jaw-dropping, unfathomably incredible good time last night—but when it came down to it, this still had been a one-night stand, just some really good sex. From the beginning, she had said that she didn’t want anything more. Neal had broken up with her less than twenty-four hours ago. She couldn’t even consider putting herself out there again already.
“This isn’t a one-night stand, Trihn.”
“Well, I’m not ready for a relationship.”
“I’m not letting you go this easy.”
She shook her head. “You should. I’m a wreck.”
“Yet I want you.”
“Damon, can we not do this?” she asked. “I just got out of a relationship. You’re an amazing guy who deserves a really great girl. I’m…not that girl right now.”
“I’m going to change your mind,” he told her without a trace of doubt in his voice.
In that one moment, she hoped that he was right. But then she frowned and looked away. “I’m sorry. I really don’t think so. This didn’t mean anything to me.”
Then, she pulled open the door to his apartment and hurried outside.
It was early morning, and her bare feet on the cold concrete didn’t help anything. She slouched into her leather jacket and raced down the stairs, shaking all the while. Her eyes darted around the full parking, but she didn’t see Bryna’s telltale Aston Martin.
Someone honked off to her right, and her head whipped to the side to see a Jeep parked a few spots over. Eric waved from the front seat, and she shook her head. Of course Bryna had sent Eric to get me in the morning. She couldn’t be bothered to get up from her beauty sleep.
“Hey,” Trihn said, popping open the passenger door and sliding into the seat. She pushed her hands against the vents with a sigh. “Thank God, it’s so warm in here.”
“Morning, Trihn,” he said with a smirk on his face as he pulled out of the parking lot before heading toward her apartment. “Have a good night?”
“The best,” she said.
“Not so good of a morning if you’re rushing out the door.”
“Neal broke up with me yesterday. Pretty sure that getting cozy with someone the same night is not a good idea.”
“For who?” Eric asked. “Neal was a loser who fucked with your life. Seems like a good thing for you to move on.”
Trihn shrugged. “I just think it’d be better for me to find myself again rather than jump right into something else. Last night was fun, E, but it was just fun.”
“So, you’re madly in love with him?”
“Oh my God, no! I’m not in love with him. I just met him!”
“So defensive.”
“Eric Wilkins, you’re insufferable. Bryna needs to keep you on a shorter leash or else I’ll have to kick your ass,” she said with a smile on her face.
“I’m not on a leash!”
“Puh-lease. You’re so whipped.”
Eric drove into the apartment complex with a broad smile on his face. “For Bryna, I’ll be anything.”
“Stop! You two are disgusting.”
Eric parked the car. They hopped out and and took the elevator up to the top floor.
“Don’t worry about a relationship right now, Trihn. If you think you need to work on you, then work on you. It took Bri and me over a year to finally get together. I wish we’d had all that extra time together, but I’m going to be with her for the rest of my life, so it’s all worth it in the end. That guy will find you at the right time.”
Trihn followed Eric into the apartment. “Thanks, E.”
“Maybe he already has,” he said with a laugh.
She nodded with an eye roll. “Maybe.”
The next morning, Trihn was up at the break of dawn, jittery with excitement over the first day of school.
Bryna and Stacia hadn’t yet surfaced, but she didn’t think they had morning classes. They certainly weren’t morning people. She wasn’t really either, but her first big fashion design class was this morning, and she was anxious to get started.
Her mother never let her live it down that she’d left NYU, one of the best fashion programs in the country, to go to LV State. The program was top-notch after Teena Hart had taken it over, but it still didn’t compare NYU. Not to mention, being that close to the US fashion mecca came with benefits and networking opportunities that just weren’t available in Las Vegas.
As Trihn was about to get her things together to leave for class, the doorbell rang. She hurried over to answer the door, worried that it might wake up her roommates. The doorbell rang again, and she cursed aloud. It was too early for all of that.
“Coming!” she called. She yanked the door open to find a delivery man standing there. “Can I help you?”
“I have a package. Sign here, please.” The man held out an electronic signature pad.
Trihn scribbled on the pad and then took a vase of red, pink, yellow, and white tulips along with a small box from the man.