“It was wonderful. I swam with the dolphins.”
“Oh. You actually got in the water with those creatures? I could never.”
“It was a lot of fun.”
“They’re so slimy.” Jess shuddered.
Jillian casually picked up her drink and took a sip without responding.
“I think swimming with the dolphins sounds like fun.” I smiled at Jillian.
“You would, Drew. I don’t think I would allow you to sleep in my bed after being in the water with those things.”
Rolling my eyes, I thought to myself, I think I’ll go tomorrow.
Chapter Nine
Jillian
I was starting to understand the unhappiness that radiated from Drew when he was with Jess. She was definitely a piece of work. She reminded me of Grant and that was not a good thing.
“So, Jillian, what made you decide to leave your fiancé standing at the altar?” she asked.
“Don’t you think that’s a little personal?” Drew interjected.
“No. She told you that she did it, so I was just wondering why.”
Sitting there, I was feeling uncomfortable about her question, but I wasn’t going to let her get to me. If she wanted to know, then I would tell her.
“I wasn’t in love with him.”
“Fair enough. But didn’t you know that before the wedding?”
I wasn’t about to get into my whole life story with this bitch I didn’t even know.
“I had my doubts, but when I found out that he slept with two strippers at his bachelor party, that sealed the deal,” I lied.
“Oh you poor thing. I wouldn’t have left him at the altar. I would have castrated him first and then left him.” She reached over and placed her arm around Drew. “That’s something I never have to worry about with Drew. Right, baby?” She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
He nodded his head as he gulped down the rest of his scotch and the waitress quickly brought him another.
“What do you do for a living?” I asked her.
“I’m a buyer for Neiman Marcus. And you?”
“I just graduated from Yale Law.”
Her brow raised and, suddenly, I became a threat.
“Wow. Impressive. I never would have taken you for the lawyer type.”
Her and me both.
“How long have the two of you been together?” I asked.
“About a year now.” She smiled. “A wonderful and beautiful year. Isn’t that right, baby?” She smiled.
Drew raised his brows as he took another sip of his drink. It was taking everything I had to hold in the laughter that so desperately wanted to come out. Things were starting to become very clear now. She invited me to have dinner with them so she could tell me how happy they were and to discreetly tell me to stay away.
“That’s great. I’m in a man-free zone and I couldn’t be happier.” I smiled.
“Really?” she asked with a twisted face.
“Yes. I’m on a journey of self-discovery and I have rid men from my life. No exceptions.”
“Forever?”
“No. Not forever. But I don’t have any plans to be involved with a man in the near future. I need to find myself first.”
All of a sudden, her attitude changed towards me.
“That is wonderful, Jillian. You are very inspiring. If I didn’t already know who I was, I’d go on a little journey myself.” She winked as she sipped her champagne. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the little girls’ room.”
As soon as she left, Drew looked at me and started shaking his head.
“I’m sorry about her asking you about your fiancé. Sometimes she has no filter or regard for other people’s feelings. Actually, make that all the time.” He smiled.
“No big deal.” I waved my hand in front of my face.
“Well, just so you know, it was a big deal to me.”
“So what did you two talk about when I was gone?” Jess asked as she sat down.
“I was just asking Jillian about the dolphins,” Drew replied.
“Are you still on that, baby? We aren’t going to swim with them.”
Drew sighed and picked up his drink. I could tell he was getting very angry by the way he clenched his jaw. After finishing our dinner and having a light conversation, it was getting late, so we headed back to the hotel.
“Thank you again for inviting me to dinner. I had a nice time.” I smiled at both of them.
“Thank you for joining us,” Drew spoke.
“Yes. We must do this again on our last night here,” Jess said.
“I’m looking forward to it. Have a nice night.” I smiled as I stepped off the elevator.
****
Drew
A few days had passed and Jess and I weren’t getting along at all. Everything that came out of her mouth annoyed me. All she did was whine and complain about everything. Mostly about me. After doing some shopping, she huffed and puffed all the way back to the hotel because I wouldn’t buy her a bracelet she wanted.
“You haven’t bought me one single thing since we got here,” she spoke in a harsh tone.
I could feel my blood boiling as I opened the door to the suite.