Wow, he really did need me here. How was he surviving?
It was still fairly early, and I saw a pizza place just a block from his apartment. I grabbed my keys and purse and snuck quietly out the front door. Outside, the air had a strange smell, not like the country. It was thick and muggy, and the humidity clung to my skin like tape on glass. Oh yes, New York City, what a wonderful place to be!
I clutched my bag as close to my body as possible — like my mother had warned me to do — and walked down the block towards the glowing red neon sign that read pizza. Horns honked, people cursed in the street, and the sidewalks seemed to slide like an escalator under my feet as people rushed quickly by in both directions. All the chaos was making me dizzy.
The bright red sign was flickering as I stared up, probably a fuse or bulb going bad I presumed. Inside, an elderly couple sat in a booth towards the back each sipping coffee from Styrofoam cups. So much for the planet.
“What can I get ya?” a wide man with a chubby face and short black hair asked. I stammered for a moment, trying to read the menu that was displayed behind him on a chalkboard.
“Just a slice of pepperoni,” I said. “And a Sprite.”
I watched him reach in with his bare hands and grab a slice of cheese pizza that was under the warmer in the front counter. He slapped it on a flimsy paper plate and then used the same grease and sauce covered hand to grip a plastic cup from the stack in front of him. “That’ll be ten bucks,” he said. I almost choked. Ten bucks for a pop and one slice of pizza? I handed him a twenty and noticed the large plastic jar on the counter that was marked tips as he gave me my change back — one five and five singles. I always tipped, but he hadn’t use gloves, and the food was highly overpriced compared to back home, but I shoved two bucks into the jar anyway and found a seat near the front window.
The elderly couple’s arms were stretched over the table, hands clasped together as their eyes locked and their smiles widened. That’s what I wanted for Calvin and me.
Unable to look at their sweet display of affection any longer, I stared out the window, watching people rushing by. The diversity was incredible, from men in business suits to punk rock looking teens to what I think were streetwalkers. The pizza was greasy, so greasy I had to sop up most of it with my napkin before I could even eat it. Once in my mouth, wow, what a burst of flavor. Oregano teased my tongue, the sauce so smooth, and the cheese so gooey and delicious it made me let out a soft moan.
The people on the streets continued on their journeys, all seemingly in a rush to get somewhere, or away from where they had been. My eyes were growing tired, my belly satisfied with the large slice, but I really didn’t want to go back to Calvin’s. I almost said home, but that wasn’t my home.
I cleaned up my mess, slid from the booth, and walked back out onto the crowded sidewalk.
“Whitney!”
I turned to find Calvin standing in front of me. No shirt, a pair of jogging pants, and shoes that didn’t match. “What are you doing out here alone?” he asked frantically, still slurring his words, weaving unsteadily on his feet.
“I was hungry.” I was still pissed but softened a little that he had been worried enough to come look for me, especially in the state he was in. “I thought we would have dinner, but you had other plans, remember?” I snapped, still not willing to let him off the hook that easily.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, sounding so sincere, his eyes growing even redder. He reached for my arm, and I didn’t pull away. He leaned heavily on me as we walked towards his apartment building and up the three flights of stairs to his door. “Please forgive me. I promise it wasn’t what it looked like, and I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
He got heavier and heavier, although I could tell he was trying very hard to shake the drunkenness off. His face wore a stress that I had never seen before, and his voice trembled a little when he spoke.
“I can’t believe you aren’t still passed out,” I told him as I slipped the key into the door.
“I was so scared when I woke up, and you were gone,” he said. “I saw your suitcase, so I knew you hadn’t gone home, but this place can be dangerous for a beautiful young woman out there alone.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close to his chest. I could hear his heart pounding, racing rather, and the smell of alcohol oozed from his pores. “Come to bed.” His voice was a whisper. “Tomorrow will be better, I promise.”
Tomorrow. Oh shit, Holly will be here tomorrow.
I stripped down to my panties and snagged one of his t-shirts from his closet, pulling it over my head. He lay on the bed, propped up with two pillows and grinned as he watched me. “Damn, I missed you,” he said.
I had missed him too, terribly. “All I want to do is go to sleep,” I hissed. “We can talk about what happened in the morning.”
Calvin looked disappointed that I wasn’t willing to fall for his charms, but I was the one suffering. It had been weeks since I was in his arms and that was all I could think about. Who knew what he had been doing all that time, or who. Doubtful he had been deprived!
CHAPTER FOUR
Calvin
Memories of the night filled my mind like smoke in a burning building. It was toxic. What had I done? The soft dark hair that fell onto my pillow smelled of apples, and all I wanted was to bury my face into the nest of delicately scented tresses and push the mistakes of the night before away. You fucked up, Calvin. You fucked up real good!
I had to piss like a motherfucker, and my mouth felt like six cats had used it as a litter box, so I slid from the bed and gently closed the bathroom door behind me. Damn, I looked like hell, I realized as I squinted against the glare of the light.
After pissing, I stuck my entire head under the faucet and washed the sleep from my eyes. I brushed my teeth, gargled twice, and swiped some deodorant on my pits. I forced two Tylenol down my throat and drank a full glass of water. That was as good as it was going to get without a full shower.
Taking a last look at myself in the mirror, I was disgusted with what reflected back at me. How the hell did I allow myself to be pulled into that situation last night? Was I so fucking lame that I let hero peer pressure nearly cause me to cheat on my girl? One drink. It was supposed to have been one fucking drink, but I’d been too much of a pussy to walk away, needing their approval like I was some teenager.
Dammit.
I couldn’t do anything about last night, but I could do a shit load about today and the days after today. I would make it up to Whitney, make sure she never regretted moving here.