She shrugged and grabbed Eric by the shirt, tugging him into the bedroom.
“Are you okay, dude?” Eric asked Sed with genuine concern in his vivid blue eyes.
“Yeah, I’m gonna catch a nap.”
Eric’s brow furrowed. “The other two girls headed for the pigsty bus with the roadies.” His girl was yanking on his arm now, but he held on to the doorframe. “I think Trey’s partying over there and Dare will probably show up later.”
It would be nice to hang out with Dare; Sed hadn’t seen him in a while, but he shook his head. The last thing he felt like doing was socializing. “I’m tired. You have fun.”
Eric released the doorframe and let the girl pull him inside the bedroom. He kicked the door shut.
Sed climbed into the bottom bunk next to the bathroom and pulled the curtain closed. He punched his pillow a few times, settled into a comfortable position and closed his eyes. His mind was too full to sleep, but at least he could hide reasonably well in the curtained bunk.
Soft crying sounds came from the other side of the thin wall near his head. Someone sniffed their nose. Toilet paper unrolled. A nose blown delicately. Who was crying in the bathroom? Not one of the groupies. Eric had said they’d gone to the other bus.
Jessica?
His heart stuttered.
Maybe she did care about him.
But she’d jetted from the bed the instant he’d tried to be tender with her. Was she so disgusted with their lovemaking that she was in tears? What else could it be?
Sed slid out of the bunk and knocked on the bathroom door.
“Oc-occupied,” Jessica called.
“Are you crying?”
She hesitated. “Of course not.”
He leaned his forearm against the doorframe, his hand clenched into a fist. “Are you almost finished? I need to use the facilities.”
“Yeah, just a minute.”
Water splashed into the tiny sink. He heard her sniff her nose again, and then she slid the door open. She had her head ducked down as she tried to brush past him. He poked her in the ribs and she glared up at him. Just as he’d suspected. Her eyes and nose were red and puffy.
“You were so crying.”
“Just leave me alone, Sed. You’re the last person on Earth I want to see right now.”
She was the only person on Earth he wanted to see. Ever.
He let her pass and entered the bathroom, closing the door quietly. He didn’t really need to use the bathroom. He’d just wanted to be near her. Even if she did spout her hatred at him. Hatred was better than nothing. Hatred he could deal with. He couldn’t deal with nothing. He’d tried to deal with nothing for two years. It never went away. Just sat there inside his chest as a big empty hole.
Sed flushed the unused toilet and washed his hands. He opened the door and stood in the doorway. Jessica’s shoulder dominated his attention as she sat at the dining room table booting up Myrna’s laptop. He needed an excuse to be in the dining area. Any excuse. His stomach rumbled on cue.
He found some shrimp scampi and pasta primavera in the refrigerator. Leftovers from the feast Myrna had made for Trey the same day she’d agreed to marry Brian. Had it really only been three days ago?
Sed glanced over his shoulder and caught Jessica staring at his naked back reflectively.
When her eyes met his, she jerked and rapidly keyed several numbers into her spreadsheet.
“Are you hungry?”
“A little,” she admitted quietly.
When he placed a plate of warmed-over food on the table beside the computer, she glanced up from her work and smiled. His heart skipped a beat.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
Her gaze dropped to his bare chest. Her tongue darted out between her lips. She shook her head slightly and then focused her attention on her food.
“This smells awesome,” she said. “Did you make it?”
“If by make it, you mean heat it up, yeah. But Myrna cooked it. She has a soft spot for Trey’s stomach.” He chuckled. “All our stomachs benefit from that helpless puppy look of his.”
She laughed. “I don’t think there’s a woman on Earth who can say no to that look.”
“Quite a few men can’t say no to it either.”
She smiled. A genuine smile that softened her features and lit her eyes. Sed’s breath caught. God, he’d missed that smile. And those lips. Against his.
“Is Trey still batting for both teams?” she asked.
“Unless something’s changed since yesterday.”
He dug a couple of forks out of a drawer, handed one to Jessica, and settled into the booth across from her with his plate.
She took a cautious bite. “Delicious!” Jessica slurped noodles into her mouth and shoveled in several shrimp. She gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
He chuckled. “Are you hungry?” Typically, she was the slowest eater on the planet. Or she used to be. Maybe she’d changed. The idea unsettled him.
“I forgot to eat today.”
“How do you forget to eat?”
“Between getting fired, evicted, cussed out by a cop, and then hunting you down, it sort of slipped my mind. Which reminds me.” She heaved her massive purse from the table and pulled out a familiar stack of cash. “I don’t want this.”
When he didn’t accept the money, she dropped it on the table.
“You’d rather be evicted than take money from me?”
“Yes.”
He would never understand her. Never. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford to take care of her. He wanted to do it. It gave him satisfaction to provide for the people important to him, but she’d never allow him that simple pleasure. The things he gave her—his ring, his money, his heart—obviously weren’t good enough for her.
As soon as the cash was out of her possession, the tension left her expression and she sat up straighter. She took a deep breath and said, “Myrna said I should tell you that I felt insulted by your gift.”
She met his eyes briefly, her cheeks pink.
“Insulted?” He tugged on his earlobe. “Why would it insult you? I was just trying to help. It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a big deal to me. I want to make it on my own. I need that.”
“But why struggle with money? I can give—”
She lifted her palm in his direction. “I didn’t bring it up to start an argument. I don’t want your money. End of story. I’m doing fine without your help.”
And that bothered him. Made him feel less of a man. Especially when she rubbed it in his face like that. “Well, I’m sorry I got you fired, then,” he lied.