Jess took a deep breath and walked into the room… “So…what do you think?” Nick and Tyler turned from the basketball game on the TV and both boys mouths dropped open. “Wow…” Nick mumbled. “Damn Jess…so much for you being a tomboy in my eyes ever again.” Tyler grinned as he spoke, looking Jess up and down. Nick punched his roommate in the shoulder, “Knock it off! Don’t be looking at her like that man!” But he couldn’t help but understand just what Tyler was ogling over.
Jess stood in the doorway, her hair piled on her head, strands framing her face. Her eyes sparkled bright green to match the velvet dress she wore. She turned slowly, letting the boys get an eyeful. And an eyeful they got…the backless dress barely brushed the ground, the matching heels she wore accentuated her long graceful legs, the left of which showed through a slit in the side of the dress reaching her upper thigh. She smiled shyly as she watched the two boys admiring her. “Nick…is this okay for tonite?” she questioned. He smiled and reached his hand out to her, “You are gorgeous Jess. Damn what happened to the girl who knocked me on my ass when I was 8?” She giggled softly and slipped her arm through his, “She grew up when you weren’t paying attention Nickolas. And by the way, you look extremely handsome yourself.” She eyed the handsome blond standing beside her, dressed in a black tuxedo. “It’s just a tux,” he grinned, but found himself straightening up slightly at her compliment. Jess slowly ran her hand down the sleeve of the tuxedo, then kissed Nick on the cheek. “Thank you for inviting me to this tonite…since I only have 3 more days here, this is really special.” Nick turned and cupped her face, “I wouldn’t have taken anyone else tonite. You’re the only one who went to EVERY basketball game I had in high school and I know if you could have, you’d have gone to every college one so far. This award tonite means a lot to me… and I wanted to share it with you. You’ve always been my best supporter.” Jess couldn’t help but smile a wicked grin as she listened to him, “well, me and your jock strap anyway.”
She dodged the hand that moved to slug her arm and laughed. “You had to go and ruin a moment didn’t you dork!” Nick stuck his tongue out at his giggling best friend. She smiled and picked up her purse, “Of course…wouldn’t be us if one of us didn’t say something lame to mess things up right?” Nick opened the door and Jess out, “Sure wouldn’t…” his voice trailed off as he watched his best friend gracefully walk down the hall in front of him. Her hips swaying slightly, the dress clinging to each curve that he suddenly noticed she had. “This is going to be one hell of an evening.” He thought to himself, following her down the hall to the elevator.
Nick picked up another glass of champagne that was being passed around the room. Draining the glass in a single gulp he leaned against the wall, frowning as he watched the eyes traveling over his best friends’ velvet clad body. He gritted his teeth as yet another jock touched her lightly tanned skin, trailing his fingers across her shoulders and down her arm. She laughed at something that was said by one of the drooling bunch of morons surrounding her, not noticing another guy brushing his hand across her ass. “That’s it…” he muttered. Pushing himself up off the wall he walked over to where Jess stood. She smiled at him as he got closer, “There you are! I was wondering where you’d run off to.” She reached out and slipped her arm through his. “Yeah, I could see how much you were missing me,” Nick growled, reaching out and grabbing another glass of alcohol as the waiter passed by. Jess looked over and watched as he downed the drink. “Nick…how many is that?” she asked softly, a frown crossing her face. Nick jerked his arm away and grabbed her hand, “A couple…who the hell cares. I’m celebrating right? Let’s go.” He demanded, jerking her slightly, pulling her away from her crowd of admirers.
Jess stumbled behind him, protesting as he dragged her from the room. It wasn’t until they reached his car she was able to finally wrench her hand from his. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped, rubbing her wrist where he’d grabbed her. “That hurt! And where do you get off treating me like some little 6 year old in there! You embarrassed me!”
Nick snorted a laugh, “I embarrassed you?!” Jess stepped back slightly from him, finding herself actually trembling as he spat the words out at her. “That’s a fucking joke! You embarrassed yourself in there tonite! You acted like some hooker looking for a quick buck! I never knew you were such a slut Jessalyn Carter!” He wrenched the car door open and glared at her, “Now get in the fucking car before someone comes by and thinks I’m the one picking up a hooker.”
Jess stood in shock…not recognizing the man standing in front of her. “You’re drunk…that’s why you’re acting like this…” she whispered, “you don’t mean it…” Tears streamed down her face as she watched Nick turn slowly to face her. He leaned close to her, until his face was inches from hers. She felt his hot breath, ragged and smelling of alcohol…he looked straight into her eyes and through gritted teeth snarled, “I meant every word of it…you’re a slut Jess…I just never noticed it till now. How many guys have you fucked back home huh? Maybe that’s how you got that nice little job in New York…I mean, what the hell do you know about modeling anyway? Unless it’s with your clothes off…bet you’re a fucking pro at that. Now get in the fucking car so I can get out of here before you embarrass me in front of anymore of my friends.”
Jess stumbled towards the car, his words ringing in her ears. “You’re a slut…how many guys have you fucked…hooker…bet you’re a fucking pro…” She found herself climbing into the car, curling herself away from him she leaned against the door as he slammed the car into reverse, tires squealing as he tore out of the parking lot. She didn’t make a sound, as her body shook with sobs, scared he might get angrier if he heard her crying. What had happened? Was it just the alcohol? Could he honestly believe what he said about her? She couldn’t believe the one person she loved more than anyone on earth…the one person she trusted more than anyone…could betray and attack her this way. What had she done? Was she a slut?