Jules’

The next morning I expect to have another long, lazy day, but Cal comes into the kitchen while I’m scrambling eggs and tells us that he has to go back to the city.

“Why?” I ask, handing him a cup of coffee.

“My boss needs me.”

I scowl. “Jordan? He’s the one who told you to take time off.”

Cal runs his hand through his hair. “I know. It sucks, but what can I do?”

I purse my lips together. “You could tell him no? I mean, why does he need you? I didn’t think the club was even open right now?”

“It’s not.” Cal swallows and I can tell he’s holding something back. My dad must see what I see because he excuses himself from the room, saying he’s gonna go check on Grandma.

“I feel like you aren’t saying something. One of the reasons I like you so much is because you’re so honest. I just don’t get why Jordan needs you.”

“It’s business Jules, and I’m sorry, but the jet will be ready in an hour.”

I turn my back on him and go back to scrambling the eggs. “Alright,” I tell him. “I’ll be ready to go by then.”

* * *

Leaving Grandma is hard, but she kisses my cheek and tells me she loves me, and I make my dad swear he’ll use some of my money to buy an iPhone so I can FaceTime with them.

“They are so damn expensive,” he moans, but when I tell him it isn’t a request, it’s essential, he caves and promises he’d go to town and get one.

“Not this town though, Daddy, you’re gonna have to drive to a shopping mall. Okay?”

On the plane ride home Cal is quiet, and I am too. Both of us fall asleep, and while our hands are laced together, I feel like something is going on I don’t understand.

When the car pulls up to my apartment to drop me off, I have to ask, “Is it about the person taking the photos?”

Cal just sighs. “Sort of. Jordan needs my help with it, and it’s my job to help him.”

“And you’re sure that’s it?”

“Jules, trust me, okay?” He kisses me softly on the lips. Then the forehead. Then my cheeks. I can’t help but smile when he does that.

“Okay, Cal. I trust you.”

“Good. I’ll call you, okay?”

* * *

Three days pass, I get vague texts from Cal, and not much else. I ask if he can hang out, but he says he’s busy with work. What I want to know is what kind of bartender has work to do when the club is closed?

“Maybe you’re being too needy?” Collette says through gritted teeth so we don’t mess up our make-up. We’re on set at a photo shoot and Gretchen, Collette and I have all been painted head to toe to look like snakes. Not exactly sure how this is sexy, but Danny promises it was the right job to take.

“Maybe you’re right,” I say, my words half mangled as I seethe through my teeth. “I mean, I’ve never been a girlfriend before.”

“Over here, ladies,” the photographer says, snapping his fingers like we’re dogs. Which we’re not. Right now we are very clearly snakes.

We move the way he asks, allowing aides to reposition our arms and legs, and my breasts are so close to Gretchen’s face I’m semi-mortified.

It’s a paycheck. It’s a paycheck. This is not crossing my non-existent line in the sand.

“Has Danny been driving either of you crazy?” Gretchen asks. “He keeps asking me to dinners and I go, but none of it seems necessary.”

“Kind of,” Collette and I both answer. When the photographer takes five, and we have a moment of privacy, I tell them how my paychecks have been disappointing.

“Same here,” Collette says. “I’ve never made good money so at first, I was just happy to have a paycheck, and, not to sound greedy, but… we’re working our asses off.”

Gretchen agrees but none of us are savvy enough to know if this is just the way the business works. “I’ll ask Cal what he knows about Danny next time I see him,” I tell my roommates.

Eventually, we’ve been photographed for two hours and we’re allowed to call it a day.

As we head to the dressing room to shower and change, Gretchen brings up Cal again, and the way he went all MIA on me. “Look,” she jokes. “If he’s playing hard to get you should become the aggressor. Like a snake in the jungle.”

I roll my eyes. “Right, because men love venomous women.”

“It’s better than not being seen at all,” Collette says. “Maybe he just got super busy. When’s the last time you guys had sex?”

I tell them about the plane ride... well, parts of it.

“But then you stayed in Resting a few days,” Gretchen says. “So did you hook up in your old bedroom, because guys like that. It’s kinky but in an innocent way, you know?”

“Actually, I don’t know,” I say as a make-up artist begins wiping the face paint off me. “And we didn’t. We slept in different rooms, and then we went to a bar and stayed out super late. We came home and crashed and the next day we left.”

Gretchen and Colette share a look.

“What?” I ask.

“You should go take care of your man.”

“It’s been like less than a week. And he hasn’t exactly been knocking down my door.”

“And he’s also going through a really shitty time. Right? Isn’t that why you left to go to Indiana with him in the first place? Because he’d locked himself up in his loft alone for weeks? Maybe he’s doing that again.”

I close my eyes, feeling shitty. “I bet you’re right. I bet he’s still struggling. I’ve been so self-involved since we got back I didn’t even consider that.”

Collette smiles. “Then you know what you need to do.”

I nod, knowing she’s exactly right. I’m going to find my boyfriend and make him feel all better.

* * *

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

Stilettos.

Trench coat.

Nothing else.

Like. Nothing at all.

If this doesn’t make him happy, nothing will.

In my room I text him. “Are you still at work?”

He replies, “Yeah, I’ll be here a few more hours.”

I purse my lips together, my thumbs hovering over the keypad, debating if I should say more.

I decide against it.

I’ll say plenty with my body the moment I arrive.

I order an Uber, slide in, and give the driver directions a block from the Fuck Club. Once there, I drop my chin to my chest and walk as quickly as possible without drawing attention to myself.

Remembering the side alley entrance, I watch it for a few minutes to see if anyone is coming or going. A food service truck is in front of it, and a few men unload crates of liquor, load them on a dolly, and open the side door.

I follow them, flashing a smile, and I’m sure a little more thigh than I planned, but they don’t say anything and I watch them head to a storage room.

In the club, the lights are mostly off, it’s actually kind of creepy being here alone.

I don’t want to be alone.

I want to find Cal.

Walking the opposite direction of the way I came, I look for some sort of office space or water cooler, somewhere that people who work here would hang out.

But why is Cal even here? This club is closed and no one’s around besides the delivery guys.

I walk past a row of tables, a bank of couches, and eventually hear some voices around a corner. Turning left, I notice Cal talking with some guys I think may have been the bouncers who helped break up the fight the first night I came to the club. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I make myself known.

“Cal?” I say, still standing back in the shadows. “Cal, it’s me.”

He turns and a frown covers any potential feelings of I’m happy to see you.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he says gruffly, walking toward me and reaching for my elbow. He pulls me down the hall, and I try to shake free of his hold.

“What’s wrong with you?” I ask. “Why are you being like this?”

“Being like what?”

“So... so... rude.”

Cal stops in his tracks, spins to face me. “This is not me being rude. This is me being—” He shakes his head. “Fuck, Jules. We need to talk. Now.”

I pull the collar of the trench coat tighter on my neck, and nod, seeing that things have changed between us, but not understanding why.