“Thank you,” I said to the driver. He nodded his head and smiled, making his way to the door.

“You should lock up, take care, Miss,” he said, closing the door behind him.

I felt like a little girl at Christmas as I danced through the apartment, twirling around while checking out every little thing from the main bathroom to the walk-in closets. The luxurious kitchen was set up for a sous chef and the two bedrooms were massive and modern. I stopped in the master bedroom, assuming I would claim the largest room. Then I hopped onto the bed dancing and thrashing my head around. Feeling the need for some music I flicked through my playlist on my phone and put on My Sharona by The Knack and continued to jump and squeal like a teenager. I felt free, happy, and out of breath by the time the song ended. I fell back on the bed and stared up to the white ceiling blowing out a breath. My smile quickly faded the minute Scott Wellington came to mind. All this could be taken from me in the blink of an eye if Bryce knew how messed up I was, and if the video Scott took of me released to the world, disgracing his name.

My happy mood quickly fell into a familiar pool of despair. I needed some advice so I called the only other person who knew about that awful night. She had been there to pick up all the broken pieces that were left of me once it was over.

After a few rings she picked up. “Hello,” she answered hesitantly into the phone. She was always on guard when she picked up her phone. As if she was hiding something.

“Nessa, it’s Vicky.”

“Vicky? Vicky who?” she cackled.

“Very funny, Ness. How are things back home?”

“Oh, you know the usual run of the mill. Ed is Ed. I serve drinks and that’s about it. I’m starting to go stir crazy though. When are you coming home? I need to have some fun…we should definitely hit the scene in Toronto when you get back.”

“Actually, Ness, that’s the reason for my call. I’m not coming back so soon…” I trailed off because I heard a loud gasp into the phone.

“Vick, you can’t leave me,” she huffed desperately.

“I’m not leaving you, Ness, but I want you to come here. I have an apartment for both of us to stay in, rent free,” I began to explain.

“Are you crazy, Vicky, I can’t do that. I have no money and…”

“I’m sending you a bus ticket and you are coming to live with me. We can figure things out when you get here. Please, Nessa,” I practically begged her. I knew she was alone back home and now she didn’t even have me as her partner in crime, which probably made things even more difficult for her.

“Okay, I’ll come. Just send me your address. I’ll buy the bus ticket no worries.”

“I want you on a bus tomorrow, seriously, there isn’t anything for you to do in Thunder Bay anyway,” I insisted.

“Okay, pretty woman, I’m coming…relax yourself. Have you hit any parties there?” she asked. She had been the one to introduce me to the lifestyle.

“Yeah, I have. Nessa, I have some trouble…”

“What kind of trouble?”

“You remember the guy that beat the shit out of me two years ago when I left….”

I didn’t even finish my sentence when Nessa cut in. “What is it, Vicky?” she asked frantically. “I know who you’re talking about but what happened?”

“Nessa…he knows Bryce…he was at his office today. His name is Scott Wellington, he’s a CEO…of something, anyway he threatened me…he says he has a video of our time together, and he said he would show it to Bryce if I didn’t sleep with him again.”

Nessa gasped harshly into the phone. “That stupid mother fucker, how dare he? I will go to Toronto and kick his ass for you….”

“He isn’t in Toronto, he’s here in New York, I don’t know for how long…but I got away from him yesterday, but now he said he knows where to find me. I’m freaking out Nessa, that man is pure evil. There’s something psycho about him.” I huffed out and then I contemplated telling her about Luc. Should I ask her if I should confide in Luc and get his help? I already knew the answers, she would tell me that I can’t trust men. She doesn’t trust any man. Then she would want me to wait for her to arrive so she can kick Wellington’s butt herself. Only it’s not a plausible solution.

“Vick, I am getting on a bus tomorrow and we will figure things out.”

“Thanks, Ness, I’m glad you are coming. My father is a nice guy and he wants to get to know me…so I wanted to stay, but I know I would have had a hard time staying without you.”

“Thanks, Vick…thanks for not abandoning me…” she sighed.

“Never, Ness, you and I are a team. I just hope that this Scott won’t go running to the press or Bryce before I have a chance to think of a plan.”

“Did he give you his number or something?”

“No and I would be too scared to call him anyway. I froze at just the sight of him. I can’t deal with him on my own.”

“I’m coming, Vick. Just watch your back until I get there.”

“Yeah, I will. This apartment has security and in the morning Bryce sends a driver, so I should be okay…I better go now Ness, I don’t know how much this call is costing me. I will text you the address for this place. Have a safe trip and leave ASAP.”

“Yeah, yeah. See you soon, Vick. Watch out for yourself.”

“Bye, Ness.”

Once I hung up with Nessa, I noticed I had a message from Luc and butterflies swirled in my stomach. What was happening to me? I was the schoolgirl with a crush. I hadn’t been that girl since Jamie and I first hooked up. The thought of falling for him sent a jolt of panic through me, my guard was deteriorating and my heart was vulnerable. The thought scared me to death.

Vicky send me your address I will pick you up for dinner.

The message made me laugh because I never agreed to dinner and he was being presumptuous.

Actually I’m one floor under you, I replied, feeling my cheeks flush. Why was I embarrassed about this? It was completely out of my control. And saying that I was under him…mmmm….it made my inner thigh muscles contract deliriously.

Luc: Really? I shouldn’t have been surprised. Bryce sold me my apartment. He owns many in this building. When will you be ready?

Me: Give me twenty minutes.

Luc: Are you tired? We can order in?

Me: That sounds perfect.

I was feeling the effects of a long night and day catching up with me. I was also a little nervous because I knew he would want to know more about Scott, and I wondered if Scott could find me.

I made my way into the master bedroom and dropped my phone on the bed before sauntering into the shower. Turning on the shower tap, I squealed and jumped as five shower jets hit me with cold water in all directions. I quickly jumped out of the shower. Then I turned the knob trying to figure out how to get the hot water running. I finally stepped back inside, enjoying the warm massage of the jets as it ran over my head, my stomach and even between my thighs. I placed the jet so it was squirting my clit with hot roughness and it got me all worked up. I felt a little taken aback when my first thought was to find a random hot guy and fuck him. Tim the doorman perhaps… I know there’s something very wrong with that. I hadn’t always been this promiscuous. Sex was never an escape for the old me. I had spent four years in a committed relationship with Jamie. The sex had been intimate and a way for us to feel close to one another. That was until everything got shot to hell, and I didn’t realize what a douche he really was.

Guilt swarmed its way up my throat as I thought about the fact that Luc would be arriving soon. He had been kind and caring toward me since we met. Surely he didn’t expect me to go fuck the first guy I saw after everything we'd shared. My thoughts terrified me because I suddenly realized that something was really wrong with me. The parties had been a coping mechanism for so long now that my old life seemed to be a lifetime ago. The old Vicky had died along with my mother and the innocence I lost along the way. Now I feared I wasn’t even capable of committing if I wanted to. I quickly removed the water streaming directly in between my thighs and repositioned it to hit my belly. After lathering shampoo in my hair and washing my body, I stepped out of the shower panicked about my evening with Luc. Was I capable of trying to have something with him? Maybe he didn’t even want me. He said he wasn’t looking for a relationship. He was clearly coming because he was worried about the Scott situation, and he wanted to watch out for me. He was broken and I was a mess. It would never work anyway. I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt him more.