Chapter 31

As the night wore on, more and more of the band and their partners left, and even I began to yawn. More than ready to hit the sack, I tried to figure out where I could go and who I needed to talk to about getting somewhere to sleep for the night. I still didn't even know where my luggage was.

"All right, I'm going to get some sleep," Kai said a moment later, making me even more worried. "Alma will tell me I'm keeping her from her beauty sleep if I stay up much longer."

Alma rolled her eyes as he smiled at her, and the pair headed to the door. The last of the band quickly followed while I was still sitting on a cushion near the TV, a third of a can of soda in my hands.

More than once, I'd noticed no one really drank alcohol, one or two of the partners having a glass of wine, but no one else really taking an interest. Now, it seemed they were also turning in for earlier nights than I was expecting.

"We're all more reserved when we're creating," Jack said with only the two of us left.

I took a final gulp of my soda and stood, not intending to keep him up, and pretty sure he'd just asked me to leave.

"So…where am I being sent off to for some shuteye?" I asked, hoping it sounded casual enough.

"I thought you'd want a room with a view, so I had one of the other penthouses prepared for you," Jack replied.

I blinked, not sure of what I'd just heard. Had he just told me I was staying in another of the penthouses?

"Come on," he said, heading toward the door and the rack of keys on hooks near it. Only then did I notice a row of five keys, all labeled from one to five, each on its own little fob. He took number five off the hook and motioned for me to follow him.

I expected him to go toward the other end of the floor, but instead, he literally crossed the hall and opened the door.

"Here you go," he said as I spotted my luggage, the case having been wheeled a few feet into the apartment and left there. "I had the guys stock the fridge with some drinks and snacks. Not sure exactly what you'd want, but I took a guess." Jack grinned again, and I felt myself beginning to melt, every inch of me wanting to invite him into the apartment with me and take him to bed.

The last thing I wanted was to be alone. But I knew nothing was going to happen between us. Instead of inviting him in, I smiled and thanked him, and he handed me the key.

"All yours for the week."

"Do I even want to know how much this cost?" I asked a moment later.

"Oh, technically nothing. I own the whole floor."

I lifted my eyebrows, and he chuckled at me.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Kai owns an entire block in another city somewhere. Didn't want people snooping into his garden or something."

"Oh, so it's a way to have privacy," I said aloud, thinking that made more sense.

"Yeah, sorta. But it also means we can do this. Everyone is crashing in an apartment instead of us forking out for hotel rooms." Jack leaned against the edge of the door as he spoke, almost as if he was planning on staying there.

I looked down, suddenly feeling self-conscious again.

"Anyway, I should let you sleep," he said a moment later and backed up. "Let me know if you need anything. I usually hear it if someone knocks on my door."

"It sounds like I'm going to be just fine. Thank you."

He turned and left, almost as if he was suddenly running away, and I sighed. Why was everything so tense between us? And why didn't my brain want to work? I'd been such a dork all day.

Trying not to worry and instead focus on how the good things had gone, I shut the door and looked around the apartment. It was almost identical to what I'd seen of Jack's but a mirror image. Nothing prepared me for the view from the bedroom, however. It looked out over New York. Plenty of buildings were taller, but enough weren't so I could see off into the distance.

I stood in the dark, looking out at all the lit-up windows for a while, taking it all in and starting to like how the rest of the world appeared to live.

It was late, and I should have been tired, but possibly from the caffeine in the soda or just because of the day I'd been having, I was more than a little wired. I tried to lie down and get some sleep, but the second I was in bed and cozy, my eyes wanted to be wide open. It wasn't going to work.

Sighing, I tried rolling over several times. Eventually, I drifted off, but I dreamed of Jack and what might happen on subsequent days as the band worked on the song.

A few times, I thought I heard a noise as if someone was opening the apartment door while I was dozing. Both times, I sat up and listened closely, not daring to breathe.

Telling myself I was just being silly, I tried to settle down again. I needed sleep, or I was going to struggle the next day, and I wanted to make the most of it. But another noise, sounding like someone shutting a door, soon had my eyes wide open again. It was no good.

Pulling on my dressing gown and slippers, I made my way to the apartment door and listened. I couldn't hear anything outside, but as I was about to move, I thought I heard someone else shut their door. Had someone else been spooked, or was someone else awake?

A moment later, I thought I heard footsteps approach my door. I looked around for something to defend myself with, instantly terrified but making sure I didn't make a sound.

As I found the end of an umbrella, whoever was out there stopped moving. I lifted it and waited, listening. Slowly, the footsteps shuffled off again, but I wasn't sure what direction they'd gone in. Taking several deep breaths to try and calm myself down, I moved back to my apartment door again and tucked the little key into my dressing gown pocket.

It made a clinking noise, but it was quiet enough that I was pretty sure no one else would have heard it. I then pulled the door open as quietly as I could, the umbrella still held in one hand and ready to defend myself.

Immediately, I noticed Jack standing in his own doorway, looking toward my door as if I'd startled him. He wore nothing but a pair of pants, his muscular chest bare.

"I heard a noise," I said, feeling as if I wanted the floor to swallow me whole, my cheeks flushing as I lowered the umbrella.

"Yeah, me too," he replied. "You couldn't sleep either?"

I shook my head and sighed. I hadn't been sleeping well since Greg had physically assaulted me. The moment haunted my dreams, and my body still hadn't fully healed.

"You want to come in and have a hot chocolate?" he asked a moment later. "I don't think you'll need the umbrella though." A grin spread across his face, but it was a sweet look.

Immediately, I nodded and put it down. I was halfway across the hall before I remembered what I was wearing. It wasn't exactly the sexiest of material.

However, Jack already had his back turned, the door propped open enough to admit me while he made his way to the kitchen. I shut the door behind us, hearing it click and feeling a strange sort of finality, and then I followed him to the kitchen.