‘It became awkward and uncomfortable?’ he finished my sentence.
‘Exactly.’ It was great that he understood.A lot of people would’ve thought I was overreacting or just tell me to suck it up.‘And I know that the nail bar must’ve passed my details to the press.I used to get journalists calling and emailing all the time.They hounded me so much that I stopped answering my phone, listening to voicemails or reading messages from numbers I didn’t know.’
Which was why I’d missed the original messages from the Love Hotel.
‘That sucks.And sometimes even when you change your number, they find another way to reach you.’
‘Yeah.It’s still triggering.I never answer a call if I don’t know who it’s from.’
‘I get that.But things would be different now though, right?Have you ever thought about trying again?You could do it freelance.Pick and choose your customers instead of working in a shop with people all up in your business.’
‘That would be a dream, but I’m not sure,’ I shrugged.‘It’s been ages since I’ve done a stranger’s nails.’
‘There’s a lot of potential for people with your skills.Even when I was on the scene they used to have nail technicians or manicurists, sorry, I don’t know the right terminology, but they’d have them on video shoots.And it’s not just for people in the industry.Cathy, my best friend’s wife, has a lady that comes to her office to do her nails when she can’t get to the salon.Maybe you could do something like that?’
‘Maybe.I’d need to get more experience first.No one at the juice bar is interested in getting their nails done and if I tried to promote it to customers I’d get fired.So unless I went to work at a nail bar, it’d be hard to get the word out.Plus, it’s even more competitive than it was before.’
‘Like I said, I’m no expert, but your nails are fire, baby.It may be a competitive market, but I bet there’s not many people who could do the designs like yours.You have a gift.It’d be a shame to waste it.’
My chest expanded like a hot air balloon.He really believed in me.
Other than Dad and Vanessa I couldn’t remember the last person who’d had such encouraging words.And definitely not someone I was sleeping with.
‘Thanks.’ I kissed him on the lips.‘That really means a lot.’
‘If you want to thank me, you’ll send me a photo with your first paid customer when you get back to New York.Deal?’
Hearing him mention me returning to New York made my chest deflate.
I didn’t want to go home.Time was going too fast.If I didn’t include today, I only had four full days left here.By Saturday lunchtime I’d be heading to the airport to get the plane home.
I gave myself a mental slap.I shouldn’t be thinking of that, I should enjoy the time we had left.
‘Deal,’ I said, managing a half smile.
* * *
As we strolled along the Venice Beach promenade, my eyes kept popping.
It wasn’t just the beautiful golden sand and sea views that captured my attention, it was all of the different sights around me.As well as the people playing volleyball on the beach and the surfers in the distance, I’d also spotted people roller skating in bikinis, belly dancers, different street performers and lots of bodybuilders.Jake had also taken me to see the canals and skatepark.How they managed to navigate all those jumps and stay on their boards was beyond me.
‘This place is really vibrant.There’s so much going on!’ I said.
‘Yeah.It was one of my sister’s favourite places.’ He lowered his voice.
‘Nice!I forgot you have a sister!’ I said, thinking it’d been a while since I’d seen photos of them in the press.Then again, I’d stopped reading those magazines a long time ago.
Jake’s face fell, his shoulders slumped and he shook his head.
‘Had,’ he mumbled.‘She passed almost two years ago.’
37
JAKE
A sharp pain shot through my chest.
What the hell was wrong with me?
