Broken #2 (The Broken Series - Book #2) by Claire Adams

Certainly he was a friend with whom I had experienced a one-night
stand, but that was about as intimate as we had gotten in all that time. Brenda
showed up at my apartment, looking fierce, and the boys would be meeting us
there as well. I would message Jet when I was almost ready to go, and he would
head over.
    The only way I could describe my
relationship with Jet at that time was that we needed each other. Maybe me more than him, but somehow, in some fucked-up way, we fit
into each other’s lives like two puzzle pieces. I needed him so I could excel
in school, and to avoid being raped, and he needed me to provide him healing
and pleasure, though I refused to offer him the type of pleasure he was really
seeking out. I was really beginning to like Jet, and to enjoy spending time
with him, but I didn't want it to go beyond a friendship, because I didn't
trust him. He scared me in ways I couldn't quite put into words.
    Brenda was already cracking into
the booze to try to quell her nervousness.
    “You better take it easy, or you
are going to be hammered before we even get there.”
    She laughed. “Yeah,
right. You better start getting ready, or we'll never get there.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” I said, as I headed
into the bathroom. I plugged in the curling iron, and set it away from the
sink. I looked at myself in the mirror, and tried to see what Jet saw when he
looked at me. I was no doubt an attractive female, but stunning? Was I?
    I took a brush to my red locks,
and brushed through them nicely. I needed to have a good, soft base before I
took a curling iron and hair spray to my hair. I applied some foundation to
even out my skin tone, and then I looked through my makeup bag to find some
blush. I usually liked to use a blush that had a peach base to it and I only
had one. I couldn't find it, so I kept digging around in my bag until I found
it. Of course, it was right in the bottom of the bag. I pulled it out, and
opened it up. I stuck my finger in the jar, and then rubbed it across my cheek.
I rubbed in the blush and then applied it to the other cheek. I put on some new
eye shadow that I had purchased that day. I added some eye liner and mascara. I
assessed myself, and came to the conclusion that I looked like a pretty nice
package, all dolled up. My curling iron was hot and ready to go, so I begin
taking strands of hair and curling them.
    Brenda peeked her head into the bathroom where I was getting ready. “What on earth is taking
you so long?”
    “I'm not taking long; I'm just
getting ready.”
    “Why are you bothering to get
beautiful? It's not like you are interested in Jet or anything, right?”
    “Hey, I'm already beautiful, and
no, I'm not interested in Jet, but I still want to look nice.”
    “You look more than nice; you
look hot.”
    I snorted. “Well, thanks, but I'm
not trying to get attention from Jet. Don't worry.”
    “Uh-huh. Well hurry up, so you
can have a drink with me before the guys get here.”
    “Okay, I'm almost done with my
hair. Give me a second.”
    I finished curling my hair, and
went out to the living room, where Brenda was relaxing on the couch.
    “Finally! You do look gorgeous, Natalie. Jet is going to lose it
when he sees you,” she got up, and poured me a glass of wine while I went over
and sat on the couch.
    “Well thanks. You look great, too.
Your date is going to be thrilled.”
    “Oh God, I hope so. He's so cute,
and so smart. I just can't believe that he's interested in me.”
    “Brenda, why wouldn't he be? You
are a great catch, so don't sell yourself short.”
    She passed me the glass of wine,
and I took a small sip. I definitely didn't want to be buzzed before we even
got going; that was a recipe for disaster. I wished that Brenda hadn't opened
up the bottle of wine, but I could understand why she felt nervous. Dating was
a nightmare, and you never knew how a first date was gonna end, or whether you
would get a second one.
    I took another sip of wine, and
realized that I had