Part of Me (Jessa & Paxton #1) by Haven Francis Page B

They both look at me and Billy tells him, “You’re a stupid idiot. When Paxton comes back I’m not gonna defend your ass.”
    “Paxton’s not coming back, Billy,” I tell him as he walks past me.
    “Why are they so convinced you are Paxton’s?” Elijah asks, coming to me, putting his hands on my waist.
    “I’ m no one’s. Paxton knows that.”
    “Re ally? No ones?” he says to me, ducking his head and kissing my naked shoulder.
    “I belong to no one…”
    He bites down on my shoulder and I grab hard to his neck. We stumble down the hallway until we are in my room. He’s got the zipper on the back of my dress undone and I’m working on the buttons on his shirt. He nudges me backwards and I fall on the bed and a second later he’s propped up above me, his mouth back on my skin. He makes his way up my neck and I turn my head to the side for him.
    And then I lock eyes with Paxton’s words. Nothing more than a whore . The phrase spins around my head and Paxton’s sadness comes over me again. I push Elijah off me because I think I’m going to puke. I manage to get off the bed and make my way down the hall to the bathroom. I grasp onto the toilet, preparing to spew, but nothing comes out of my mouth but ragged breaths.
    “Jessa,” Elijah calls from the other side of the closed door. “You okay?”
    “Yea h, I’m fine,” I tell him.
    “Can I come in?”
    “No. I’ll be out in a little while.”
    “Okay,” he tells me.
    I lean my back against the tub and try to get a grasp on my spinning head. The door opens then and Violet walks in, closing and locking it behind her. “You okay in here?”
    “Yea h, just a little drunk and spinning.”
    She sits down next to me. “You want me to shut the party down?”
    “No. I’ll be okay. I just need a minute.”
    “Okay,” she says quietly. “Are you going to sleep with Elijah?”
    “Jesus, w hat’s with you guys? I was planning on going there eventually, but no, I’m not.”
    She lets out a long breath. “Thank God you drank too damn much,” she mutters to herself.
    “It’s not that , Vi. It was the walls. They’re talking to me.”
    She laughs. “Good. You should listen to them.”
    #
    I stumble out of my room , wincing at the sunlight and trying to push back the pain in my brain. Violet is not only up and dressed and looking cheery as ever, but she’s also scrubbing dishes.
    “What is wrong with you? ” I mutter, taking a seat on a stool at the small island. “Why aren’t you miserable, like me?”
    “I don’t get hangovers,” she shrugs. “Plus, I have to get to work.” Violet is a stylist at a trendy little salon downtown. “I can’t get that one to wake up and get his ass out of here.” She nudges her chin towards the living room. I look and see Elijah passed out on the couch. “I think he thought you were going to come out of your room at some point.”
    I’m both annoyed and, for whatever reason, relieved that I didn’t get any action last night. It’s all these people telling me that Paxton would be upset if I hooked up with someone and the fact that I’m now sleeping on the side of the room that he made so his. I feel like he’s there with me and that is not a good thing when you are trying to get down under the sheets. I might have to switch beds. Although, despite my hangover, it was good to wake up surrounded by his scent. This is the least lonely I have felt since coming to Chicago. “I’ll get him out of here,” I tell her.
    “I’m glad you didn’t have sex with him last night,” she whispers. “If all you are looking for is some random sex then wh y wouldn’t you have gotten it from Paxton? I don’t get that. He would be the perfect candidate and clearly he’s got something going on for you.”
    “ First of all, I’m not looking for random sex – I’m looking for one person who does not want anything beyond a physical relationship. And second of all…are you serious? There are so many reasons that