Touching You

I Need Someone on Days Like This, I Do

Demi

The day of the Met Gala, I was a wreck. Seeing the photos of Nick getting ready, made me miss him, but the photos of him & Priyanka made me physically ill. It wasn't even that they looked good together either, because they actually didn't, but it was the way they got attention, like they were some new power couple. The speculation that they could be dating was, literally, in every mention of them & it made me want to numb myself. If I wasn't five years clean, I probably would have been pouring myself a drink or popping a pill.

Thank God for Marissa who helped me stay sane as the photos of my boyfriend with another woman appeared online all night. She kept reminding me how much Nick loved me & that he barely knew this woman, who was ten years older. All of that didn't matter to me. I was still jealous but mostly because I wanted to be there on his arm. I wanted to be able to show off my handsome boyfriend to the world. I wanted to not have to hide my relationship.

Nick managed to send me one text that evening, 'I wish you were here.' It was simple but it made me smile & gave me comfort so I could actually fall asleep.

The moment I opened my eyes, the next morning, I tortured myself by looking online for Gala pictures. The first thing I did, was look at Nick's Instagram & that was a mistake. He had posted a photo of Priyanka looking sexy, bathed in a red light & he just captioned her first name. It made me want to scream, but I managed to stay calm. I didn't want to jump to conclusions & I would let Nick explain the post. 

I scoured the internet for more pictures & that didn't make me feel any better. There were candids of Nick & Priyanka, looking even more like a couple, while they were out with his brother & Sophie. It made me sad & even more jealous of a woman I had never met.

It was hours later when I finally heard from Nick, even after leaving him several messages to call me. He facetimed me, just after I was done having my hair extensions removed. I wasn't smiling when I answered the call & that was the first thing he noticed. 

"I hoped you wouldn't be mad, but I can see that you are." He said to me, a sly smile on his face, then his eyebrows went up. "Your hair is short again."

"Yep."

"I like it."

"Oh yea?"

"Yep." He exaggerated the 'p' at the end of the word, just like I had done a moment earlier. "How much trouble am I in?"

"A lot. You didn't message me at all last night & then you post that picture of her."

"I knew you'd be mad about the picture, but let me explain. I was kind of drunk when I posted it. And Joe was making fun of me because I had done a similar thing with Georgia last year. He was claiming if I posted a picture of her, the rumors would fly that we were dating. And apparently he was right. Well, the pictures of us on the red carpet, together, started the rumor, but me posting the pic fueled the fire even more." Nick shrugged, then his mouth twisted, a little. "You're not jealous, are you?"

I rolled my eyes & sighed. "I'm not jealous. I'm pissed. You looked like you were so into her. And then that fucking picture. You have a girlfriend, in case you forgot."

I could tell Nick was trying not to laugh. "I didn't forget. But maybe you also have forgotten that the world does not know I have a girlfriend. And I also want to throw people off our scent. You're not ready to go public, are ya?"

I clicked my tongue, rolling my eyes again. "No. But that's why I'm so pissed." I spat out the words, then sighed, loudly. "Okay, I may be a little jealous. I'm jealous that you got to flaunt her, on your arm. I'm jealous that she got to spend the whole night by your side, that no one made her feel so uncomfortable she had to leave. I'm jealous that she got to hang out with Joe & Sophie." I covered my eyes, then ran my hand down my face, since tears were burning my eyes. "I'm sorry. I have no reason to be mad at you. I'm just aggravated at this situation."