Atlantic City: Part Three

I stood frozen. I didn't feel that I could physically move. What was I seeing? I rubbed my eyes and looked again. I probably would've stood there, frozen, for hours, with my mouth hanging open like an idiot, if it weren't for the creepers in Atlantic City. A man in a shiny, silver shirt began trying to dance with me (or should I say, on me). I swatted at him and began walking away. I searched for Justin in the crowd. I needed to talk to him. How could Alan cheat on Jackie? Was this a regular thing? I mean, he had been drinking a lot, not that being drunk justified anything. Ugh, I had to find Justin!

Since Justin is about six feet tall, I luckily saw him making his way through the crowd after only a few minutes. When we were reunited, he leaned down, lightly squeezed my butt, and whispered in my ear. "So, where were?" I normally would've been ready to dance on him like a pole at that point, but seeing Alan with that girl really deflated my desires.

"I have to show you something," I said, grabbing his hand and guiding him through the crowd. But we couldn't find Sean or Alan. They must have relocated. I stomped my foot like a two-year-old. I needed Justin to see what I saw so we could figure out what to do.

"What?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows at me. I insisted he text Sean and Alan to see where they were. We continued to walk through the crowd looking for them while Justin waited for a response. It took about twenty minutes before Sean wrote back. They left and were playing roulette.

We left the club and made our way to the casino. "Okay, what is going on with you?" Justin impatiently asked once we escaped the loud music and were actually able to talk at a normal volume.

I let out a heavy sigh and tried to quickly brainstorm how to tell him what I saw. "Justin," I began. "I saw Sean and Alan in there. Sean was making out with a girl, while Alan was, well, nuzzling another girl." I stared up at him, trying to decipher his immediate reaction as my words soaked in.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, until he finally rubbed his forehead and spoke. "Wow, that really doesn't sound like Alan." I felt a little bit of relief. It still didn't make Alan's actions okay, but I was happy to know this wasn't a regular thing. I was also glad that Justin didn't seem to condone this type of behavior.

"Let's go find them and I'll talk to Alan," Justin said, grabbing my hand and walking me to the casino. We remained silent as we searched the roulette tables for Sean and Alan. When we found them, they weren't with any girls. I could barely plaster a smile on my face as Sean and Alan enthusiastically greeted us. I'm not normally an angry person, but I wanted to punch Alan in the face when I saw how happy he was.

I looked at my phone. It was well after two o'clock, and while in Atlantic City that didn't really constitute as late, I thought it might be best if I made my way back to the room.

I tugged on Justin's arms and told him I was going to head back. He let out a heavy sigh and nodded. It was clear that he knew what to do once I left.

When I got back to the room, Jackie was still sound asleep. I felt so bad for her. I put on my pajamas and snuggled up under the fresh sheets, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. I put on the television, left it on mute, and tried to relax. I texted Justin and told him to give me a heads up when they were on their way back up.

About a half hour later, he told me they were in the elevator. I practically jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom. I rationalized that when they arrived back, I would ask Justin for some private time. A few minutes later, I heard them stumble into the room.

I successfully lured Justin into the bathroom. Once he was in, I turned around and ran the shower water so it would drown out our voices. "So, what happened?" I quietly asked.

Justin ran his hands over his face before looking me in the eyes and asking, "Are you sure you saw him kissing that girl?"

I stared at him. "What do you mean 'am I sure?'" Justin looked at me. His eyes pleaded for me to relax. I took a deep breathe and told him exactly what I had seen again. "So, I didn't see him making out with her, but I saw him, clear as day, kissing that girl on the neck."

"Clear as day? The club was pretty dark, Caroline."

I couldn't believe the exchange occurring.

"Can you get to the point?" I was getting annoyed at Justin's stalling.

He let out a heavy sigh before speaking. "Alan said he was just being a wing man," he finally said. "He said he was talking to a girl but they didn't do anything."

It took everything in me not to scream at Justin, even though this wasn't his fault. I now see why people say, "don't shoot the messenger."

"I know what I saw," I said through tight lips.

Justin looked at me with sad eyes. "I believe you, really. But can we just talk about everything tomorrow? We can get breakfast, alone, and figure it out."

I didn't want to accept that, but it really was too late to do anything else. I shut off the water and followed Justin out of the bathroom. I fell asleep cuddled up on Justin's chest, uneasy about what the next day would bring.

-----

I naturally woke up around 7:30 the next morning. Ever since I started working regular 9 to 5 hours, my internal clock would not allow me to sleep in. It was super frustrating when I had nothing to do on a Saturday and I wanted to catch up on some sleep.

Anyway, this adaptation worked to my advantage that morning because I did not want to interact with Jackie and Alan. The thought of looking either of them in the face made me sick to my stomach. I couldn't look Jackie in the face without feeling guilty for not telling her what I saw and I couldn't look Alan in the face without wanting to scream at him.

I put my arms around Justin's waist, since he had shifted in his sleep and was no longer facing me. I began kissing his back and rubbing his arm. I wanted to wake him up but I was hoping it would feel like he woke up on his own.

He eventually shifted so he was on his back and while he seemed somewhat conscious, I knew it would still take a little while for him to open his eyes. I couldn't help myself, though. I could barely sleep last night with the anxiety of this entire situation. I mean, how was I supposed to drive home with this crowd? If I did tell Jackie, I had no idea how she would react and the car ride could be complete hell. But how could I not tell Jackie? I couldn't deal with the guilt of not letting this girl know the truth. Even though we had just met, I liked Jackie and if the tables were turned and she saw Justin kissing another girl, I really hope she would tell me.

I rubbed Justin's chest as I contemplated moving my hand lower to give him a real, 'Good Morning.' I decided to go simpler and began lightly kissing his neck. He quietly moaned and opened his eyes shortly after.

"Good morning, beautiful," he whispered to me before kissing me on the mouth.

"Ew, morning breathe," I joked.

"Speak for yourself, stinky."

We quietly giggled for a few seconds before I asked him if he would mind going to breakfast sooner rather than later because I really wanted to head out before anybody else woke up. "As much as I want to lay here with you for hours, I get why you want to head out," he said, peering over to the other bed where Alan and Jackie were laying. We both quietly crawled out of bed, grabbed clothes from our luggage, and tip toed into the bathroom to get ready. By 8:30, we were making our way outside onto the boardwalk. We quickly found a breakfast place with four dollar egg dishes and six dollar bellinis.

After we each ordered, I took a deep breathe before beginning the inevitable conversation. "Justin, I know you're in a tough spot. If Alan is saying one thing and I'm saying another, I can't imagine the kind of pressure this puts on you. I'm telling you, though, I saw Alan kiss that girl. It may not have been on the lips, but the way he kissed her neck was unacceptable. I don't know if I can face him or Jackie and not say something."

Justin remained silent and politely listened through my whole spiel. He stared off at the beach for a little before responding. "I'm going to talk to Alan again. I'll explain to him that either he has to tell Jackie or I will."

I smiled at Justin. "Thank you," I said, putting my hand on his. I changed the subject because frankly, I was tired of worrying about it. We got our food and had a really nice, relaxing breakfast before taking a walk on the boardwalk. This was the trip I had envisioned with Justin. It was unfortunate that we had to deal with all the problems last night, because it truly put a strain on the whole night. I couldn't help but wonder if Justin's friends would have negative feelings about me now. I figured it was better to risk having them dislike me than to let Jackie look like an idiot and be cheated on.

We didn't get back to the room until a little after 10 o'clock. Everyone was awake, but still in bed. Jackie was sitting up, drinking a water bottle. She looked like she had been hit by a truck.

"Hey, Caroline," she said to me with a weak smile. "Thank you so much for looking out for me last night."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alan looking down. Jackie didn't even know half of what she was thanking me for.

Everyone began getting out of bed and taking turns in the shower. The plan was to check out, put our bags away, and then enjoy Atlantic City for a little while longer before heading home. Justin managed to get Alan to follow him to a smoothie bar once we were in the casino. As I watched them walk away, I was really proud of Justin. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but he was doing the right thing. It was even more heart warming to know that he was doing it for me.

Sean, Jackie, and I played some slots for a little bit while Justin and Alan "got smoothies." I nervously tapped my foot until they returned. They both looked exhausted.

Justin kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear. "He's going to tell her when we get home. He doesn't want to ruin the rest of the trip."

I wasn't super pleased with that resolution, but I understood it was more logical. It would be much better for them to sit down and discuss things in private. I tried to enjoy the rest of the trip before we departed for Long Island around 3 o'clock.