Chapter 13

Jenny's eyes snapped open as something warm and hard covered her mouth. She struggled to sit up, but found her shoulders pinned to her bed. She struggled to make out a shape in the darkness when she felt someone sit down on the edge of her bed.

"Shh," Nate whispered, his face close to hers. He took his hand slowly off her mouth and let her up.

Jenny sat up in the bed, her heart pounding so loud she was sure it would wake her father and brother. "What the hell are you doing?" she hissed.

Nate pursed his lips, his expression worried. "I wanted to make sure you were OK."

"I'm fine, Nate," she snapped, still breathing hard.

"Jenny…"

She shook her head, doing her best to smooth her hair away from her face. She wondered briefly what she must look like.

A mess, she decided, feeling a snare on the back of her head.

"Nate, I'm tired and it's late."

"I know, I know. I just needed to … Did Vanessa say something? Something that upset you?"

Damn.

He knew her too well already. Unable to fake nonchalance anymore she met his gaze and held it. "She told me about Catherine."

Nate's mouth fell open. "She … she told you?" His voice came out choked, strangled.

"Yeah. Imagine my surprise," Jenny snapped quietly in the dark, "when I find out my boyfriend was being blackmailed for sex."

Nate winced, visibly stung by her words and her tone. He pulled back as if he'd been slapped. "Jenny, it wasn't like that."

"Then why don't you tell me what it was like, Nate?" she demanded. "I mean, were you ever going to tell me?"

"Yes," he said, but it wasn't convincing.

"You weren't, were you?" She snorted lightly, shaking her head.

"It's not something I'm exactly proud of, Jenny," he retorted, getting angry himself. His jaw clenched, a muscle jumping in it as he looked away from her, his body silhouetted in the moonlight streaming through her window.

Sighing, Jenny touched his back lightly, feeling the anger slowly seep out of her. "Just tell me, Nate. I'd rather hear about from you than from Vanessa or anyone else."

He bowed his head. "I met Catherine this summer in the Hamptons. When we started … seeing each other, I didn't know she was married or that she was the step mother of Blair's new boyfriend."

"Wait—what?" Jenny frowned, shaking her head.

Nate turned and looked at her, a bitter smirk playing on his lips. "Guess Vanessa left that part out?"

"Um, yeah."

Nate nodded, somber. "Yeah, it turns out Catherine was also sleeping with her stepson."

"That's … kind of disgusting." Jenny wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah. Anyway, when I first met Catherine, I really just enjoyed being with her. I was able to talk to her about what was going on with my dad … When we got back to the city, I tried to end things."

"Didn't work?" Jenny guessed, her hand finding his in the dark.

Nate laced their fingers, watching their hands for a few beats before answering. "She knew where my father was hiding. She threatened to expose it if we … If I ended things."

Jenny's heart twisted for him. She was suddenly disgusted she had ever been angry with him. Clearly he was the victim here. "So you stayed with her."

He looked at her, his eyes anguished. "I didn't see where I had a choice. And then she offered me money to help my mom and me get back on our feet."

Jenny shook her head, grimacing. "What a bitch."

Nate smiled, the corner of his mouth hooking up slightly at her fury.

"How does Vanessa fit into this? She said you hated her because she got involved and messed things up."

Nate let out a hard breath. "That's where it gets complicated. I didn't know Catherine was sleeping with Marcus, and neither did Blair. Vanessa somehow found out and managed to get a picture of them together."

"And she blew the Marcus-Catherine affair wide open?"

"She told Blair."

Jenny snorted, trying not to laugh. "I imagine Blair handled that … well."

"Blair told Vanessa she'd handle things and … She decided to blackmail Catherine with the photo."

"Give her a taste of her own medicine," Jenny mused. "Makes sense."

"Blair actually set it up that Marcus and Catherine would disappear and Catherine would pay off my dad's restitution to the IRS."

Jenny hesitated. "I'm guessing that fell through since you're currently living on our couch."

He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "Yeah. Vanessa told the Duke—Catherine's husband—about her and Marcus and that kind of ended everything."

"And that's why Vanessa thinks you hate her?"

"I don't hate her," Nate said softly, "but I can't help but wonder what my life would be like if she hadn't gotten involved."

"You mean if Blair's plan had worked and your dad was able to come home?" Jenny asked quietly, looking down.

"Yeah." Nate shrugged. "I can't be mad at Vanessa, though. If my dad came back home, I wouldn't be here right now."

"And we wouldn't be … together," Jenny finished.

Nate reached over, his fingers running along her jaw and tracing her lips. "I guess things could be worse."

She arched an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

He laughed softly, moving closer to her to he could kiss her. Jenny's hands went to his hair, fisting in it as she lifted herself onto her knees. She felt his hand dig into her thigh through the fabric of her sweatpants. She broke away, breathing hard.

"You really should go before my dad catches us," she warned, leaning her forehead against his.

Nate nodded slowly, but not moving away. "Are we OK now?"

"Yeah," she answered, lightly stroking his jaw. "We're OK."

He lifted his face, kissing her again.

Jenny laughed against his mouth, gently pushing him back. "You need to go."

Nate groaned softly. "OK, OK." He got up slowly, reluctantly releasing the hand he was still holding. His eyes swept over her, assessing her.

Jenny's hand went to her hair again and she cringed inwardly. "I look horrible, don't I?"

Nate shook his head. "You're beautiful."

She was grateful for the darkness so he wouldn't see the blush. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sure I do."

"You do."

She bit her lip, unsure of what else to say. He seemed to have a way of rendering her speechless.

He backed to the door, pausing in the doorway. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," she called softly, settling back into her bed with a smile.

"Goodnight, beautiful."