3. Ryan
I crack open my bedroom door and pause to listen before venturing into the hall.
They’re gone.
Thank God they’re gone.
The wood floor creaks beneath my feet as I step over the towel.
My towel, that’s been rubbed all over some guy’s ass crack. Now I’ll have to burn it. Or, at the very least, soak it in a vat of bleach.
“You really suck sometimes, Connor!” I growl into the empty living room. How could he spring this on me? A thirty-minute warning is all I get after living here for three years?
To be fair, the big oaf knew I’d complain, that I’d demand a say, and never in a million years would I have agreed to one of Wolf’s grounds guys moving in. I work in the hotel’s administration. I see—and hear—enough to know what they’re like.
Case in point—the guy has already exposed himself within five minutes of an introduction! And now I have to share a bathroom and a wall with this … this … obscenely attractive flasher.
My cheeks burn anew with the image of his body scorched onto my brain. Why couldn’t he have a pot belly and a coat of fur, instead of that eight-pack and pristine V-cut pelvis? I know why. Because my scamp of a brother had to find a partner in crime for his scandalous lifestyle.
“Ugh!” With a heavy groan, I barge into the bathroom, the remnants of steam from Ronan’s shower lingering in the air and fogging up the mirror. A gob of toothpaste smears the porcelain sink, and the counter looks like it was half submerged in water. What did he do, bathe in the basin?
“It’s okay, Ryan. It’s all going to be fine. Just breathe.” I coach myself through several long deep inhales and exhales, as tears of anger and frustration prick my eyes. Today was already lining up to be horrible, given last night’s unexpected breakup with David.
I still can’t believe it’s over.
Is it because I told him I loved him last week?
That painful lump in my throat flares. I considered calling in sick to work while on my jog but talked myself out of it. Distraction is key.
Peeling off my sweat-soaked running clothes, I throw open the shower curtain.
And make a strangled sound.