3. Zeke
Zeke
Iwake slowly, my eyes heavy and unwilling to open. The effects of drinking last night are definitely hitting me hard this morning. Normally, I wouldn’t have gone out to a bar, not with my brothers not being here, but with what’s coming up this weekend, I needed it. Let’s call it pre-gaming.
But fuck, if I hadn’t gone out, I wouldn’t have met her. The woman who rocked my damn world.
Lena.
Just her name has my cock rock hard. Not from morning wood either. I roll onto my side, my arm drifting across the bed, reaching for her—wanting to pull her closer, to feel warm skin and tangled sheets and maybe start the morning right.
Morning sex is the best. Followed closely by afternoon and night sex.
Except… my hand meets nothing but the cool feel of the sheets.
I frown, still half-asleep, fingers brushing over the empty space where she should be. The sheets are cold. Not just recently vacated but cold like she’s been gone for a while.
Did she leave? Sneak out in the early morning to avoid me? What the fuck? That’s such a guy move.
That wakes me up fast.
My eyes spring open as I push myself upright, my eyes slowly bringing the room into focus. Soft light filters in through the curtains, casting a glow over the room. A knot forms in my chest, worried that she may not have made it to wherever she scurried off to this morning okay.
A small part of me hopes that she’s just in the bathroom. But there’s no sound of running water. No soft humming or shit that women do. My eyes scan the room and notice only my clothes thrown haphazardly on the floor.
Hers are gone.
“Seriously?” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and look at the nightstand on my side of the bed, then twist my body to look at the other one. Nothing. No note scribbled on hotel paper. She basically vanished, not only from the room, but my life.
“What the hell…” I breathe.
My phone starts ringing, the sound cutting through the silence. I grab it off the nightstand, glancing at the screen. The battery’s low. Of course it is. I didn’t plug it in last night. Too distracted by the goddess in my arms.
Jay’s name flashes across the screen.
I answer, putting it to my ear. “Hey, little bro, what’s up?” His voice comes through immediately, smug as ever.
“Nothing,” I grunt out, reaching for the bottle of water that was beside my phone and take a swallow. My mouth’s fucking dry as hell.
“Man, aren’t we a cranky ass. Didn’t expect for this side of you to come out until later.”
I shake my head, even though he can’t see me. He lives to remind me he’s older, that I’m the baby of the family. By five whole minutes.
“You need to get laid,” he continues with a laugh. “Some pussy would put you in a better mood.”
If he only knew.
A ghost of a smirk tugs at my mouth despite everything. Despite her ghosting me. “I did.”
There’s a pause on the other end, then a dismissive scoff. “Whatever. How’s the house?”
I knew that would shut him up. But best believe he’ll be grilling me for the details later. Maybe I’ll share them with him, or just keep them to myself.
“Everything’s good. Looks just like the photos we got.”
“Well, that’s good since we didn’t see the place in person. And just went off the realtor's word.”
“I’ve got the keys and had all the utilities turned on. Only thing left is for us to move in.”
Moving to a new place still feels weird. But it was time for us to move on. We had a plan, and it took some work but we’re all finally working at the same fire station. I came here to get everything set up with the new house, while Jay handled getting the movers set up back home.
Divide and conquer. It’s our motto and it’s never failed us.
“Alright,” Jay says. “Are you ready for it? We need to be a united front.”
“I know. And I am. Surely he’s got to see what he’s doing is stupid. He’s moving too fast.”
“Let’s just hope he listens. I’m sure we’re going to have hell getting him alone.”
I mumble in agreement because he’s right.
“I’ll talk to you later,” Jay tells me before ending the call.
I lower the phone slowly, staring at it for a second before dropping my hand to my side. The silence creeps back in, heavier now.
I glance over my shoulder at the bed again. I was hoping she’d still be here.
We could’ve picked up where we left off. Got hot and sweaty, then grabbed breakfast. I could’ve gotten her number—especially since I’m moving here. Could’ve turned one night into… something more. Or at least something repeatable.
Instead, she’s just… gone.
Like she was never here at all.
“Great,” I mutter.
I stand up and head toward the bathroom, already mentally shifting gears. It’s good she’s not here. I’ve still got things I need to do before I check out of the hotel. Food, check on the house one last time, turn in my rental car and head to the airport.
My mind needs to be clear for what's coming. Shit is changing and some of it isn’t for the good. Still, as I turn on the shower and wait for the water to heat, I can’t quite shake the feeling of that cold, empty space beside me.
I liked her. Really liked her.
She seemed like she liked me last night. We hit it off, chatted, vaguely, but we talked. And then she came back here with me and we had mind-blowing sex. At least it was for me. Why wouldn’t she leave a number? I mentally replay our conversation from last night. I was drinking but I wasn’t drunk.
I was hoping that when I officially moved here, I could take her out on a proper date. Dinner, movies, maybe even dancing. Not to mention flowers; women love those. I wanted to show her I was more than a man in a bar hitting on her.
Turning off the water, I take the towel off the rack and dry off.
I need to get my mind clear, and obsessing over a woman who couldn’t even say goodbye isn’t helping.
I need to keep my head in the game for what’s coming.
Then once we’ve handled the problem, I can look for my dream woman when we move here.
Happy with my plan, I get dressed and pack my bags. If I get everything done early, maybe I can catch an earlier flight.