Lance
twenty-nine
Past
“Taylor! Get your ass out of bed.”
Cam bangs on the door, pulling me from a deep sleep. Probably the best sleep I’ve had in years, maybe ever. I slide my hand across the mattress, searching for the woman who made that possible, and find the sheets cold to my touch.
My eyes fly open, and I lie still, listening to my surroundings. Despite my teammates bickering on the other side of the door, the room is quiet. Too quiet.
She’s gone.
What the fuck?
“We’re coming in!” Reed shouts.
There’s no time to pull the harpoon from my chest as the door to my hotel room flies open, and three hulking figures enter my room and station themselves at the entryway, blocking the door. Cameron, Reed, and Blake look around the room, with giant grins.
To say my room is a mess is an understatement. Furniture is out of place, lamps are knocked down, my clothes are strewn around the room, and there are quite a few condom wrappers lying on the floor. The only thing, or person, missing is Gwen.
I wrap the sheet around my waist, hiding my morning wood from view, and sit up against the headboard. “The fuck is wrong with you, dickheads? Barging in. I expect better from you, Cam.”
“I just knocked.” He points at Reed, placing the blame on him. “This guy stole the access card off the room service cart.”
“I didn’t steal; I borrowed it.” Reed shines his nails on his shoulder.
“Whatever. What are you guys doing here?”
“You ditched us last night,” Reed says, looking miffed.
“What Reed means to say is, we were worried about you. You didn’t tell us you were leaving,” Cam clarifies.
“Looks like we didn’t need to worry. He was here and, from the look of it, not alone.” Blake wiggles his eyebrows at me as he leans against the mirrored wall and crosses his arms.
“Fuck off.” I flip him the bird, sending the guys into a fit of laughter. “As you can see, I’m fine.”
“And alone. Must not have been that great a night if she pulled a Houdini,” Reed teases.
He’s lucky I’m naked as the day I was born under this sheet, or I’d get out of bed and kick his ass. She might not be here, but I know for a fucking fact I left her more than satisfied.
Then why the fuck is she not here? the cruel voice in my head sneers.
I rub my hands over my face and exhale, refusing to let myself go there. There must be a reason Gwen left. There’s no way she didn’t feel what I felt last night while I was inside her, kissing her and filling her to the brim with every inch of me.
“Fuck,” I groan, ignoring my friends’ whispered squabbling.
“You okay, man?” I can hear the pity and concern in Cam’s voice.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m good. I just need to shower and get dressed.”
“You still headed upstate to your parents’ place?” Cam asks.
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. Californians and their thinking that any town above Manhattan is upstate. “Something like that.”
“You’re coming back to LA with us tonight, right?” Blake asks.
“That’s the plan. Just gotta check in with my mom for a bit.”
Cam gives me a look, silently asking about my dad. I shake my head, and he tips his chin.
Reed pulls out his phone and scrolls. “You better hurry your ass up. It’s already ten, and the plane leaves at six.”
“Where’s Romero?” I ask.
Blake snorts. “Trying to ditch the lingerie model. Turns out, she’s clingy.”
“Ah.” I nod, unsurprised by this.
Nico has an aversion to relationships, and from what I saw last night, the woman he was with wanted way more than a night of fun.
“Heath with Gracie?” I ask.
“Yup.” Reed pops his P, looking disgusted. It will be interesting if and when a woman comes into his life and flips it upside down. “They went sightseeing or some shit. Fucking gross couples.”
My mind goes to Gwen, wondering what happened between the time we fell asleep, spent from the last round of mind-bending sex in the shower, and when she snuck out of my hotel room.
Did I do something to make her leave?
There’s nothing that stands out. If I had just told her I wanted more than one night, then maybe she would still be here. I thought I would have the morning to take her to breakfast and talk.
Fuck. I drop my head back against the headboard.
I open my eyes to Cam watching me. A silent conversation ensues, and he tips his chin in understanding. We’ve been friends for a long time, and with that comes his ability to read my emotions. “We’ll leave you to get ready.”
I return the chin nod. “’Bout time.”
Ignoring me, Reed slaps his stomach. “I’m hungry. Breakfast?”
“I could eat.” Blake pushes off the wall and marches to the door, Reed hot on his heels. In the distance, I can hear Reed teasing Blake about wearing pink, and the guy whining about ruining his hoodie.
Cam stops at the door and turns to face me. “You coming with or what?”
The idea of food makes my stomach churn. I’ve got too much going through my head to eat. Between wondering why in the hell the girl I spent the night with snuck out while I was sleeping and worrying about my trip north, I’m not the best company.
“Nah.”
“Quick trip?” Cam asks, referring to my previous arrangements.
Today, I planned on meeting my mom and grandmother at their flower shop to check in with each other.
They have been my strongest supporters, but I have my limits.
The last thing I want to do is stick around my hometown long enough to run into my father.
He relishes in finding new ways to ignore me, and I want no part in it today.
“Quick trip,” I confirm.
With a salute, Cam follows our other friends, leaving me to get cleaned up.
As I pick up the trash and grab my clothes off the floor, packing my suitcase, my confusion over Gwen’s disappearance turns into anger. By the time I’m done showering and dressed to leave the hotel, I’m fuming.
How could she leave without a word? The audacity.
I worshipped the fuck out of her body. Showed her with my mouth, hands, and cock what my voice could not say alone.
She felt it. There’s no fucking way she didn’t.
Especially the last time I buried myself deep inside her body and moved in and out of her, slowly, with intention, hoping that she would understand how I was feeling.
Is a part of my ego bruised from her ditching out?
Sure. And I know I sound like a schmuck for admitting it. Gwen doesn’t owe me a damn thing.
And yet, it doesn’t change how I feel now.
But honestly, I’m mostly pissed at myself. I shared things with her, private things, things I rarely share with my friends and family, let alone gorgeous women I meet at clubs. Waking up to her absence feels like a betrayal.
If I ever run into that vixen again, she better be prepared for me to either kiss the living fuck out of her or for me to scream at her for being a coward and leaving when she knew damn well last night wasn’t just one night.