Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
B
A knock on my hotel door wakes me from a sleep that I'm pretty sure could have lasted all day, had I been left undisturbed. I grumble as I throw the duvet off me and slowly get up on my feet.
"This better be important. I was sleeping."
I open the door and see my boss, Daniel, standing there with Fia. "Good morning to you too, sunshine."
I panic a little and grab Daniel’s wrist to check his watch. "It's only 10:00. I thought we didn't have to be at brunch until 11:30?"
Daniel shoves his way past me, Fia following behind him. "Well, if you had answered my calls, you would have known that brunch got pushed back to noon."
"That doesn't explain why you're barging into my room two hours early."
"We're going to grab drinks before, now that we have a little extra time. I’m desperate for a bloody mary after last night."
I grumble. "I’ll pass. You guys go without me, and I'll just meet you at brunch."
"You'll pass?" Daniel steps toward me and places his manicured hand on my forehead. "Are you unwell?"
I swat his hand away. "I'm fine. Just tired."
"Did those Wonder Woman shots get the best of you last night?"
"No."
"I think it was the hot bartender she brought home with her last night that got to her,” Fia teases.
I glare over at her. I'm not sure why. Daniel knows very well that I often hook up with strangers on work trips, as he does the same.
"Ooooo, the one with all the tattoos?" Daniel asks Fia.
"Yep. I saw them sneaking into her room when I was going back out."
"We weren't sneaking." I plop down on my bed and lay my head back down on my pillow. Maybe if I fall asleep again, they'll leave.
"How was it?" Fia's face is now six inches from mine.
"If you must know, nothing happened."
"What!?" Daniel and Fia say in unison.
"He wouldn't stop yapping about the Dodgers, so I kicked him out." My voice is slightly muffled by my pillow, but I don't really care if they heard me clearly. It's none of their fucking business anyway.
Jesus, who am I right now? Am I getting my period soon?
I'm more irritable than usual. I normally never care about sharing the spicy details of my life with these two.
They are the least judgmental when it comes to my sexcapades.
Daniel and I basically share a brain. He likes to joke that I learned my ways from him, but I was messed up long before I met Daniel Perez at that club two years ago.
We're kindred spirits, twin flames. Both cynical with a ravenous sexual appetite. We just bat for different teams.
"You could have just gagged him," Daniel suggests.
I laugh at his joke, knowing it wasn't completely a joke. "Eh, he didn't seem worth it once I got him back here. I think I had strobe light glasses on at the club."
"Ahh, I hate when that happens," he replies. "That's why I usually just keep the lights off when I get back to my room."
The truth is, I think I invited him back to my hotel room more so out of habit than actual interest in hooking up with him.
I lost interest in Mr. Bartender as soon as we left the club.
When the cool night air hit my skin, and I stepped into our Uber, all I wanted was to be alone.
I thought maybe I could shake it off, so I let him get all the way into my room before I made my final decision.
Probably shouldn't have strung him along that long, but I don't know what got into me.
Then, when he started running his mouth about the motherfucking Dodgers, I wanted to jump out the window. Instead, I lied and told him I got my period. He left shortly after.
When I was finally alone in my hotel room, I got the urge to call Kass.
It killed me to admit it to myself, but I longed for sex with someone who knew me, the same way I crave sex with Fia.
Something about having someone who knows your body from experience just hits differently than a random hookup.
But I fought that urge to call him, because I knew it could only lead to trouble.
I just know that the next time we talk, he's going to ask questions about why I've been so weird since the farmer's market.
I've been able to dismiss him with excuses of being busy on my work trip, but what happens when I get back home?
Do I have to tell him that I got freaked out by Clover suggesting we should be a couple, by the joy that was shining in her eyes, the hope that maybe one day her dad could be happy again?
The hope that maybe I could make them happy.
Despite my genuine interest in Kass, I'm not the person for that job. He knows it too. Or at least I hope he does.
"B, what do you think?" I'm pulled from my thoughts by Fia snapping a finger in my face. "Earth to B."
"Huh?"
"Are you going to come grab drinks with us before brunch?"
"No."
Daniel gasps. "No?"
"No," I repeat. "I'm going to sleep for another hour. I'll meet you guys there."
They push back a little, but eventually I get them out of my room. It was like herding cats to a lake, but I eventually succeeded. I told them that if I nap now, I’ll be more fun later.
Now they’re gone, and I’m alone in my room yet again. I try to fall back asleep, but I can’t.
I know I said I wanted to nap for another hour, but honestly, after having their chaotic energy bouncing around me for several minutes, I'm not sure I could fall back asleep.
I may not be tired anymore, but you know what I am? Horny!
Without even thinking about it, I pick up my phone and FaceTime Kass. I know I haven't been messaging him much recently, but I need him right now. I need to hear the low timbre of his voice while I touch myself.
"I was wondering when you'd call.” His face lights up the screen, and my heart patters in my chest.
"Am I that predictable?"
"Actually, no. It was more wishful thinking on my part."
I roll my eyes at him and lie back on my bed. "I need your help."
"With what?"
I watch as he walks through the hallway and into his room. He has headphones in, so I figure I'm safe from Clover overhearing me.
"I need an orgasm to get me through the day."
"How much time do I have?"
I glance up at the time on the corner of my screen. "Thirty minutes."
"Plenty of time."
The grin on his face makes me want to reach through the phone and strangle him. "What?"
"Nothing. Just surprised you didn't hook up with someone last night."
"Who says I didn't?"
I can't help but notice the disappointment that flashes across his face, even though it was brief.
"I didn't, by the way." Why am I explaining myself to him? I don't owe him anything.
"I mean, we didn't really have a talk about being exclusive, so..."
My next words are coming out of my mouth before I can second-guess them. "Are you sleeping with other people?"
I want to take it back immediately. I don't care if he is, but now he's going to think I do.
"I am not."
"I really don't care if—"
He cuts me off, "I've only got eyes for you at the moment, Blake. But I think you know that."
My heart starts racing, and I'm starting to feel a little nauseous.
"I really don't care if you do." Silence. "I mean, sleep with other people," I clarify.
"Okay. That doesn't change the fact that I only want to be with you."
"Kass." I can't hide the annoyance in my voice.
"Blake."
I get the feeling he's going to say something I don't want to hear, so I do what I do best.
I put up a wall.
"Actually, I didn't realize what time it was. I have to get ready for a work thing."
"Blake, don't do that to me."
"I'm sure you can get your own rocks off just fine without me."
"You know that's not what I mean."
"Kass, I don't know what you want from me." I'm getting short with him, but I can't help myself. Every cell in my body is screaming to run.
"And I don't know what you want from me. That's kind of the conversation I'm trying to have with you right now."
"I really have to go."
"Mmk.” He doesn’t buy it, but he concedes anyway. “Talk later then?"
"Sure."
I hang up before he can say anything else that will cause me to spiral more than I already am.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!