Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
It’s the last day of the conference, and though I’ve seen Will off and on passing by in the hallway, we haven’t spoken.
I spent an embarrassing amount of time last night thinking over that moment in the escape room.
The way his hands gripped my waist. The flash of heat in his eyes.
The nervousness outside of our hotel rooms after we left.
This is…insane, right?
Will and I hate each other.
We have since we were kids.
We’ve never gotten along, not for as long as I can remember.
That hasn’t changed. It can’t. It won’t.
It was just an exciting moment, and we got swept up in it. Adrenaline. Hearts pumping. Heads spinning.
That’s all.
I barely listen to the two panels I’m supposed to use in my presentation. My mind keeps drifting, like a toddler I’m constantly having to corral. The second I let my guard down, I’m right back there.
His hands.
His eyes.
His skin against mine.
And I can’t let myself go there because…because that would be ridiculous.
At the end of the day, I retreat to the restaurant to eat alone. I don’t want to give Will a chance to get more specific with his request for us to spend time together again. As it stands, we can just pretend it didn’t happen, that we were both just caught up in the moment.
If I’m being honest, I don’t want to give myself a chance to say yes to something I’ll regret.
I linger in the restaurant a long time, ordering refills on my Sprite and reading the book I brought with me. It’s after nine when I sneak back to my room, hoping and praying we won’t cross paths and he doesn’t hear my door shut.
Just as I collapse on the bed, though, I hear his voice through the thin wall that separates our rooms.
He didn’t go out either.
Without thinking, I rise from the mattress and cross toward the sound. My heart races behind my ribs like a wild animal. I lift my hand to knock on the wall, to let him know I’m here.
Just before my knuckles connect with the drywall, I hear another voice. A laugh.
And my heart sinks.
There’s a woman in Will’s room, and from the sounds of it, they’re getting to know each other very well.
Of course they are. Because that’s who Will is. And whatever I was feeling because of yesterday, is all on me.