The voice is Haley’s, but I know deep in my gut that it’s right. The longer I delay, the better the odds of something going wrong.
I draw a deep breath, square my shoulders, and put one foot in front of the other, willing my nerves to settle.
When I find the room, I raise my fist and knock before I can change my mind.
There’s still time to bolt if he looks like a creep.
There’s a quietsnickas the doorknob turns and the electronic lock disengages.
Holy shit. I’m really doing this. My stomach rolls, twisting itself in a knot.
Just breathe.
I suck in a shallow breath, heart slamming against my ribcage.
The door opens slowly and—No freaking way.
It’s a trick of the light. It has to be. The soft glow casting shadows or something.
I blink.
Once.
Twice.
Third time’s the charm.
But nope. The man before me remains unchanged.
Cooper.
“I— I’m sorry.” Heat scorches my cheeks and I pray the floor will swallow me whole. I have no doubt he knows exactly what I’m doing at the Wildcat Inn, and he’s never going let me live it down. “I must have the wrong room.”
I step back, prepared to make a hasty retreat and never think of this moment again.
“Quinn.”
I turn, unable to meet his eyes as humiliation crawls up my spine.
“Padawan.”
The name freezes me in my tracks, and like a puppet on a string, my head jerks up.
“You don’t have the wrong room.” He tucks his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m the douchey frat guy you’ve been messaging.” He smiles, but it’s not his usual cocky grin. There’s a softness to it, an uncertainty I’ve never seen before. “Your words, not mine. I actually think I’m a pretty decent dude.”
My throat closes and it becomes hard to breathe. To think.
I can’t— This cannot be happening.
It’s too cruel. Too—
“Is this some kind of joke?” I demand, voice unsteady. “Do you think this is funny? Have you been sitting around with your football buddies laughing at the naïve little virgin? God, I am so stupid.” I push a stray lock of hair out of my face. “I should’ve known.”
I’ve suffered some serious indignities, but never in my life have I felt this deep, cutting level of mortification. I don’t even wait for a reply. Nothing he says can make this better. I speed walk down the hall, moving as fast as my heels will allow.
I don’t make it ten steps before Cooper is blocking my path, his wide shoulders making it impossible to pass.
“Don’t go,” he says, voice quiet. “It’s not what you think, Quinn. This isn’t some fucked up joke. Not to me.”
