Reluctantly, I stop in my tracks and turn to see him jogging towards me.
‘Are you okay? You seem a little tense,’ he says when he reaches me.
I swallow, aware of how dry my mouth is. ‘I am.’
He pinches his brows. ‘Okay? Or tense?’
I sigh. ‘Both.’
‘Why tense?’
There’s a beat of silence where we just look at each other.
I decide I may as well deal with this head-on. It’s only going to get more awkward otherwise.
‘Look, I’m sorry for running off last night, but I just felt a bit’ – I wave my hands around my head – ‘spun out. It was wrong of me to be doing that with you, so soon after splitting with Adrian.’
He frowns. ‘Says who?’
‘Hmm?’ I look at him, nonplussed.
‘Who are you so bothered about offending with yourterriblebehaviour as a single, grown-up woman?’
‘I… err… I don’t know! No-one. Everyone!’ Frustration and confusion bubble through me. This is not the way I wanted this conversation to go.
‘So you’re worried that all the friends and family who are here watching your every move at this hotel’ – he motions around the empty reception to prove hisbloody annoying point– ‘are going to think poorly of you for having a bit of fun after being fucked over and humiliated by your ex who is now, in your words, “happily off fucking someone else”.’
‘Yeah, okay. No need to rub it in.’
He frowns. ‘I’m not. I’m just pointing out that maybe you should take the advice you gave me last night.’
‘What do you mean?’ I look at him, confused.
‘The point you made about it not being necessary to try and impress other people. That no-one here is actually judging you for your actions and decisions.’
‘You think I’m trying to impress my invisible friends by not sleeping with you?’
He shrugs and the corner of his mouth curls up into a wry grin. ‘If that’s what you want to take from it.’
I stare up at the ceiling and blink hard. ‘Ugh! You’re doing my head in!’
‘Not my intention, I promise. I’m just trying to enjoy my holiday here, Dasher. Not start a fight with you.’ He begins to back away from me, heading in the direction of the bar. ‘Join in, or not. Your call.’
Then he turns and strides away, his gait relaxed and carefree, as if this encounter is no big deal to him.
He’s happily going back to the, no doubt, sycophantic attention he’s been receiving at the bar. And will have an amazing night with those women.
Fine. Let him.
Back in my room, I pace around for a minute, straightening things on the low table in the middle of the room, then pick up my phone and check it for messages, of which there are none.
No-one’s going to bother me while I’m here, of course. Everyone knows I’ve come for an escape and to get my head together. I’d let them know in no uncertain terms that I needed space and a change of scene from everyone and everything. That I didn’t want to talk to anyone until I was back at home.
I didn’t want to be reminded about what had happened with Adrian. Which was ridiculous, of course, because I’ve thought about nothing else since the moment I got here. Except for when I was with Kit of course.
Memories of last night start to intrude again, but I push them out of my head.
I have to stop thinking about him.
