Her blue topaz irises stare back at me, her brow free of any worry for once.Her silence has me doubting if she wants the same thing, so I just ask the question.“If that’s what you want.”
Her head slowly begins to nod up and down, her lips curving up to form a smile.“It is.”
“Good.”I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had trapped in my lungs.
“Now that that’s settled, let’s get in the damn shower so I can keep my earlier promise.”I slap her lightly on the ass when she shimmies her undies off, and have her naked under the falling water before she can utter another word.
Sunlight creepsacross the hotel curtains, slicing through the haze of sleep.My arm reaches for her automatically, like my body already knows where she should be; warm, soft, and tucked against me.
But the sheets are cold.Empty.
I blink, push up on one elbow.The purse that sat on the chair is gone.The dress I untied, one bow at a time at her shoulders is no longer lying on the bathroom floor.The adorable chucks I unlaced last night are nowhere to be found.
My chest tightens, heat pricking the back of my neck.Maybe she’s out in the living area?
I get up, not caring I’m nude, and stride through the rest of the suite.It’s empty.I check the bathroom.Not even a trace of steam or water in the sink to indicate she showered or washed up.
Maybe she went downstairs to grab coffee?She knows she could have ordered anything she wanted off the room service menu.But I also know how independent she is, and can imagine her going down to grab something in the lobby to save me money.
My eyes roll at the very thought, the tiniest bit of relief hitting me at this logic.
Twenty minutes later, she still isn’t back though.And the longer I sit in silence, the louder the panic grows.
We had figured this out.We agreed.We both said it’s what we wanted.That we would find a way.
Those words actually kept me awake last night long after she fell asleep in my arms.I’d already started picturing her beside me, and not just for one night, but for all the nights.
I shove off the bed, pace the room, check the hallway.Nothing.No note.No trace.It’s like she was never here at all.
A hollow ache cracks my ribs wide open.I shouldn’t feel like this.Thirty-six hours isn’t enough to break a man, but fuck if I don’t feel shattered.
I press the heels of my hands into my eyes, but the image of her looking at me, like I was more than just a rockstar, more than a sin to taste and forget, burns into the darkness.
Where the fuck is she?
I stumble back into the room, rage starting to drown out my worry.Anger is easier.Anger I can live with.
If she thinks she can walk away from me, from us and what we could be, she’s wrong.
Did she use me?No.I know what happened was real for both of us.
I dig through my clothes scattered across the floor until I find my phone, but as I swipe the screen to open it, I realize we never even exchanged numbers.
I never even asked what her last name was.I couldn’t even try to find her on social.And the only picture we took was the one I snapped of us last night right before the show.And that was onherphone, not mine.
And yeah, we went to her apartment, butshehad ordered the Uber we took yesterday, and there was no way in hell I was ever going to be able to remember how the hell to get back to her place.
I lift my phone to find the contact information for Dean and call him.It takes about six rings before he answers, his voice groggy.“What the fuck, dude.It’s eight in the damn morning.”
“Did you get the number off that girl you hooked up with the other night?”I demand, thinking this may be my way back in to Lily.
“Gonna need to be a little more specific than that my friend.Which night and which girl?”A grumbling chuckle follows his question.
“Night before last.”I think trying to remember what day today is.It was easy with our maddening schedule to forget what day it was, let alone what city we are in.
“Wednesday night.”I state with wary confidence; pretty sure today is Friday.
A long sigh is all I hear, straining my already broken patience, before he finally responds.“What did she look like, do you remember?”
