“You’re kidding, right?”I can’t help the venom my voice is laced with.
Now it’s her brow that furrows, her head cocking slightly as her gaze locks onto mine.“Your eyes…” Her lower lip slides between her teeth, and that single action almost has a guttural moan leaving me.
“Whiskey eyes.”I remind her.“That’s how you described them to me.”
“So, we know each other?”Her brow furrows deeper, genuine curiosity in her question.
“Are you seriously going to play this fucking game with me?”I take a step back, shaking my head.“It’s bad enough you ghosted me, but to pretend you don’t remember me?”
My hand grips my throat, dragging down its length roughly.Better mine than hers right now.“Un-fucking-believable.”
“When?”She completely ignores the fact that I’m getting angry, and instead, steps closer to me, a look of urgency expressed in her features.“When did we know each other?”
Is she for real right now?I glance around, and notice there’s a small crowd starting to gather around us.Great, just fucking great.The cherry on the top of the fucking sundae.
“Look, can we do this somewhere else?”I tilt my head toward the small hoard.“This is about to get ugly.”
She considers the group of gawkers behind us, then nods.“Follow me.”
Without hesitation, she turns on her heel and leads me to a door behind the mammoth check-in counter.She doesn’t stop walking as we enter a hallway.She continues until she reaches a door on the left, her name, “Lilith Anderson”, on the front.I finally,finallyknow her full name.
She swipes a badge over the sensor above the knob, then pushes the door open, holding it for me to enter.Once I’m through, she strides past me, the door slamming in her wake.The office isn’t anything special.A 10x10 room with a desk centered on the far side wall, facing out, a small couch on the left side wall, a fake potted plant on the floor between both.
“Sit.”She points to the couch as she takes a seat behind her desk.I’m sure she feels a little more comfortable with something between us.I do as she instructs, although, being still is the last thing I want to do right now.
“Whoareyou?”Her question direct, it’s meaning hitting home.How the fuck can she not remember me?
“Lucifer Sarris.”I offer, then provide more context.“I’m with Devil’s Halo.We’re staying here for two nights.I’m the lead singer.”
“Oh, you’re with the rock band.”She shakes her head, confusion still swirling in her eyes.“And we know each other?We’ve met before?Did you stay here last time you were on tour?Or for something else?”
She really doesn’t have a fucking clue.I’m not sure what to do with this.So, of course, the devil on my shoulder rears its ugly horns and goes in for the kill.
“Seeing how I fucked you six times in two days, I’d like to think we know each other.And I wanted to believe that meant you’d actually remember me, but apparently not.I guess being in the hotel business, you probably get your fair share of dick whenever you want.Especially looking like you do.”
Yeah, I’m pissed, so fuck holding back.
Her face turns a ghostly white, her voice shaking when she asks her next question in a rush of words.“When?When was that?”
I scoff, unsure why I’m still humoring her with this conversation, but I tell her anyway.“October 2023.The 11thand the 12thif you want specifics.”I narrow my eyes, contempt growing.“You got me noted in a diary somewhere you can reference?”
Instead of the reaction I expect from her; anger, disgust, denial, she starts to cry.Her head landing in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she begins to sob.
Well, fuck me.Not sure what’s happening now or how I handle this.I sit up straight, not sure if I should get up and go to her, or wait for her to finish.Just as I make a decision and stand, she lifts her head, mascara streaking down her cheeks, the look she’s giving me a startling difference from before.
“I’ve been trying to figure out who you are for almost two years.”She blubbers out, her nose running as tears continue to cascade.
I take a couple steps closer, confusion front and center as I approach her cautiously.“I don’t understand.”
Her hand slides over her mouth as her eyes scrunch shut, her head shaking back and forth.When her eyes open again, she drags her fingers down her chin, so much pain on her face.“I have so many questions.”
Chapter 16
Lily
All Too Well
Taylor Swift
