He tells me the entire story of what happened between him and this chick. As I listen to him telling it again, almost word for word as the first time, one thing affects me the most. If he was this truthful on the app, then everything else was just as real. There were times when I wondered if he was just feeding me lines, but the more I get to know him, the more I realize just how genuine he really is. Every moment on that app was him being him. He wasn’t trying to impress me or be someone he wasn’t.
It was just David.
Then it hits me—the same David I was falling for last week is the same David sitting in front of me right now, and I have no clue what I’m going to do about it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Zoe
Our dinner was amazing—the fried chicken was like nothing I’d had before—but now that we’re driving back to our hotel, my chest is tight with anticipation of what will happen next.
I want to continue our night, even if we just sit and talk, like we did over the app, but how do I ask him to do that without coming off as desperate? Or worse, what if he doesn’t want to hang out with me? After all, I was his sworn enemy at work just three days ago.
He pulls up to our hotel and doesn’t hesitate when he turns off the car and opens his door. I do the same, and we walk into the lobby. Then we go straight to the elevators, where he clicks the button, and we wait in silence. Once we’re inside, he pushes the floor number, and I step back against the wall, needing to breathe.
For the first time on this trip, being next to him feels awkward, but I can tell he senses it too.
But why?
The elevator dings its floor arrival, and the doors slide open. He holds out his hand to me, asking for me to go first, so I do. As I walk down the hall, I reach for my key card and place it on the device as soon as I get to my door.
“Well, good night,” I say as my door unlocks.
He doesn’t even look my way, keeping his stride to his room. “Good night.”
I enter my room and drop my head back on the door once it shuts, wanting to scream in frustration at this entire situation, but holding back, knowing that he’ll hear me if I do.
I think about calling Macy or the girls, but I know, deep down, I don’t want to hear what they have to say.
All it would take is me responding to the app, and it would send him my phone number, and then he’ll know who I am right away because it’s already programmed in his phone.
I wouldn’t have to come out and tell him who I was. He would get the notification on his phone, and then he could take the time he needed to decide what he wanted to do from there.
I reach for my phone and open the app, navigating to our conversation.
Scrolling through it, I remember exactly how I felt each day and how much I wondered if I’d like him once I met him in person. Knowing he is exactly how he portrayed himself on this app scares me so much. I’ve never felt for anyone the way I did for Online David. I honestly started to think it was all a scam or he was catfishing me. It just felt too real, too good to be true.
I am at a total loss for what I should do now. Everything I’ve ever wanted is sitting in the room next to mine, only he has no idea it’s me.
How did I even get myself into this mess?
I throw my phone down on the bed, deciding against telling him once again. Instead, I change into something more casual, then crawl onto the bed with the remote control in hand, hopingto get lost in a show or maybe a good movie to pass the next few hours before I go to bed.
Settling on a rerun ofThe Big Bang Theory, I toss the remote down next to me and try to focus on the show, realizing quickly that all it does is make me think about David more. It’s one of the first episodes where Leonard really wants Penny, but she doesn’t realize he does yet. That’s exactly how I feel right now. David is like this enigma that I’ll never get, and knowing he’s in the next room is making it even worse.
I push the thoughts out of my mind and actually make it through two episodes when I can’t take it anymore and turn off the TV altogether.
I search around the room for anything else that can take things off my mind. On the little table in the corner, there’s a brochure advertising what’s around here, so I go pick it up and open it to see there’s a bar downstairs in the restaurant. I’ve only been there for breakfast, so I’m not surprised I didn’t notice it then.
A drink sounds exactly like what I need right now, so I slip my shoes back on, grab my purse, and head out of my room. Before I walk down the hall, I lean over to David’s room and put my ear against the door, wondering if he’s in there or not. The last thing I need right now is to run into him at the bar.
Some kind of sports broadcast filters through the door, so I stand up straight and make my way to the elevator.
Walking up to a hotel bar by myself feels a little weird, but I need a drink more than any insecurities that may be flowing through my mind, so I pull out a chair and take a seat.
“Good evening,” an older gentleman says to me. “What can I get you?”
“Just a glass of red wine, please.”
