Just one simple word, but it has my spine stiffening. I close my eyes and take a breath before looking to my right. I raise a brow at Austen, not returning his greeting. He doesn’t deserve anything from me.
“Two chardonnay’s please,” he says to the bartender, holding up two fingers.
I can’t help the laugh that explodes out of me. I finish off my drink and put the empty glass down on the table, sliding it to the other end.
“You would,” I mutter to myself.
“I’m sorry?”
“Fucking chardonnay?” I shake my head, huffing out a humorless laugh. “Very bougie of you, Mr. Brewer.”
He opens his mouth to respond, but then closes it when the bartender slides over his drinks.
“Add those to my tab, please.” I gesture to the drinks. “And I’ll close it out.”
“That’s not necessary,” Austen says, pulling out his wallet.
I turn my body to face Austen, and my stomach sours.
God, he’s fucking beautiful. Somehow more handsome than he was when we were younger. He’s filled out a little, gone from that baby face to more rugged, masculine features.
It’s been seven years since I’ve seen him face-to-face. That’s a long damn time, and my, how he’s changed. Too bad he’s still an asshole.
“I can pay for your drinks, Austen. I have money of my own now, too.” I say it snarkily on purpose. He frowns at me as he picks up the glasses of wine, and I sign my receipt, leaving the bartender a hefty tip—even though I won’t be fucking him tonight. I turn to Austen and grin as I shove my card into my pocket. “But at least I’m not a fucking prick.”
I walk out of the gymnasium, feeling proud of myself for that little dig. Yes, it was childish, but the anger towards my ex-bestfriend has been brewing for years and I’ve had a lot to drink. So excuse my immaturity.
It’s relatively early and I consider finding somewhere else to go in this shithole town to finish getting drunk, but after traveling all day, I just want to fall into bed and sleep.
Making my way through the halls, I eventually get outside. Just as I do, my phone rings. I don’t recognize the call, but that’s common for someone in my line of work, so I answer it hoping it’s a job, so I’ll have an excuse to get out of this shithole sooner rather than later. Not that I need an excuse, but it helps.
“This is Cameron Scott.”
“Hello, Mr. Scott. My name is Tania, and I’m the manager at the Best Rest Hotel. Unfortunately, I have some bad news.”
I hear the building door open and close harshly behind me.
“What kind of bad news?” I ask.
There isn’t another hotel in this town I’ll sleep in. They’re all trashy and disgusting.
“A pipe burst on the fourth floor on the east side, and unfortunately, there has been a lot of damage to the rooms below, and yours was one of them.”
“Yes, that is unfortunate,” I bite out as I look up at the clear blue sky. A weight settles on my chest as I take in the bright stars and how many I can see. When’s the last time I saw something like this? I spend so much time in cities nowadays, I hardly see the stars at all. Too much light pollution. Here, it’s so clear, so beautiful.
“You will be reimbursed for the room, of course, and any items in the room that were damaged. And, unfortunately—” There’s that fucking word again.
“Let me guess. You don’t have any other vacant rooms?”
“No, sir. We do not. I apologize.”
“Well, your apology doesn’t get me a place to sleep, does it?”
I end the call, shoving the phone into my pocket and looking up at the sky.
“You’ve turned quite bitter.”
I grind my teeth, refusing to look behind me, knowing exactly who I’ll see.
