Prologue #1: Zach
Two Years Ago
I sprint to thehotel’s front desk like my life fucking depends on it.
I’ll never hear the end of my teammate’s chirps if I embarrass myself at my captain’s wedding—and as I'm a rookie and the youngest guy on the team, they already razz me enough.
“Restroom?”
The kid behind the desk looks up from his phone with bloodshot eyes. “Down the hall,” he says in a bored monotone. He doesn’t look much younger than me, maybe a senior in high school. “Third or fourth door on the right. There’s a sign.”
He says the last sentence like he can’t believe I’m this clueless. It’s not my fault I couldn’t use the one in the reception hall. My teammate was already there, balls-deep inside a woman, thrusting from behind.Fucking lock the door next time, Lepel, I shouted before high-tailing it out of there.
One.
Two.
Three.
I count the doors as I run, heaving a sigh of relief when the restroom sign comes into view. It’s one of those silly drawings I struggle to decipher when sober, but the guy said the right side of the hallway.
Or was it left?
Right. Left.I flip a coin in my mind, and push through a door on the left into a room with a fancy-looking gold couch I wish I could collapse on. This might be the best men’s restroom I’ve ever been in, clean and smelling faintly like a garden. Then pink flowers on the wall catch my eye, and there’s no urinal in sight.
“Shit, itwasthe right,” I mutter. Thank fuck no one else is in here.
I book it out of there to the other side of the hall, leaning against the door as I twist the handle. It abruptly swings open, throwing me to the floor of a dark room in front of a shadowy figure.
I yelp, then fumble to my feet and flip on the light. A blond woman sits cross-legged in the center of the room, her maroon bridesmaid dress pooling around her. Bright blond hair frames her head like a crown with loose strands beside her face.
Her friend’s wedding reception rages down the hall and she’s on the floor of a dusty supply closet by herself. What gives?
Her wide sky-blue eyes meet mine, shocking me back to reality. I’ve been staring at her for too long.
I spitfire words. “I thought this was the restroom. The guy at the desk said it was. But clearly it’s not. Unless you want to step into the hall for a second while I use the bucket back there.”
She shakes her head, then takes out an earbud. “What was that?”
I let out a relieved sigh. Take two. “Do you know where the restroom is?”
“I don’t work here,” she replies with a shrug.
“I know. Your dress makes it obvious.” I wave my hand at her. “But I’m lost, and the kid at the desk is high, and I don’t want to make a scene and get kicked out of here… can you help?”
She raises one eyebrow. “You want me to go off alone with a stranger to find a restroom?”
I chuckle nervously. “Well… when you say it like that, it sounds sketchy. But it’s not. I promise. I really do need to find one, and I’ve—”
“Did you check the reception hall?” Her words aren’t unkind but abrupt, like she wants me out of her hair. A feeling familiar to me.
“It was, uh, occupied. I wasn’t sure how much longer they would take—Lepel’s got a reputation. And it was awkward catching them, you know? Not an image I’ll forget any time soon.”
I take a deep breath.
I should leave and find a potted plant to piss in, but my feet won’t move.
“I’m Zach, by the way.”
