“You’d be lucky if that’s all she does,” I scoff. “My mother is a woman filled with vengeance. You wouldn’t survive her wrath.”
“Fine,” Ellie sighs. “What do we do, then?”
Sleeping with Ellie has been fun. She’s good in bed, she’s great to be around, but I’m not looking for a relationship, and she knows that. I made it perfectly clear I’d be looking for a hook-up from time to time, nothing more, nothing less.
She agreed to that off the bat. As long as she doesn’t start clinging to me, or God forbid, starts acting like Cassia, I’m fine withthe arrangement.
“We can always put a stop to this,” I offer. I have no romantic feelings towards her, only sexual attraction. Finding someone else to fuck won’t be too difficult.
“What?” Her expression falls, and my brows narrow. “Why would we put a stop to this?”
“Because it’s the easier way out? Because then there wouldn’t be anything to worry about.”
“But, Soren—”
“Look, Ellie,” I interrupt, getting up. Her eyes follow my movements as I grab the clothes off the floor and start getting dressed. It doesn’t take a genius to realize what her expression means. She got attached and caught feelings. This just proves the two of us are no longer compatible. “It was fun. But we both know it’s better to end it before it gets too much. If anyone does find out about this, it won’t affect me in the slightest. You, on the other hand, will lose everything. It’s for your own good.”
“Unless…”
I lift a brow. “Unless, what?”
She shrugs, fiddling with the ends of her hair. “Unless we wait another semester until you graduate, and then make it official.”
“Fuck, no.”
Her brows crease. “Excuse me?”
“When we started this, I made it perfectly clear I wasn’t looking for a relationship. It hasn’t changed. If that’s changed on your end, I’m the wrong man for you, Ellie.”
I finish buttoning up my shirt and put on the belt. The shoes are neatly next to the door, and I grab my wallet, make sure the phone’s in my pocket, and reach for the handle.
“Wait, Soren.”
I turn to face her.
She looks almost vulnerable. Her eyes are searching for mine, almost as if she’s waiting for me to say or do anything that will change the outcome of this. Nothing will, because quite frankly, even if I were ready to settle down, it wouldn’t be with her.
“Nothing,” she sighs, but I don’t miss the expression of hurt that flashes in her eyes. Without another word, I leave her room, silently closing the door behind me.
It takes me a solid twenty minutes to sneak out. The entire building’s covered with security cameras, and if that’s not already bad, it’s Saturday. Everyone’s outside, and wherever I go, I’m bound to be seen in the clothes from last night.
Fuck, I shouldn’t have done this.
A hand appears on my shoulder, and I’m quick to turn around, my fist ready to knock out a tooth or two. Relief washes over me when I spot Kenzo and Aiden, both of whom are giving me odd looks.
“We’ve been looking for you,” Aiden says, glancing up and down. “Where the fuck have you been?”
“Are you my mother?” I scoff, taking Kenzo’s hand off my shoulder.
“Doesn’t matter,” Kenzo glances at his watch. “Go shower, you reek of alcohol. We’ll be late.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I groan. “Fine. I’ll be down soon.”
True to my word, it doesn’t take me long to shower and take off the scent of alcohol, mixed with Ellie’s perfume. The worst thing about this all is probably that I feel no guilt about ending things with her, even after witnessing the hurt in her eyes.
Oh, well. She’ll live.
Given the fact that Kenzo made it a point to tell me at leastseven times over the past two days how important this exhibit is to him, I decided to put in a little effort into looking good. Knowing him, the place is as bougie as it could possibly get, and I’d rather not risk getting on the media’s bad side again.
