“Yup, okay, let’s go!” I say, my heart rate spiking instantly at the sight. If I stay in this room—with this man; with that hat; with this bed; with no pants—we’re going to have a major problem.
I pluck my dress from the chair, then spin for the hotel door. Cam’s standing beside it, cradling my shoes and clutch. I take them from him and search for my phone and room key.
“Dammit, my phone’s dead. Millie’s probably so worried.”
“Nah, I texted her,” he says, sliding his feet into a pair of leather sandals.
My spine goes ramrod straight. “You texted her? How do you have her number?”
“She added it to my contacts when she gave me yours last night.” He saunters to the door and holds it open with a warm smile.
I suck in a breath as I pass him, trying hard as hell not to make any contact whatsoever.
This is a walk of shame if I ever saw one. Cam, looking way too effervescent and put together, even without a morning shave, next to me, barefoot and clothed in a man’s shirt.
“What room?” he asks again.
“Umm, 6206.”
“What?” he asks, catching the toe of his sandal on the carpet and stumbling.
“What?” I side-eye him.
For a second, I swear a flicker of disbelief, or maybe amazement, crosses his face.
“Nothing.” With that, he picks up his pace a little and leads the way to the elevators.
Thankfully, we don’t pass a soul as we stroll to the end of the hall. I place my card against the sensor on the door, ignoring theDo Not Disturbsign hanging on the handle, and push my way into my room.
20
Cameron
I’m cursingthose twomalakas(a Greek expletive I learned from my boss) for interrupting Joey and me in my office yesterday. Everything went downhill after that. I finally had her alone, and I was convinced she was settling into our reunion. At least that’s what her body was telling me when she claimed my lips. And when she had her hand on my cock while she bent those knees like she was going to drop to the floor in front of me.
We’re here. Together. In some wild twist of fate. So I’ve pushed away the questions and chosen to accept it as the gift it is. Joey’s back, and I’m not willing to let her go. How can I go about my life not seeing her or speaking to her when I know she’s here on the island?
This morning, I’m keeping my movements slow and tempering my words. The woman is in flight mode, and the last thing I want to do is send her running. The metaphorical running shoes are already on her bare feet. She’s just one Lululemon outfit away from making her great escape.
I need to tread lightly, not come on too strong. But fuck if I don’t want to drag her back to my room and confess how I’vebeen carrying a piece of her everywhere I go for the past year. For months, I beat myself up for how I left things between us, for the way I dismissed our hookup as a mistake. I was worrying out loud, processing my thoughts and emotions and speaking before I had them sorted. Never have I ever had sex like that until her. Like my life could be better than I’ve ever imagined.
“Millie?” Joey calls out, setting her phone and bag on the narrow table in the foyer.
“Holy shit!” she gasps as she rounds the corner. “What the fu—” She spins and collides with my chest. There’s no mistaking the owner of the bare ass on display over her shoulder. Ezra’s notoriousYour Nametattoo isright there. The words—yes,Your Name—are printed in goddamn Comic Sans on one cheek. He got this particular tattoo one drunken night the summer after he graduated from high school. Why? According to him, so that he can tell women “I got your name tattooed on my ass.”
My best friend is face down on the mattress. Beside him is a second lump, this one fully covered in the white sheet.
Still pressed to my chest, Joey shakes so hard her movements vibrate through me.
“Are you—” I take a step back and examine her face. “Are you laughing?”
She slaps a hand over her mouth, in the process dropping her dress to the floor between us, the hanger clattering against the tile.
“What the hell is happening right now?” She snorts, her eyes filled with tears of laughter.
Unable to stop myself from laughing right along with her, I smother a fucking giggle as I collect her dress from the floor and lay it over the back of a chair.
When Ezra lets out a groan and rolls onto his back, I slide a hand over Joey’s eyes and shout, “Dude!”
