When I told Kelly I’d drive to Boston to pick up Sawyer, I never expected Seth to come with me. That was definitely not part of the plan. But now I’m faced with explaining to his daughter why her dad is here at all, and why he ended up spending the night in my room.
Absolutely not. There is no version of that conversation that ends well.
I need to get out of here. Somehow, I have to find a way to make this look a lot less obvious before Sawyer starts asking questions.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby. I was just heading down,” I lie quickly, deciding that’s my best chance of making this work. “Where are you at?”
“On our way back to the hotel from breakfast. We’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Great. See you then.”
I hang up and spring into action, peeling Seth’s arms off me as gently as I can. He doesn’t stir. He must be so exhausted. I swing my legs off the bed and hit the floor running, darting straight for the bathroom. When I reach it, I flick on the light and stare at my reflection in the mirror.
Whoa.
My light brown hair is a tangled mess, barely held up by the claw clip I threw it in last night. Mascara smudges under my eyes. My face looks puffy from too little sleep, and don’t even get me started on the pillow print lines that seem to have embedded in my cheek.
I rinse my mouth out, using hotel hand soap as a makeshift toothpaste because I don’t have my toothbrush (and yes, I know that’s disgusting,) then splash cold water on my face and runtoilet paper under my lash line. I put my glasses back on and make sure they’re straight, then fix my hair as best I can, pulling it into a neater but messy bun before taking a long, cautious sniff of myself.
Yikes.
Yesterday morning’s deodorant has officially given up. I smell like road trip, stale air-conditioning, and sweat. I grab more toilet paper and wipe at my armpits until they’re dry and finally smell like nothing. Then I swing the bathroom door open, fully expecting to find Seth still asleep.
Nope.
He’s standing beside the bed, dragging a T-shirt over his head. His hair sticks up in every direction, like he just rolled out of bed and somehow still managed to look unfairly attractive. His warm-up shorts still hang low on his hips, and the outline of his dick print in them instantly ruins any progress I made convincing myself I’m over this crush.
My teeth sink into my bottom lip.
Because the truth is, in another world, a world where I wasn’t constantly waiting for Seth to pull away, where I knew he wanted the same kind of forever that I do, I’d go right over to him. I’d shove him backward onto that hotel mattress, climb into his lap, and ride him until we were both satisfied.
Instead, I stand there, staring for a second too long. Because his daughter is downstairs. Because we have a three-hour drive ahead of us. And because wanting Seth has never been the problem. The problem is wanting him enough that now and then I catch myself imagining what it would feel like to have a happy-ever-after with him.
Shit.
I lift my gaze up just as his eyes meet mine.
“Hey.” His voice is all gravel and rasp, that sexy, sleepy sound that goes straight to my core. He zips up his duffle bag and tosses it over his shoulder, completely unaware of the horny meltdown that’s happening inside me.
How much more of shirtless, grumpy Seth can I take? Why am I doing this to myself? Maybe I need to go back to that bar where we first met and find some other random guy to have a one-night stand with. Yep. That’s the problem. I've turned one great night into something bigger than it was.
Except after last night, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to look at another man the same way again.
But that's just me, romanticizing the ordinary.
“Hello.” I force a smile, pretending like I’m not mentally combusting. “So, um… I forgot to mention to Kelly that you were with me.”
Seth nods, his expression neutral as he stretches his arms over his head. His shirt lifts just enough to give me a glimpse of his toned core. The same one that I was grabbing all over last night.
Focus, Bri.
“So, I’m just gonna go down to the lobby and meet up with Kelly and Sawyer first,” I blurt, forcing my eyes away. “Then I’ll pretend to call you in your room and tell you to come down.” Totally normal. Completely unsuspicious.
His expression is blank, but I can see the way he’s studying me closely. I wonder if he’s thinking about what happened. I wonder if he knows I’m freaking out.
“Fine.”
That’s it. Just fine. Notwe watched married people porn together last night and then I licked your pussy. Are we ever going to be able to look at each other again?
