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I’ll never be with someone like this asshole ever again.
When security is satisfied that Luke and I will be leaving the hotel, I turn and flip Andrew off. He balks at my gesture, and I smirk at him.
Hope his nose stays crooked.
I return to the hotel room and when I step inside, I see Luke sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees, his fingers flying over his phone screen. And all the frustration I’d managed to keep bottled up earlier explodes out of me.
“What are you doing?” I snap, and those hazel eyes meet mine.
“Oh, hey, Eli,” he says so casually like he isn’t getting us kicked out of a hotel any minute. Like he didn’t just commit assault.
“Do notheyme,” I retort.
Luke tilts his head and watches me steadily. “You’re mad.”
“Of course I’m mad.” Mostly at Andrew but a little at him. “I can’t believe you did that. You can’t go off crushing people’s faces in when you get a little angry.”
“Yeah, well, I did. He was an ass. Can’t believe you were with that guy.”
“Me either,” I snap and then press my fingers against my temples. “Even so, what you did was barbaric. And I don’t need you to protect me like that, Luke. I can take care of myself just fine.”
Luke stands up, widening his posture. “I know, Eli, but he insulted you and kept running his mouth. And you’re mine, Eli.Mine. I can’t let people say that kind of shit about you.”
My eyes blink and blink, and an ugly sound escapes my mouth. My heart accelerates, and I feel almost woozy.
“I’m not yours, Luke. Not really,” I reply softly, wetting my lips. “We have never discussed any of this. Everything just moved so fast. It all just spiraled out of control.”
It spiraled in the best kind of way. The two of us colliding, a mess in time and space.
But that kind of mess is scary. And I’m so very afraid of what this all means.
Luke steps toward me and runs a hand across his jaw, oblivious to the internal nightmare I’m in. “Nah, Doc. Youaremine. You just haven’t accepted it yet. And nothing spiraled. It all fell right into place. We are exactly where we should be.”
“Luke, I don’t think you understand. I don’t do relationships. Not anymore.”
He rolls his lips between his teeth. “Not since Andrew, I assume.”
I swallow and give a clipped nod. “Yes.”
We just stare at each other, my stilted breaths thunderous in this silent room.
“You and me, Eli. We’re gonna be a thing. You know it. I know it. Don’t fucking fight it so hard. It’s exhausting.”
I shake my head, swallowing. “No. We aren’t going to be a thing. Just because you say it, doesn’t mean it becomes some kind of reality. You and I are having…” I search my head frantically for what this is and come up empty. Nothing can really describe what this is between us. So I just open my mouth and blurt out something so entirely untrue that I even wince as I utter it. “…a reciprocal relationship. This is just sex. That’s all this is.”
Oh no, it’s so much more than that, but I can’t help but push you away.
Luke freezes, leans back, and folds his arms across his chest. “You fucking with me, Doc? This some kind of game? Because this isn’t just sex anymore. This is a relationship.”
I shake my head. “No. It isn’t. Because I don’t do relationships.”
Why the hell am I saying this? Why can’t my mouth shut up?
“It’s nothing personal,” I add, only making this entire thing worse.
Luke runs a hand along his jaw, those hazel eyes assessing me. “Seems pretty personal to me.”
I shake my head, my heart now in my throat. “It doesn’t matter. The point is we have thirty minutes to vacate the premises. The hotel wants us to leave. Well, more specifically, they want you gone for assaulting someone in the hotel bar.”
