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“Why did you have to tell me?” she says without turning around.
“I think I just… I don’t want to say goodbye tomorrow. And maybe if you knew, you’d come back with me.”
She turns around, holding her arms over her chest. “So, you decide to tell me that I not only lost my career in one night, but because of the depression I fell into, I lost my future with you too?”
“No. It’s the exact opposite. Your future with me was never a question.” I rest my coat over her shoulders.
“If I hadn’t had the injury, you would’ve proposed to me that night and we’d probably be married by now.”
“I thought you’d be happy that I was going to propose.” I can see now that it might have been a real dick move to tell her my plans.
“Why?” She wipes her eyes. “Because once I was damaged goods, you didn’t know whether you wanted me or not?”
“Fuck no, Calista.” My voice rises and I look around, stepping closer to her. “We were slipping. At first, I didn’t want to propose when you were healing and getting better. You were focused on being able to play again and I was right there cheering you on. And then when we got the news that you wouldn’t play again, I wanted to wait until you’d mourned that loss, but then you left me. You were never damaged goods. You have always been the only woman who owns my heart.”
She wipes her face again. “But to know that I lost everything I ever wanted in my life in five seconds…” She stares at the sky. Her makeup is completely smeared from the number of tears cascading down her face. I want to hug her, but I’m afraid she’ll push me away.
“I never should have told you,” I murmur.
“Probably not.”
Screw it all to hell. I tug her into my arms. “If you knew how much I love you. How much I hurt. I’ve tried forever to get over you and I can’t. God, Calista, it was a selfish move on my part to tell you, and I’m sorry.”
She draws back and her hands touch my face. “We have to end this. We can’t keep doing this to one another.”
I hold her tight. “I can’t lose you. I don’t want to think about never having you in my arms again.”
“It’s the only way. We have to get off the roller-coaster ride. We both agreed that this would only last until tomorrow.”
I swallow past the painful lump in my throat. “What are you saying?”
“I want one last night with you. One night without thinking about the future or what this means. Just one night where we push that aside and it’s just us.”
I hold her head, my thumbs brushing away her tears. “Isn’t it going to hurt twice as much tomorrow?”
She nods. “But then you’re gone, and I’m here and we both have to move on with our lives.”
I lower my lips to hers. She clutches my shirt as if I’d try to get away.
“Take me to the room, Ry,” she whispers.
My hand glides down her arm, and I lead her inside and over to the bank of elevators. We slide in unnoticed, and I press the button for the top floor.
We reach my floor, and she leans on the wall while I open the hotel room door. Once it’s open, she slides through. In one motion, I shut the door and press her back to it, then cover her with my body.
My fingers find the zipper of her dress and I lower it painfully slowly. My bite mark is faint after her makeup rubbed off during the night. The dress falls to the floor, pooling at her ankles. She steps out of it, and I kick it out of the way. She’s wearing only a black strapless bra and matching panties.
“Are you trying to kill me?”
She smiles and undoes the buttons of my tuxedo. “Touch me, Rylan.”
My fingers dip under the waistband of her panties and she moans, her back arching off the door.
“You’re so gorgeous,” I say, my fingers dipping lower.
She pushes off my tuxedo jacket, undoes the bow tie, then slides off my shirt. Then she dips her head, her tongue sliding up my abs. “I told you I was going to lick them.”
“I’m all yours.”
