"One room, please." I sat my credit card down on the counter.
The concierge smiled as she took the card and booked my room. I ran my hand through my hair while I waited impatiently for her to finish. As soon as I saw Logan's name on my caller-ID, I knew I shouldn't have responded to his text. I knew it would lead to this. But I couldn't help it. That seemed to me my problem where he was concerned.
Then to make matters worse, I called him. I didn't even hesitate. That was mistake number two. His voice made me feel things that confused me—but the tone in his voice tonight hit me hard. He was scared. Hell, he was terrified by this engagement, apparently. I wasn't surprised when he hinted that he wanted me to stay. What had me a little surprised was the fact that I said yes.
Ring-ring
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and grimaced when I saw her name. I pushed the green button and put it to my ear. "Hey, babe."
"Hey. Did you make it to Atlantic City okay?"
The concierge stopped typing and glanced at me. Clearly she heard what Vanessa said. I turned and took a few steps away from the front desk to get a little privacy. "Uh, yeah. I'm here now. Just getting settled in."
Vanessa sighed into the phone. "You just left so quickly. Are you sure you're okay?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yeah. I just needed to get away for a while. Work's been getting to me a little bit. I just needed some space and Rick invited me last minute."
I heard rustling in the background. "Space from me?" she asked quietly.
"No." I glanced to the concierge who was giving me an accusing look. "It's not because of you."
"Okay," she sighed into phone. "I'm leaving to go to mom's tomorrow. My flight is at eight."
Fuuuuuuck. "That's tomorrow?" I remembered her telling me she was flying down to her mom's to visit for a few weeks. I just forgot it was so soon. I know I had a lot on my mind lately—but damn.
"Yeah, it's tomorrow. It's okay," she said softly. "I know you've been dealing with a lot."
I tried not to think about my family right now. Vanessa didn't even know the whole truth about what went down. All she knew was that my parents cut me out of their lives. She tried getting more details out of me, but I wasn't going to drag her into that part of my life. It was bad enough that my parents were involved.
I first met Vanessa two years ago. I started going to a new gym as a way to keep my mind busy. It was right after another one of Logan and my one night stands. Actually, it was more like a whole weekend. Then we had the same damn argument we always did. It usually ended with one of us saying stuff we didn't mean and storming off. After that happened, it was always the same. Radio silence.
Then I met Vanessa and I liked her. She was sweet, kind, attractive. But sometimes it felt—I don't know—wrong. But I was determined to make it work with her. I needed it to work with her. The alternative just wasn't a possibility. But if that's how I felt, then what the hell was I doing here?
I ran my hand over my face; hoping it would get rid of the frustration. It didn't. "That's no excuse, Vanessa. I'm sorry that I've been a little...distracted lately. When we both get back home, I'll make it up to you. Okay?"
"I like the sound of that," she replied and I could almost picture her smiling. "Get some rest, Grant."
"Talk to you tomorrow?" I asked hopefully. Even with all the fucked up shit in my life, I did care about Vanessa a lot.
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Secrets & Lies
RomanceBook 2 | "So, did you just bring me here to fuck me?" Logan brushed his lips against mine. "Would you leave if I said yes?" "No," I whispered, unable to deny him. "I wouldn't." *** Grant Matthews has been secretly pining after his old college frie...