Page 111 of The Moment You Know

While Evan busied himself getting their drinks, the woman reached over and took David’s left hand in hers, examining his ring finger and touching the indent where his wedding band had been residing up until two hours ago. “Are you married?” she asked bluntly.

“And if I am?”

“Then I’ll take my drink and go find someone who isn’t. I don’t do married men.”

Up close, her eyes were flecked with gold. “That’s commendable.”

“Thanks. I’m hoping you’re not married, though, because you’re extremely easy on the eyes and you look like you might know what you’re doing when you get a woman in bed. Beyond knowing where to stick it, I mean.”

David looked at her more closely. Except for a fair resemblance to Paige, this woman was Paige’s polar opposite—overtly sexual, unapologetic, aggressive.

“I’m not married,” he told her, saying the words for the first time out loud. “Not anymore.”

Evan set their drinks down on the bar and she immediately picked hers up.

“Here’s to not being married,” she pretend-toasted to David, before taking an impressive slug of the bourbon.

After a slight hesitation, David did the same.

Setting the glass down, she then leaned in and said, “I’m interested if you are, because I’ve had a shit day, and I want to forget it. But no names. I don’t do names, either.”

It had been close to nine years since he’d been receptive to being hit on and it felt almost wrong being receptive to it now. He figured it was because he still felt married—signing divorce papers and taking off his wedding band hadn’t done much to alter his feelings.

However, this woman might be able to change that.

“I’m interested,” he told her and even if it wasn’t completely true, it was true enough. Someone had to be first … so why not this woman? She was attractive and willing, and she would help him transition back into the single life without any expectations afterwards.

And, he’d had a shit day, too, and wanted to forget it, as well.

She smiled at him and took another drink of her bourbon.

One drink turned into two and David allowed himself to be drawn into conversation with her. They talked in generalities, sticking to safe, boring topics like work that didn’t require deep answers. They both knew where this was headed (and where it wasn’t), so superficiality suited them both.

When she said she was ready to go, David paid their bar tab, pulled out a business card and handed it to Evan, who quickly wrote his name on the back. “Good luck,” David told him.

“You too,” Evan said with a hint of a smile and a discreet, knowing glance toward the woman, before adding, just loud enough for only David to hear, “Safe travels, man.”

As he left the bar, David felt completely empty. For the first time in his life, he was going to a hotel with a virtual stranger for the sole purpose of fucking. And while he’d had a few one-night stands in college before meeting Paige, he knew this was not going to be like any of those, which had been fun, careless romps; this was a different can of beans he was opening.

At the hotel, he paid for a room while ignoring the desk clerk’s somewhat judgmental expression at their lack of luggage and obvious lack of a real relationship, then bought condoms in a gift shop conveniently located off the lobby. After that, they rode the elevator to the fifth floor and walked in silence down what seemed like a never-ending hallway, the brightly colored carpet with its geometric pattern making him think of The Shining.

Which reminded him of Paige.

Once inside the room, there was no romance. There was no touching, or kissing, or whispered endearments as they shed their clothes with detached efficiency. When they were both down to their skin and he was looking at a naked woman who wasn’t his wife, he heard a voice in his head telling him to pause for a fucking second because he was on the verge of putting his cock in another woman—and if he did this, there would be no taking it back.

He ignored the voice as they laid down on the bed together and ignored it when he felt her thighs tangle with his and her hard nipples press against his chest. He ignored it when she wrapped her fingers around his cock and started stroking him and ignored it when he started to stir in response. He ignored it even more when she took up residence between his legs and replaced her fingers with her mouth.

But the moment she grabbed a condom and straddled his hips, shit got real.

The voice in his head was suddenly loud as fuck, making it impossible to ignore any longer. He put a hand out, stopping her from rolling the condom on. “I can’t do this,” he said softly, hearing the tremor in his voice.

It took her a second to catch up and she stared at him in absolute disbelief. “Are you kidding?”

“No, I’m not. I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? You’re sorry?” She stared down at him. “How about you take your sorry and fuck off with it?”

A heavy, ugly silence descended between them as the woman’s expression turned glacial and unforgiving. Climbing off him, she quickly began putting her clothes on, while David stared at the ceiling to avoid looking at her. A few minutes later she left without a word, letting the door say everything as it shut loudly behind her.

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