Page 24 of Only You and Me

I sneak a glance down at his left hand, then at mine, bile filling my throat at what I see.

I shake my head frantically as Ben prowls closer, his right hand held up in front of him, palm facing me as he approaches. Damnit, how does he appear so delectable even minutes after waking up from a night of debauchery?

“We won’t tell anyone, okay? You can forget last night ever happened.” The air in the hotel room is stale and humid, making it even more difficult to get a good breath. Slowly, I extend the piece of paper to him in explanation. I have no words.

Ben reaches for the paper, never taking his eyes off me until it’s in his hand. When he glances down at it, I watch as his eyes bulge and his mouth drops open. It’s clear he doesn’t remember last night either.

When he lifts those smoky blue-gray eyes up to mine, he simply whispers, “We’re married?”

* * *

BEN

Trina’s eyes are glassy with tears I’m sure she’s refusing to shed, her breathing rapid and shallow.

“We have to fix it. Today,” she practically screeches.

I push down all the emotions—hurt, insecurity, wounded pride—that are fighting for space in my brain right now from how intensely she’s reacting to this. Did we do this with a clear mind? No, but her reaction is as if this is the worst thing that could have happened to her.

This is where I’ve gone wrong with her in the past. I selfishly let my own insecurities and wounded ego come first and hurt her. Right now, she needs me to be solid, not put my hackles up because she’s not thrilled she accidentally married a man she strongly dislikes, if not despises.

“Okay. We’ll try to fix it. But we can’t today, Trina. It’s Saturday. All the offices we’ll need to reach out to will be closed until Monday. We?—”

“No, no, no, no…” Trina folds her body in on herself, holding her palms over her face and shaking her head.

I want to comfort her, but I’m not sure how. So, I simply watch her for a moment. I take a chance and cross the rest of the way to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Wrong move. Her head flies up, and she pulls away from me like I’ve burned her.

I back up a few steps and take a few breaths, giving her some space.

She puts her other leg in her pants, and I watch as her eyes dart around my hotel room, stopping when they settle on her shoes near the door. Before I can say anything else, she flies over to the door, grabs her shoes in one hand, and whirls around to face me.

“This isn’t real.” She tosses something in my direction, whips around, and takes off out the door.

My first instinct is to follow her, to make sure she’s okay. I make it to the door before I realize I’m only in my boxer briefs, so I quickly find my pants from last night on the floor and throw them on. After that, I bolt out the door to search for her. As I make it around the corner to where the elevators are, I make eye contact with Trina, standing twenty feet away from me. Her face pales as she gasps, turning away right before she disappears into the elevator box.

The frantic tapping that can only be her pressing the button to close the door before I can get to her is the only sound I hear as I approach the elevator. “Trina, wait!” I call out. But she doesn’t and I watch helplessly as the elevator door closes between us.

Defeated, I walk back to my room, thankful that I remembered to grab my room key before I ran out. When I enter the lonely room that still smells like the floral perfume she’s worn for years, I lean back against the closed door, shutting my eyes in frustration. As I finally get the energy to open them, the bright sunlight shining in the eighth story window glints off something on the carpet. I make my way over and pick up the thin gold band, realizing with sadness that this must be what Trina threw before she took off out of the room.

When I glance down at my left ring finger, I see a plain, matching ring. Slinking down to the ground, I lean against the foot of the bed, staring at the band on my finger while I clutch her ring in my closed right fist. I can’t take my eyes off the smooth gold and can’t help but go down the rabbit hole of what could have been.

A lump fills my throat as a choked-up sensation overcomes me when I consider that, in another life, if I had made different choices as a twenty-one-year-old man, I might wear a wedding ring matching Trina’s because she chose me. Not because we got drunk and somehow ended up married.

CHAPTER7

TRINA

To say I took extreme measures to avoid Ben on the flight from Las Vegas is an understatement. After bolting from his room, I ran back to mine, showered, then packed and left for the airport. Six hours before my flight. Once at the airport, I paid an outrageous sum of money to upgrade to first class before I hid out in an airport bar as far away from our gate as possible. I waited in the bar until right before boarding time, then made my way to the gate, watching from a distance until all the other passengers—most importantly, Ben—boarded before I approached the attendant. Of course, I was counting on the flying gods smiling down on me so I could get to my first-class seat at the front of the plane, and off again once we arrived in Elladine, before Ben ever saw me.

Truthfully, it worked out beautifully, and he was apparently none the wiser until I was climbing into my Uber back in Elladine and I heard him call my name. I’m not proud of it, but I ignored him until I was secure in my seat with the car door closed and the driver pulling away. Only then did I allow myself to turn my head back. And I wish I hadn’t, because the crestfallen expression on Ben’s face and his drooping shoulders caused a twinge of guilt in my conscience.

Not that I owe him anything; I certainly don’t.

It nearly killed me not to call yesterday to find out if we really got married, but I was working and didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing. Now I’m on hold waiting to speak to a live person, my hands shaking with nerves.

The wait music stops. My heart rate speeds up.

“County Clerk of Courts, this is Sue.”Her voice is flat and monotone.

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