Page 44 of Hot Receiver

How can he just ignore what just happened between us?

“What the hell? That’s it?”

When he turns, I have my answer.

Whatever walls may have crumbled in thosefleeting minutes we were together are back up in force. He glares at me with a renewed hardness in his eyes.

“That’s it.”

A shiver slips down my back at the iciness in his tone.

“How can you…that was cra…” I grab the sides of my head, trying to process the fact that Zak can just shut off any reaction to what just happened between us. “You’re just gonna turn your back onthat?”

“You’ve taken everything from me, Matt. I have nothing left for you.”

He twists away and slams the door behind him.

A second later, I hear the shower spray. The finality hits me like a lead brick to the chest.

I guess that’s my cue to leave.

Or just a fucking harsh reminder that the pieces of meIgave up will never be returned.

Chapter 20

Zak

Ishift on the couch in Dr. Forest’s office, bringing a hand to the back of my neck to rub out the stress knot that’s been lodged there since I heard Matt slam the door of my condo on his way out.

Part of me wondered if he’d fight to stay, not that I really left him an opening.

But maybe I hoped he’d open the bathroom door and see me standing against the sink with my head in my hands, full of regret and remorse, not actually in the shower like a guy who wasn’t at all affected by what had just happened between us.

Maybe I’d hoped that he’d insist on staying.

But like I said before, Matt is always the calm before every storm.

My heart can’t weather another one.

So, I sent him away. And because deep down he knows it, too, he left.

He didn’t want me badly enough to stay.

He never did.

I pull at the collar of my shirt. It’s fucking hot in here. Beads of sweat pebble my skin as I turn my head to gaze up at the fancy diplomas covering the walls. Harvard undergrad, Columbia grad.

The guy must know what the hell he’s doing, right?

Running my hand over the soft, taupe leather of the couch cushion should calm me. The grain is soft and smooth, not pebbly. It’s meant to be comforting, I guess, just like the rest of the office. I’ve heard taupe is supposed to be soothing, but right now, it’s making me feel the exact opposite.

I’m edgy and conflicted, and my stomach is in knots.

Dr. Forest smiles at me from his spot in a chair directly across from me. He sits back, his iPad on his lap. “You’re uncomfortable.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Wow. So, you reallydidearn all those degrees. Thanks for confirming.”

He chuckles and waves a hand at the wall. “Eh, that’s just paper. You can only learn so much about the human mind in the classroom. I learn every day by watching and observing. Body language is an extremely powerful indicator of what someone is feeling.”

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