Page 19 of The Seven Month Itch
I pull on sweats and bolt to the door. Miles only has one civilized knock in him before he’ll reenact an FBI raid.
“Where the hell is your head at, man?”
“Come on in,” I say to the back of his black tee and jeans. Our rooms are only five down from each other. The walk isn’t far enough for him to complain, but he will.
He takes a seat on the leather sofa, which looks like an oversize chair under his frame. My room might be the size of a one-bedroom apartment, but it’s still a dollhouse for guys built like us. I thought a suite was too much for me by myself, so this will have to work. It’s not horrible for a standard room. There’s a dinette and a minibar.
Speaking of which.
I grab water for us and sit on a barstool across from him.
“You need to get your head in the game, T.” He guzzles down the bottle in three gulps and heads to the bar to make a drink. “We didn’t come all this way for you to stay locked up in your room and sulk.”
I swivel my stool to face him with crossed arms. “Did you not hear me say Madison and I went for drinks last night?”
“Did she come back to your room?”
“No.”
“Did you go back to hers?”
“No.”
He shakes his head and sips the scotch he poured. “You know, if you play your cards right, you’ll have everything you want.”
What the hell is he talking about now?
“And what exactly iseverythingI want?“ My brow will fall off if I rub it any harder.
He gives me a look I interpret to meandumbassand takes a sip. “To have Justice one last timeandsink into Madison.”
I shake my head and grab the tumbler. Alcohol it is. “You got it bad for her, bro.”
“No, she’s got it bad foryou,” he says with a pointed finger. “Why not give in? I know it’s been months since you’ve had sex. I’m sure your hand is tired.”
“And how do you know it’s been a minute?” I put my right hand behind my back when it twitches in defiance. Traitor.
“I’m not blind, idiot. You haven’t had that cheesy teenage grin on your face since Just—” His eyes narrow. “Do you want your wife back?”
I sigh. “I didn’t say that.”
“But you didn’t deny it either.” His stare hardens when he takes another sip from his glass. What is with him and this cross-examination? He acts like I ditched him for an entire week. Heignored my texts for the two hours I was out. You don’t see me bitching about it.
Miles changed after Justice moved out. He’d never admit it, but he longs for a life partner of his own. It was in his gaze when he’d steal glances at us together. Call me crazy, but this push to get me in bed with other women is a mask for his disappointment because she left. Miles doesn’t let too many people get close to him, which is why he treats them like they’re expendable if they don’t fall in line.
I motion to the room around us. “I’m here, aren’t I? I could’ve made up an excuse to go back to Austin, but I didn’t.” A ten-day business trip in Japan and a fifteen-hour flight to make it here on time were reason enough to stay home. It’s a fight to keep my eyes open as it is. But here I am, under attack for sleeping in.
He’s silent for a beat before he looks me over and nods.
Thank Christ.
Miles is like a brother to me, but I’m not about to open up to him, of all people. There’s no point.
“Whatever, man. Look, I came over to make sure you aren’t in this hotel room the entire trip. There’s a pajama party tonight, so wash your balls, put on some silk drawers, and meet me at the main bar around nine.”
“Bro, the only pajama party I plan to attend is the one in my bed.”Alone.“The flight from Tokyo was fifteen hours.”
He rolls his eyes and puts his empty tumbler on the bar. “Fine. You get a pass tonight. But don’t make me drag your ass out of this room tomorrow. We hit the slopes at eleven.”
