Page 40 of The Seven Month Itch
“Ready to get out of here?” Madison waits for a response. Her face is flush, her lips swollen. It doesn’t take a mind reader to know what she wants.
“Actually, I need to turn in early,” I say with a sigh. “I have a call with a client in another time zone tomorrow morning.”
It’s a dick move to lie, but my dick has done enough tonight. I’m a coward and can’t bring myself to sleep with her. The horroron Justice’s face tonight shattered something in me. I won’t make another mistake in the heat of the moment.
The walk back to Madison’s room is silent. We avert each other’s gaze, except for a few darting glances. “Is everything okay?” Hesitation lines her question.
It takes seconds before I can look her in the eye. What the hell am I doing? I’m not a guy who leads a woman on or hops into her bed as a distraction.
“Madison.“
She places a finger over my lips. “Don’t. You don’t have to explain.” Her voice softens. “I like you, Terrence, and don’t think I ever stopped since college. You’re a great guy who happens to be going through a divorce. I won’t pretend I know how that feels, but I believe in fate. There’s a reason we’re both here, and I think it’s for us to have a second chance. You just have to be willing to try.” She brushes her hand across my cheek. “At what point will you two realize it’s over so you can both move on?”
Justice and I aren’t together anymore, so it’s true we’re both fair game. I never expected her to move on, and if I’m honest with myself, I never expected to, either. Yet, here we are.
I wrap her in a hug and kiss her forehead. “You deserve to be happy.”
That earns me one of her beautiful smiles. “And so do you.”
Our eyes linger, searching for an answer that has yet to reveal itself. As much as it hurts, I don’t want to hold Justice back.
We’re broken, and I want off of this ride.
Her words play on an endless loop. She made it clear she doesn’t want me.
My good night kiss with Madison reignites something buried deep inside. I miss feeling wanted, and the way her body leans into mine satisfies a craving.
Maybe it is time to walk away.
Chapter 19
Justice
Asharp mix of pain, rage, and betrayal fills my body. Terrence kissed Madison like she’s the only woman he ever wanted.
Maybe she is.
I didn’t know they were a few rows behind us until I heard him moan. When you spend fifteen years with someone, you know their every sound, especially when it comes to pleasure.
Were there no other places in this big-ass resort to tongue down a woman he’s likely tongued down for years? I didn’t want to make a scene or alert Preston to the fact that my ex was behind us. It took everything in me—prayer, failed meditation, and silently chanting a kill list like Arya Stark’s—to finish this movie.
Who the heck choosesFifty Shades of Greyfor movie night anyway?
I jump to my feet when the lights come on. “Can we go? I need some air,” I say over my shoulder to Preston without waiting for an answer.
He comes up behind me and places a hand on the small of my back. “Is everything alright?” We might not know each other well, but thank the saints for a man who pays attention.
Outside the screening room, I scan for the nearest exit. A staircase. Fire escape. Open window. Somewhere Iwon’trun into Terrence and Madison.
Images of him thrusting into her pull me back to a state of rage. Terrence is a damn specialist in the bedroom, and I want to kick him in his special dick.
“Unfaithful son of a bitch,” I say between breaths. A regular workout routine is on the to-do list, after I become a widow.
I spin to see the ballroom and bolt for its entrance. The door flies open with a thud. Who knows where I’m going? Anywhere is better than here.
“Justice. What’s going on?” Preston calls from behind me.
My eyes land on a series of doors that lead to a balcony. Looks like I’m freezing to death tonight, just like Jack Nicholson inThe Shining.
