Page 80 of The Seven Month Itch
After everything we endured,thisis how it ends?
No wonder he wanted to come out to California for a month. He knows I can’t stay the whole time, and that gives him the perfect opportunity to play bachelor.
A car pulls up next to them. I duck when the three of them pile into the back and pass my car. They stop at a red light, which gives me time to follow.
The valet takes my keys. At sixty dollars a night for parking, you better believe whoever’s room he’ll visit will pay for it.
Oh God, what if Terrence got a room?
I swallow the urge to puke and walk through the main lobby. I’m a woman on a mission without the slightest idea what to do or where to go. Common sense and logic left six streets ago. Unless I bang on every door to ask if my no-good cheating husband is in the room, I’m clueless where to start.
“Can I help you, miss?” I will myself to mirror the front desk attendant’s smile and not the look of someone who’s about to catch a life sentence. Could I pay her to review the surveillancetapes to see which way Terrence went? Or does that only happen in the movies?
“Miss?”
Showtime. “Sorry, yes. I flew in to surprise a friend, and think I got the hotels mixed up. Is it possible to tell me if a Terrence Reyes is here?”For his sake, please say no.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to disclose guest information.”
My smile drops with my shoulders. Great. Should I fess up that I’m looking for my husband, who might have his pants around his ankles by the time I reach him? It works for scorned wives ready to push their wayward spouses off the balcony in Lifetime movies.You told her he’s your friend. Now he’s your husband?
Just when I think I’ll have to pay sixty dollars and wait for my bastard husband to materialize, a small miracle happens. The guy with Terrence stumbles out of one of the bathrooms and heads toward the elevator.
“Never mind. There he is.” I grin at the attendant and follow in pursuit. My heels clack against the marble in the empty foyer. I deserve an Olympic medal in speed walking with this hurried pace. A gold one, with chocolate in the middle.
Note to self: I need a snack soon.
I pop on my sunglasses and keep my head down when the elevator door opens. This is Los Angeles, home of celebrities, plastic surgery, and affairs. My look fits. I press my back to the wall, out of his peripheral vision. His face doesn’t register as someone I know, but you can never be too safe. He smells fancy and wears a tailored suit. My guess is he’s a business partner or a prospect. If he’s a partner, why the heck is he going up to a hotel room with my husband and a woman?Are they going to have a threesome?
I get his attention when I heave at the thought.Oops.
He glances back at me but turns to his phone when it rings.Saved by the bell. “Yeah, I’ll be there in two.” It’s hard to hear the person on the line. “Had to take a piss.” He pauses. “Room 1004. Got it.”
Yes, good to know.
When the doors open, I head in the opposite direction and wait around the corner. Now that I know where Terrence is,howwill I get to him? What will I say? This is why details are important in a plan. A plan I don’t have yet.
The urge to run back to Emma or hop on a flight home rises with my heartbeat. But my feet have a different plan. Guess we’re going to room 1004. I startle at two people laughing down the hall. It’s Terrence.
Shoot.
A nearby ice room becomes my hideout. I push myself flat against a wall of vending machines. If anyone wants a soda, I’m screwed. Laughter reaches the room before they enter. “Hey, look. They have strawberry Pop-Tarts.” The woman’s voice rises an octave.
“You still like those things?”
“Of course. Don’t tell me you’re above them now, Mr. Hotshot. You kept a box for me when I came over for breakfast.”
Breakfast? So he’s cheating on meandfeeding her Pop-Tarts? Was this in our house? I close my eyes to level my breath and the wish to maul them both.
“I did,” Terrence says. “Those were simpler times.”
Someone scoops up ice, and then the room goes silent. I peek my head out and send him a text.
Me:Hey. What are you up to?
I put my phone on silent in case he responds.
“It’s Justice,” I hear him say down the hall.
