Page 21 of Crashed
Stop. She pushed the tender feelings down deep, where they belonged.
Suddenly his weight became suffocating. She needed to leave. Now. Edging out from under him, she climbed to her feet and stood motionless by the bed for a few seconds, making sure she hadn’t woken him. When he didn’t move, breathing still slow and even, she grabbed her dress and bag and, on silent feet, hurried to the living room. She quickly pulled on her clothes, then realized she’d forgotten her shoes. No way was she going back into that room and risking waking him. She got the feeling he wouldn’t appreciate her skipping out on him again.
But this time was different, right? She’d told him she couldn’t stay. So how could he get mad?
As soon as she hit the elevator, guilt swamped her, but she squashed that, too. Digging around in her purse, she found her phone and called a cab on the way down to the foyer. The doorman didn’t comment on her disheveled appearance when she walked out, or the fact that she had bare feet as she moved toward him. She smiled weakly and thanked him when he opened the door for her.
“Would you like me to call a cab, miss?”
“One’s on the way. Thanks, though.”
He motioned behind them to one of the overstuffed couches. “Why don’t you wait in here? I’ll tell you when it arrives.”
The idea of standing on the street, looking like she did right then, was not an appealing prospect. “Um…sure. Thanks.”
She was texting Rusty back when she heard the doorman greet someone. She glanced up. A couple walked in, both slick in their designer clothes. Their eyes landed on her, with her bare feet, mussed hair, and more than likely smudged makeup, and she inwardly cringed. The guy smirked, the corner of his mouth tipping up in a knowing way that made her skin crawl. The woman’s eyes zeroed in on her ink, and a look of disgust covered her heavily made-up face.
As they passed, she heard her say, “Are they letting prostitutes in here now?” She didn’t hear the guy’s reply as they carried on to the elevator.
Assholes. God, she hated this, had never felt so small in her whole life. She didn’t belong here among the rich and up-themselves, never would.
“Your cab’s here, miss.”
“Thanks.” The door guy gave her a kind smile, more than likely feeling sorry for her.
She ran out, and the cab driver turned to face her when she climbed in and slammed the door. “Where to?”
“Axle Alley. Do you know West’s garage?”
“Sure do.”
As they drove away, she released a shaky breath. The closer they got to home, the more her panic began to subside.
She had just slumped into the seat and closed her eyes when her phone started ringing. Rusty. That woman was relentless.
But when she checked, it was Deacon’s name flashing on the screen, and the tension returned full force. She let it ring until it stopped. Coward.
She slumped back, but her phone started up again moments later.
He wouldn’t stop until she picked up; she knew him well enough to know that. Plastering a fake smile on her face, so he’d hear it in her voice, she answered. “Yo.”
Silence.
“Um…hello?”
“You left,” he growled down the line. “I woke up and you were gone.”
“I told you I had to go.” She was still angry and humiliated from her encounter in the foyer, and her fake happy drained right out of her.
“Where are you?”
“In a cab on my way home.”
A rough exhale. “Jesus, Alex. Don’t do that again. I was worried. I don’t like you wandering around on your own late at night. If you need to leave, tell me and I’ll drive you.”
His words simultaneously pissed her off and gave her a warm fuzzy feeling in her belly. Not a lot of people had worried about her in her life. Still, she decided to ignore the warm fuzzies and go with pissed off. “For fuck’s sake. You’re not only acting like a sexist pig, you’re being completely unreasonable. And what will your sisters think if they see you dropping me off in the middle of the night, huh? Think about it.”
“I don’t care what—” He cut himself off abruptly, and she heard him take several deep breaths. “Please. Just…next time you decide you have to leave, wake me first. I’ll wait downstairs with you, yes?”
