Junkie(24)

The knowledge I liked it made me very confused.

Probably not for the reasons you might think, though. I wasn’t confused as to why I felt that way. I suspected I was confused because I didn’t know what to do with the feelings. I had no idea how to act.

So I did what I always did. I stuffed them down. I fought them back.

I was really good at it.

I was also really tired.

Drew was sitting on the edge of the fountain when I stepped into the reception area. The hotel was amazing, as I knew it would be. Everything was almost austere. Despite being a place where people came and went almost hourly and the traffic of patrons was endless, the place seemed untouched.

The floors were dark hardwood, polished and clean. The walls were all cream, and everything was done in accents of white and muted gold. Not the shiny, gaudy gold, but a matte, contemporary finish.

The fountain was stone, probably travertine, and round. In the center was a large carving of a couple embracing under an umbrella. The water came out of the top, falling in a way that looked like rain.

“Find a spot okay?” Drew asked, standing up.

“Dude, you worry more than a mother with a newborn.”

He just stared at me, waiting for a reply.

I sighed dramatically. “Of course I did.”

“Room’s this way,” he said and led me to a bank of elevators.

The room was on the fifth floor, but the elevator was smooth as butter, and we slid to a stop quickly. The hallway was silent when we stepped in and walked past pristine white doors with gold numbers in the center.

Drew stopped not too far down and slid the key into the lock. It made an unlocking sound, and he turned the handle. Before going in, though, he glanced at me over his shoulder. “This was the only room they had left.”

“I’m sure it’s a hell of a lot nicer than the box I sleep in every night.”

He shoved open the door and we walked in. As we went, I wondered why he seemed a little awkward and felt the need to explain the room.

The sound of his bag hitting the floor followed by the distinct clicking of a light revealed the sitting room. The walls in here were light, just like the rest of the hotel, and the dark hardwood also. On the far wall was a large sofa and soft-looking gray rug with a coffee table in the center. There was also a wood table that could seat four and a big flat-screen on the wall.

Past the sofa was a wet bar with a fridge and sink, which led into a wide doorway I assumed was the bedroom. Drew kept going, so I followed along as he clicked on a few more lights. The second my feet crossed over the threshold in the bedroom, I understood his explanation of the room.

There was only one bed.

My mouth ran dry when I stared at the huge king-size giant piled with all-white bedding and pillows. All the white and fluff made it look like a cloud.

I kinda wondered if I’d sink into it if I lay down, and then I had an image cross behind my eyes that made me squeeze them shut.

“I didn’t know there’d be a sofa,” Drew said, and I reopened my eyes as he came out of the bathroom attached to the bedroom. He left the light on, and it shone across the floor. “That’s good. I’ll take it.”

On his way past, I caught his arm. “I’ll take it.”

“What? No.” He made a face.

“This is your meeting. Your room.” I pointed out.

“Yeah, and you’re bigger than me. I’ll be more comfortable on the couch.”

“I’m not that much bigger,” I grumbled as he shook loose and walked out.

“Thank you, Drew,” he called.

I gave him the finger even though he wasn’t in the room to see it.

“I saw that!” he hollered.

“You should get your eyes checked,” I yelled back and dumped my bag on the floor and looked back at the bed.

He said he didn’t know there was a couch, but he’d clearly known there was only one bed. What was he thinking before we walked in here? The awkward way he’d glanced back at me… it wasn’t the way a best friend looked at the other.

It was…

It was the way a girl looked at me when she was feeling something but didn’t know if I was, too.

My stomach fluttered.

I ignored it.

Well. I tried.

What would he have done if there was no couch? Offer to take the floor? Call for a rollaway bed?

Or would he suggest we just share the bed?

I won’t tell. Words from the night I was so drunk and stayed in his room whispered through my mind.

I fell face first onto the mattress. My body sank in, and I let my face be smothered by the blankets. I hoped maybe it would also smother my thoughts.

The sound of the TV in the other room filtered in, but I still didn’t move. A few minutes later, Drew’s voice came from right beside me.