“Apparently, this is his hotel,” I say as I remember his orders to the big scary guy. I assume he is security at The Cove.
Stepping into the shower, the water feels good against my skin. I’m not tired. In fact, I feel thoroughly rested. I don’t remember the last time I felt this good. Maybe I never have. Is this what great sex does to a girl? I ask myself while applying shampoo. The contents of my shower did not make it up here, so I use his shampoo and conditioner. It smells of fresh air after rain; it smells like him.
I use his body wash and razor too. Once I rinse the conditioner out of my hair, I turn the water off and open the door, stepping out. I towel off and wrap it around my hair. Walking to the vanity, I grab body lotion and notice the small bruise on my left shoulder. The right one doesn’t have any evidence of Luke’s attack last night.
I can’t believe he did that. He’s never acted like that in the six years I’ve known him. I need to put this out of my mind. I concentrate on applying lotion all over my body instead. It smells tropical and I love it. I walk into the bedroom to retrieve my makeup bag. It has a small container of deodorant inside that I take out and quickly apply.
I finish up by drying my hair and applying a small amount of makeup. I hope he’s okay with me using his stuff, but I really don’t have time to dwell on it or ask him.
Once I’m back in his room, I put my bra and panties on first, then the stockings. Grabbing for my dress on the hanger, I look it over. I guess it was nice of him to put it on a hanger. I’m sure it had a few creases from being in the bag. I really should have hung it up last night.
Removing the hanger, I unzip the dress and step into it. I zip it up and put the black belt in place. I step into my black pumps and place my folded jacket over my arm. I’m still warm from the shower and I don’t want to put it on yet. I grab my purse and head for the living area.
I stop at the door where I heard wood crack the previous night. There are small pieces of the door jam on the floor. It’s broken where it latches shut. I disregard this and walk through. I reach into my purse to make sure my keys and phone are there. They are so I head to the door.
It’s 7:30 am. I have to hurry to get my portfolio from my office so I can make it to Lockhart Publishing on time. I shouldn’t have spent so long under the water in the shower, but it felt so good.
I get into my car and drive a little over the speed limit to get to my office. This isn’t rare for me. Even when there is no fear of me being late, I still drive a little over the speed limit. I don’t do it on purpose. I just can’t stand driving at what I consider a slow pace.
I unlock the door to my gallery and rush to the back. I grab my portfolio from the tote I left it in and hear the door chime. I know it’s not Jenny. We don’t open until 9:00 am. Walking back out front with my portfolio tucked under my arm, I see Luke closing the door.
“Get out. Now!” I say as anger washes over my face. I can’t believe this. He has some nerve showing up here after what he pulled last night.
“Shannon, I’m sorry. Baby, I lost control last night. I didn’t mean to act that way, but we have to talk about us. That’s all I was trying to get through to you,” he says with a solemn voice as he approaches me.
I ignore the “baby” remark.
“Luke,” I say as I hold my hand out to stop him from getting any closer. “I don’t have time for this. You know I have a meeting at LP this morning. Leave, Luke.” My hand is touching his chest and I push him backwards. “Now.”
He grabs my left arm hard and I’m pulled forward into his embrace, then his lips are on mine. There is nothing tender about it, and I don’t kiss him back. Instead, I bring my knee up to meet his crotch, causing him to double over, but not before he scratches my arm beside my elbow. It hurts and I know it’s going to leave another mark.
“Get out!” I shout. “We are over and I never want to see you again! I’ll be getting my things from the apartment tomorrow, so don’t be there when I come by!” I hiss at him.
Luke just glares at me in disbelief, but doesn’t say anything else as he gets up and walks out the door. I wait a moment to calm myself, and then I leave too, locking the door behind me.
I will not let this prick ruin my day.
* * * * *
Walking off the east elevator on the eleventh floor of the LP building, I have two minutes to spare. I’m wearing my jacket now. Not because I’m cold, but because Luke left a nasty scratch on my left arm. The same arm where there is still a small bruise. My fair, sensitive skin does not need any more damage.