Hook Up by Miranda Baker Page B

Bonita was right. Nothing less than a baseball bat was going to get him to leave her alone.
    She could almost feel his brain sifting through the pieces of the past, shifting them around in his mind. She had to make sure she didn’t give anything away. Ten more steps and she’d be out the door. Safe. She would never see him again.
    He kept talking as he followed her. “When I called the frat house that night, I was too young and too hurt to think any further than the obvious. I assumed our night together meant nothing to you. Now you’re trying to skate out the door after another great night, which should convince me I was right, that sex means nothing to you. I mean nothing to you. But I just don’t buy it. I’ve had meaningless sex, lots of it in fact, and it was never like last night. We connect, Crystal, and now that we’re together, I can’t imagine stopping at just one night.”
    She reached the door and turned to face him, forcing her lips into a smile. “And I can’t imagine having anything more. The girl you knew might not have tackled a frat house, but the woman she has become can handle a fraternity and a sorority too. Sex is my business and my pleasure. I work at Come Again and I make a very good living telling people how to improve their sex lives, for God’s sake! I don’t do relationships, and if I did, it wouldn’t be with you.” She pressed the handle down to open the door.
    He reached up to hold it shut. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
    “The concierge will call me a taxi.”
    “That’s not what I meant.” His eyes gleamed.
    She took a deep breath. “A goodbye kiss?” Please God, no.
    He shook his head and pointed over his shoulder. “Your underwear.”
    “Keep it.”
    “I don’t collect souvenirs.” He left her standing at the door and returned with her lingerie.
    She took it from his hand. “Thank you.” Her panties were scraps of ribbon and lace, but the long ties made stuffing them into her purse feel like a parody of the clown scarf trick in reverse. Her purse was tiny, too small to hold her hefty underwire bra, so she had to tuck it under her arm. “Goodbye, Ryan. It was—” She paused. Terrifying. Spectacular. Unforgettable . Memory drifted in the air between them, a hot breeze, an unacknowledged truth. “It was nice to see you.”
    She opened the door and glanced back at him from the safety of the hotel hall. His eyes were mesmerizing—the laughing eyes that had stopped her in her tracks at the fraternity party so many years ago, the tender eyes that had watched her become a woman, the blind eyes that hadn’t looked back to find her for ten endless years. She couldn’t look away.
    He raised his hand. “I don’t know what I did that was so awful you won’t even consider giving us a second chance, but it’s only fair to warn you. I’m going to change your mind. What we have is special, Crystal. Rare. Real. I lost you once, but I’m not going to lose you again. Go ahead and run. I’ll catch you later.”
    Her throat felt tight and her feet felt heavy as she moved down the hall toward the elevator. She knew she was doing the right thing but she felt like a coward, slinking away with her underwear in her purse and her bra under her arm. The breeze beneath her dress gave walk of shame a whole new meaning.
    Ryan hadn’t listened to a word she’d said. He was going to keep charging, keep pushing, and she was afraid he would discover her secret. If he knew her heartless slut act was all for show, he might not leave her alone. How long before her defenses crumbled completely? How long before she gave in to her own desire to keep him close? And how long before he got his fill and left her again?
     
     
    Ryan lifted a silver plate cover, trying to decide if he still felt like having breakfast. His stomach growled but he didn’t feel hungry. Still, it was a shame to waste good food, so he sat and poured himself another cup of coffee. What the fuck had just