He did not need to know she had left during his performance. He did not need to know she was crying. He did not need to know anything. Surely with all those other women fawning over him, he would not miss her.
Sunny gave Gigi a quick hug. “I’m fine. I’m just going to go to my room and be alone for a while. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Gigi did not look convinced. “If you need anything, you’ll call me? Or shoot me a text?”
“Yes, Gigi,” Sunny managed as she started down the hall again. Her sole focus was to reach the elevator that would take her to the silent solitude of her room. She ignored the group of women who called for her to join them at the bar. She continued her march toward the lobby and the blessed freedom found in the elevator.
Once alone in the small box, she fought to control her plummeting emotions but could not seem to get a handle on them. By the time she entered her room, she could no longer control the riot of emotions roiling around in her, or the sobs that welled inside her chest.
After pushing the door closed and throwing the deadbolt, she left a trail of purse, shoes, and jeans on her way to the bed. Throwing herself across the bed, she finally let go and sobbed. By the time the tears eventually stopped, she felt completely drained, and flat, much like a balloon that had been blown up and then had the air let out of it again.
Pushing from the bed, she made one last trip to the bathroom. Returning to her room, though she was a mess, she found her nightshirt and changed, then pulled back the covers and crawled into the bed.
Taking slow, deep breaths, she felt like she was melting into the mattress, which she decided, might not be a bad thing. Then she could get out of doing the book signing tomorrow afternoon. Her last thoughts before falling asleep were to wonder if Geo even missed her downstairs, and to make a heartfelt wish to be a braver, bolder sort of woman who would not mind her man being drooled over by other women.
As he danced, Geo was forced to focus on his moves, as he worked to block out thoughts of the pretty redhead at the back of the room. Counting in his head, he moved to the music, performing like the trained monkey he felt like. He worked hard to keep a smile on his lips as bold, drunk women groped him before tucking dollar bills down his shorts. He swore if Gigi ever asked him to do something like this again, he would deck her. Then he would say no in terms even she would understand.
When his interminable half hour was over, he gratefully left the stage. After retrieving his clothes from the DJ, he scanned the room. Being taller than everyone in the room helped, but he did not see Sunny anywhere. And with her hair color, it would have been hard to miss her, even with the lights dimmed.
Going to the men’s restroom they had turned into their dressing room, he quickly changed into a pair of jeans and the sleeveless T-shirt advertising one of the sponsors that was his uniform for the weekend. Gigi was in the hall outside when he emerged. She looked concerned as she shifted nervously from one foot to the other, tapping her pen on her clipboard.
“Where is she?” he asked, his voice an unhappy growl.
“She got a bit, um, overwhelmed during your performance. She went to her room. What the hell did you do to her?” Gigi looked at him with suspicion.
“Overwhelmed? What do you mean?”
Gigi turned her back on a trio of ladies who stepped out of the ballroom and walked past them toward the restrooms. “I mean she was crying and couldn’t seem to stop. She said she was fine, but I could tell she wasn’t. Since you were with her earlier, I’m just wondering what you did to upset her?”
“Not a damn thing. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of her,” Geo said before walking away. “Oh, and I won’t be dancing anymore. Ever. Understand?”
Without waiting for his sister’s response, he turned and stormed away. Nothing mattered right now except getting to his Sunflower. The elevator seemed to take entirely too long to arrive and then stopped at every floor on its way back up. Finally, he emerged on the correct floor.
Not caring how it looked to anyone who might see him, Geo jogged down the hall to his room. Sliding his key in the lock, he pushed the door open, and rushed inside. Thankfully, he had had the foresight earlier to turn on the light in the entry area. Tossing his rolled-up costume toward his suitcase, he went to the door that connected his room to Sunny’s. His door stood wide open. Hers had been pushed closed, but the latch was not engaged.
Easing the door open, he paused a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the absolute darkness of her room. Not only were there no lights on, she had pulled the blackout curtains so the room was dark as a cave.
With light streaming in from his room, Geo moved closer to the bed. It took a minute of study to realize that she was curled up under the white covers in the center of the bed. It was hard to tell as the covers were pulled up to completely cover her, with her face the only part exposed to the air.