“I think the estrogen out here needs to simmer down a bit,” I replied.
Mitch rolled his eyes. “That’s cool, be the asshole. It’s what she’ll expect you to do anyway,” he said and turned around, going back into his room where apparently he had finally fucked Gracie Cook. And he left me feeling a bit like a douchebag.
I took the elevator down to the third floor and made my way to room 321. I knocked on the door and waited. And waited.
Finally Vivian answered and stood there in her pajamas, her face splotchy and I knew she had been crying. All of my patented remarks died in my mouth.
I had nothing to say. Not seeing her like this.
Had I caused her to be this upset?
“Viv,” I began but she held up her hand, stopping me.
“We have nothing more to say to each other. I told you I was done. I meant it.” She sounded tired but I knew she hadn’t been sleeping.
“Can I come in?” I asked, sliding my bare foot into the doorway, edging my body closer.
She shook her head. “No, you can’t.”
“Why not? What the fuck is going on?” I asked, feeling familiar frustration settling in.
And to think I had rushed back up here for this! Why had I deluded myself into thinking I wanted this drama in my life?
“Because I’m tired. I need to go to sleep. And I’m tired of talking in circles with you. I’m tired of arguing. So, can I just see you in the morning?”
She started to close the door and I braced it open with my hand.
“Not until you explain how we went from having a perfectly good night to this bullshit. Look, I get that you overreact. I get that you fly off the handle. Hell, I like that about you. It’s hot. But trying to be a mind reader ain’t my thing. I don’t do head games.”
Vivian snorted. “You don’t? Really? Then what have we been doing for the past two years, Cole, if it hasn’t been one giant head game?”
I frowned. “We fight. We get pissed off at each other. And then we make up. It’s what we do, baby,” I said softly, reaching out to cup her face. I hated seeing her sad. I preferred every other emotion to that one.
It made me feel entirely too much.
Vivian closed her eyes but didn’t pull away. I considered that progress. “Aren’t you sick of it?” she whispered.
My thumb caressed the apple of her cheek. “I could never get tired of you,” I told her honestly. Because it was the truth. No matter how many times I had her, I always wanted more.
She was the only woman I had ever met who could handle me. Who put up with me. Who didn’t expect more than I could give her. And to me, that made her pretty damn special.
So I didn’t understand what the problem was all of a sudden.
“Cole, I know you’re with other women. You don’t bother to hide it. But I can’t deal with that anymore. I can’t play the scorned woman in some elaborate fuck fantasy you have. This is destructive. It’s messed up. And it’s over.”
My heart thudded painfully. I calmly continued to rub her cheek.
“You don’t mean that, Viv. I know you,” I said, bowing my head down so I could kiss her lips. But she pulled back before I could.
“No, Cole, you don’t. You don’t know me at all. You’ve never bothered to know me,” she said fiercely.
I dropped my hand and took a step back.
“I ask you about your job. You tell me about stuff,” I supplied feebly.
Vivian crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. “Then what’s my middle name?”
“Um. . .uh,” I stuttered. Crap!
“Okay, how many siblings do I have?”
“Wait! I know this,” I started but she kept going.