How much had I drank? Snippets of the night before flickered through my mind and I counted four Long Island iced teas before my memory got shoddy. But it was the sound of light snoring that had me even more concerned. I turned my head, praying under my breath that I wouldn't see the face of a stranger lying next to me.
But what I found was a billion times worse.
Robbie Stevens. Sound asleep in the chair beside my bed.
Jesus Christ, what had I done?
"Kiss me."
"I don't want to be alone."
My face lit in total mortification as the blanks began to fill themselves in with humiliating clarity. In the course of the eighteen hours that had passed since seeing Robbie for the first time in four years, I'd managed to let him see me get smashed in the face with a volleyball, had him witness me getting drunk as a skunk at a bar that he had to carry me out of, and then went from screaming at him in the hallway to begging him for a kiss.
He must think I'm a lunatic.
And he would be right.
Maybe the kissing part had been a dream. I'd had so many of them since we'd split. But as I pressed my fingers to my lips, my heart knew the truth. I'd kissed him and it had been like coming home. Sweet, and soft, and full of longing and love. On my part at least. Which made it all the worse.
I swung my still shorts-clad legs over the side of the bed and stood, holding on to the mattress for support. Hot shower, first order of business. Maybe I'd get lucky and he'd wake up and sneak out before I came back. If not, I'd at least have a few minutes to get myself together and come up with some sort of plan.
But twenty minutes later, the only viable solution to my problem seemed to be climbing out the bathroom window and scaling the wall of the hotel down to the ground level and then swimming back to New England.
I rinsed the conditioner from my hair knowing the time for stalling had passed. It was already after eight AM and Ashlynn woke at nine every morning, on the dot. Bottom line was that, whether I appreciated it or not, Robbie had done me a solid by getting me out of a potentially bad situation. Then he went over and above by staying because I'd asked him to. He didn't deserve to face Ashlynn's wrath.
And there would be wrath.
Soooo much wrath.
I blasted my face with a spray of icy cold water and then turned off the shower. Then I brushed my teeth and donned a fluffy, white hotel robe and peered at myself in the mirror and winced. It wasn't great. My eyes were still puffy from tears and lack of quality sleep and my facial expression was that of a prisoner walking the green mile, but there was nothing to be done about it. The quicker I got him out of my room, the quicker I could get back on the "forgetting Robbie ever existed" wagon.
Something told me this egregious slip was going to cost me months of pain, and I'd do well to keep that in mind if I ran into him again over the next few days.
I sucked in a deep breath and swung the door open. Robbie was standing there not a foot away, fist extended to rap on the door.
"Shit, sorry," he muttered, lowering his hand. "I was going to just knock and tell you I was going. I have to meet my trainer in twenty minutes."
I stared up at his face, knowing I should shoot back with something smart to protect myself, but all I could do was stare. Lord, he was gorgeous. That firm mouth that had touched mine last night had travelled every inch of my body at one point or another, I couldn't stop looking at it now.
His strong throat worked and suddenly, the awkward tension became a whole other animal. I could hear the change in his breathing, could see the pulse in his neck start to thud. And when I raised my gaze to meet his, I watched his dark eyes go black with a need that was achingly familiar.
"Melissa, I--"
"Rise and shine, asshole," Ashlynn called through the bedroom door before swinging it open and glaring at him. "Time to go. We've got plans for the day."
I clutched the robe more tightly around me, silently thanking the gods and my bestie for saving me from myself. I had to get away from him and stay away, because if not, I was doomed. As much as I'd lied and told myself I was over him, this chance meeting had proven me wrong. The only way to deal with my Robbie problem was cold turkey.
Ashlynn slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her with a snap that spoke a thousand words.
"I guess I should go."
"Yeah. And, um, thanks for...you know, looking out for me last night. I do appreciate it."
He nodded and moved to turn away before stopping short. "Look, no big deal, and I'm sure you don't want to but I know you used to love the fights. There'll be a pair of tickets at the will-call if you want them. You can bring...whoever you want." He shifted from foot to foot and then raked a hand through his dark hair. "Anyway, if not, I'll see you around."
He turned and bent to grab his shoes. Then, he headed out of the room without a backward glance.
Robbie
I shouldn’t have invited her. I don’t know why I had. It could only drag this mess out if she showed up. I was still kicking myself when I made my way down the hall and found Ashlynn banging pots and pans around in the kitchen.