“Don’t be long,” he whispered in my ear. “The quicker we get off this boat, the quicker I can spend the night making love to you.”
I pulled back, taking him in from his gorgeous blue eyes to his perfect smile. He really was everything I never knew I wanted.
My precious moment in time in a life I was just passing through.
And I loved him. I definitely loved him. Enough that I knew I would never hurt him. Even if it meant I had to hurt myself.
I nodded, placing another kiss on his lips before I pulled away.
Making my way toward the bathroom, dizziness swooped over me, making me hold on to the wall to keep from falling. A girl I passed laughed, commenting on how drunk I was. Little did she know I hadn’t had a single drink.
Once I reached the bathroom, I stood for a second staring at the door, knowing I couldn’t go in there. Knowing the real reason I had walked away from Matthew and the devil himself.
Turning, I started toward the opposite side of the boat, taking a set of steps that went down to the lower level. I cut through the crowd like I was being chased, sliding through the groups and saying, “Excuse me,” several times until I finally saw the place I wanted to go.
The little man in the boat looked up at me with a tiny smile.
“Headed out?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes, Finch, please take me back to the dock.”
TWENTY-ONE
MATTHEW
SHE WAS GONE FOR AN AWFULLY LONG TIME.
Going toward the bathroom, I searched for Shannon, thinking maybe she had gotten caught up chatting with someone, but she was nowhere to be found.
I pulled out my phone to check if she had texted me or tried to call, but there was nothing there. I pulled up her messages and sent a text, but being so far out on the water, my phone had a shit signal.
“Excuse me,” I said, stopping a woman who was leaving the bathroom. “Was there a tall redhead in there?” I asked.
The lady shook head. “No one’s in there.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
She moved back toward the party, leaving me to search yet again for Shannon.
Thirty minutes later, I was beginning to panic.
Had she fallen overboard?
Could she swim?
Why hadn’t I asked her if she could swim?
I was scanning the decks, checking every square inch of the yacht as the pressure on my chest told me something wasn’t right.
“What’s going on?” Jonathan came up beside me and asked.
“I can’t find Shannon. I’ve looked everywhere.”
I turned in circles, checking the area around me once more, but again, there was no sign of her.
Jonathan clapped me on the shoulder and took a swig from his drink. “I’m sure she’s around here somewhere, man. Don’t stress it. Let her have a good time.”
“No, you don’t understand,” I started, but he turned and walked away, leaving me there in a panic.
Going to the lower deck, I saw Finch out of the corner of my eye pulling up alongside the yacht alone. I moved toward his boat, grabbing the rail and leaning over to speak to him.
“Hey, Finch, have you seen the young lady I came here with?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. I just dropped her at the dock.”
“What do you mean you dropped her at the dock? Alone?”
I jumped into his boat.
“She asked to go back, so I took her.” He shrugged.
I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling frantic.
She was alone. Downtown where dangerous people were everywhere.
“Take me to the dock. Show me where you left her.”
The boat ride to the dock seemed to drag on as if the yacht had moved farther out to sea when I knew for a fact it was anchored in place. When Finch pulled the boat up alongside the dock, I wasted no time jumping out before he had even idled the engine.
I ran down the dock, my shoes thumping along the wooden planks, but no one was there. Once I got to the shore, I searched the parking area only to find a couple going at in the back of a truck. I pulled my keys from my pocket and got in my car.
My phone lit up the inside of my car when I pulled it from my pocket and unlocked the screen. With a signal, I quickly typed out a text and sent it to her.
Me: Where are you?
Me: Are you okay?
No response.
My car roared to life when I cranked it, and I spun my tires when I pulled out of the parking lot and hauled ass toward Shannon’s apartment. I checked my phone the entire trip to her place, but she never returned my message.
Finally, I pulled up at her apartment building.
Her car was parked in front, which meant she hadn’t gone anywhere in her car. Going to her door, I knocked several times until finally Devin swung the door open with a furious expression.
“What the fuck, man? Why are you beating on the door this late at night?” he asked.
“Shannon,” I said losing my breath. “Is she here?”
“She’s not here. We thought she was with you.”
I didn’t respond.
Instead, I turned around and ran back to my car with Devin calling my name behind me.
I peeled out of the parking lot, not really sure where I was going. If she wasn’t with me and she wasn’t at home, the only other place I could think she might have gone was back to my place.
Again, I pulled out my phone and checked for a response.
Nothing.
I made it to my place in record time. Leaving my car on, I threw it in park and hopped out, searching my front porch to see if maybe she was sitting and waiting for me.
The porch and my house were empty.
“Fuck!” I shouted, making a run for my car yet again.
I climbed in, slamming the door behind me, and sat staring out of the windshield.
Where was she?
Checking my phone once again, I saw she still hadn’t responded. I typed out another message to her and hit send.
Me: Please, Shannon, let me know you’re ok.
A few minutes passed, then finally, my phone buzzed with a response.
Red: I’m ok.
I breathed a sigh of relief before I messaged back.
Me: What happened? Where are you?
Red: I’m sorry I left. I needed to get out of there.
Me: I would have left with you. If you weren’t in the mood to go anywhere, we could have stayed home.
Me: Where are you? I’ll come and get you.
Red: No.
Me: What do you mean, no?
Red: I’m sorry, Matthew. I can’t do this.
Me: What are you talking about? What can’t you do?
Me: Please tell me where you are.
Red: I’m sorry. It’s over.
My heart skipped, and I pressed the call button instead of texting. It rang once before she sent me to voicemail. I hung up and tried again, and again, her voicemail picked up.
Me: Please answer.
Me: What did I do?
Me: Let’s discuss this.
Red: I’m sorry.
Me: Don’t do this.
Me: I love you.
Minutes passed as I waited for a response. I called once again, feeling like a total ass, and the phone never rang. Instead, it went straight to voicemail.
Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed yet again.
Red: I don’t feel the same. I’m sorry.