I knew I was being irrational. That we hadn’t made promises to each other, or even figured out what the fuck we were doing yet, but that didn’t stop the hurt, which led to me closing off in the hopes of self-preservation.
Of course, I couldn’t stay mad at Chloe forever, at least not without talking it out with her and getting her take on things.
I’d decided to give myself until we reached the hotel to lick my wounds, then we’d talk, and then, we would enjoy our vacation. I, for one, was not going to ruin this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by acting like a little bitch the entire time.
Sensing the tension between myself and his mother, even though he’d slept the entire damn trip, I heard Chris ask Gabe if he could hang with him while Zoey went and met her obligations.
“Of course,” Gabe replied, leaving Chloe and me to trail behind them toward the elevators.
We rode up in silence, then I gestured for her to get out ahead of me when we reached our floor. Gabe, Zoey, and Chris took off in one direction, chatting happily, while Chloe and I both turned to go the opposite way.
I waited until she got inside, shooting a confused look over her shoulder, before letting myself into the room next to hers. Once I’d put my bag on the bed, I strode to the adjoining door and knocked loudly. I heard her make a few attempts to open it, swearing as she jerked on the door, before it opened with a pop.
“Hey,” I said tentatively.
“Oh, you’re talking to me now?” Chloe asked, her tone biting.
“I deserve that,” I admitted, then put my hands in my pockets and said, “I was hoping we could talk.”
“Don’t you want to get to the convention center?”
“There’s time,” I said, freeing one hand and holding it out to her. “This is more important.”
I saw her face soften, which gave me hope, then more tension eased when she stepped over the threshold from her room to mine.
“Here?” Chloe asked, looking around the room, which was identical to hers. “You don’t want to go to the bar or something?”
“Nah,” I said with a quick laugh. “I think it’s best if we do this without liquid courage.”
Chloe nodded and let me lead her toward one of the beds. She sat on the edge, and I sat across from her, on the edge of the second bed.
“I’m sorry,” I began, feeling it best to start with that. “I overreacted, and I’m sorry for shutting down. After I left you on Sunday, I felt great about what had happened, and figured you’d give me a call when you were ready to talk, as we discussed. When I walked into the diner and saw you with Shane, I was totally blindsided. You hadn’t called yet, so we never got to really talk about what happened between us, and, well, shit, Chloe, it killed to see you with someone else.”
Chloe was watching me intently, her hands clasped in her lap, but her face didn’t tell me what she was thinking or feeling, so I kept rambling.
“I know it’s probably too much, more than you want right now, but it’s the truth. I’ve made no secret about the fact that I like you, and I know we said we’d go slow, and we didn’t make any promises, but I was kind of hoping we were on the same page with this. I know we didn’t say we weren’t seeing other people, or whether or not we were even seeing each other, but, honestly, all I want is you, so I kind of lost it when I was faced with the reality that you didn’t feel the same.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Chloe said, stopping my rant. “Shane and I weren’t on a date or anything, we were just meeting for coffee … as friends.” At my look she smiled sheepishly and said, “Not friends like we’re friends, but friends, friends. We’d talked a bit at the barbecue, then again at the bachelorette party, and he’s nice.” Chloe shrugged, and although I had a hard time believing that Shane had female friends, I knew that she was trying to find her place in Cherry Springs. “It never even occurred to me that you would get upset if you found out, because it was totally innocent. I promise, I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Chloe reached out and I grabbed for her hand like a lifeline and held on close.
“We haven’t made promises,” I reminded her, even though her words made me feel much better.
“No, we haven’t, but still, I wouldn’t go out with one of your friends before talking with you about what happened between us and deciding what we were going to do.”
“I appreciate that.”
Chloe nodded, then took a deep breath and said, “Thanks for giving me time, Reardon; I really appreciate it. I’m sure it was hard on you, and the biggest reason for our miscommunication was the fact that we hadn’t talked things out yet.”
“Did you come to a conclusion?” I asked, even though her answer terrified me.
“Well,” she began, tucking a dark strand behind her ear. “I thought about what happened, well, as much as I could remember, and I thought about everything you’ve said…”
“Yeah…” I prompted, about to come out of my skin.
Chloe’s eyes searched mine.
“I’m ready to give us a shot.”