She seemed shocked… or maybe her expression was surprised? She wasn’t breathing… at least, not noticeably.
Regardless, relief flooded through my body at the sight of her. I sighed and smiled slightly.
“Hi,” I said softly.
21
CADENCE
It took a minute for my body to get over the initial shock of his appearance and catch up to the fact that he had said hi to me. But the second my body caught on, I clamped my mouth closed and shook my head.
“What is wrong?” he asked. “What is going on, Cadence?”
I held up a finger and said, “Nope.”
My stomach clenched and I covered my mouth with a hand. I turned my attention toward the bathroom and then back to him. Why did he have to show up now?
“What’s wrong?” he asked. The concern shone through his eyes. It was too much. I had to go. He took a small step toward me. “Please, talk to me.”
I shook my head and ran into the bathroom again. It was during the umpteenth time of dry heaving into the toilet that I considered stress just might be part of what is making my nausea worse.
Once I had sufficiently retched into the toilet to the point my stomach muscles ached, I stood from the floor and shuffled my feet toward the door of the bathroom. But just before stepping through, I changed my mind and decided to stay where I was and allow my stomach to fully settle.
I pressed my back to the wall and closed my eyes, focusing on the music filtering through the speakers mounted throughout the store. If I stayed where I was long enough, maybe Guy would take the hint and leave. It might have been wishful thinking, but I was going to test out the theory.
Until I was ready to leave, I sat on the floor, resting my head against the wall. The coldness of the tile seeped into my skin and helped to calm my nerves. I worked on slowing my breaths and getting my heart to slow down.
Why was Guy here?
I wasn’t expecting Guy to show up. Not for real. But seeing as how he did, all I wanted to do was run away from him. I was still embarrassed and not ready to face him yet. I wasn’t sure when I would be ready. And though I normally wouldn’t have felt this way, I thought it was lucky that my stomach decided to act up again. My body gave me the out that I needed in a very unexpected moment. All of which led me to sitting in the bathroom hiding from the man who never left my thoughts for long.
What was wrong with me? Why did I feel like hiding in the bathroom was the only solution to my current problem?
Maybe while waiting for him to leave, I could figure the answer out?
Though I wasn’t sure how long I had been sitting in the bathroom, I figured it couldn’t be much longer for him to get the point and leave. He had to leave eventually. Not that he didn’t need to take his time, because I needed the break. But still.
I closed my eyes and just sat on the cold tile, thinking about why he showed up. Why now? Why ever? I thought Cassidy said he agreed to let me come to him when I was ready.
Nothing made sense, and I certainly couldn’t figure out what led him to deciding to stand in the lobby of my store. But maybe there was a reasonable explanation. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to hear anything of the sort from him.
The chime from the doors sounded and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. He must have gotten the hint. Thank whoever was looking out. I wasn’t able to spend the whole night in the bathroom. Like it or not, I had a job I had to finish.
So, I got up, rinsed my mouth again, and walked back out front only to discover Guy hadn’t left. Instead, he stood on the other side of the counter, waiting for me to return. He probably tricked me by pushing the door open and making me think he had left.
The thought made me a little angry.
I shoved my nose into the air and made my way to the office. Once I was there, I turned around and took a seat in the office chair. It felt nice to get off my feet and sit back on something much more comfortable than the hard tile of the bathroom floor… even though it was a temporary reprieve.
Guy leaned over it. I could almost feel his eyes drilling holes into the side of my head. I turned the radio up as the weather announcer was giving an update on the storm heading into the area. I also sort of hoped it would give Guy a hint to leave. I didn’t want to talk to him.
I closed my eyes, breathing through the rush of memories racing through my mind. Memories of the first storm of the season that had me trapped in a cabin for a week. The very storm that led to my loss of virginity with a man I thought was the one for me.
I thought about how great it felt to have his arms around me. The sex… the conversation we shared… the connection between us that was hard to ignore. I sighed as the memories started to replay again.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Guy asked. “Or are you just going to continue pretending I don’t exist?”
It was the first thing he had said to me since I sat in the office. Since he said hello and I cowardly rushed into the bathroom. He apparently recognized I needed a minute, but for some reason, he was done waiting.