He nodded and took a seat on the foot of the bed as I sat in the chair in front of the desk situated a foot and a half from him.
“So, you didn’t actually come all this way just to bring me some whiskey out of the kindness of your heart?” he asked, lighting me on fire with his brown eyes.
I took a sip of the hot liquid. The flavors danced along my tongue. He did an excellent job. “I didn’t. I brought you the key.”
I stood and pulled the key out of my pocket and held it out to him. He took it from me.
“Thank you, but you truly could have waited until the morning.” He folded his hand over the key and took a sip from his mug.
“I also have this uncontrollable urge to help people out, especially when they seem like they’ve been beaten up by the world for far too long,” I added.
His eyes rested on mine, and they widened a little. “You really are great at reading people.”
I shrug. “It’s a gift. Besides, I figured you could use the company.”
“Yeah, something like that,” he said, knocking back the rest of his mug and then wincing. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said and then sighed. “I also hate letting people down so that’s another reason.”
“You didn’t let me down,” Guy said. “I apologize if that is the impression I gave you.”
“No apology is necessary. I didn’t say you made me feel that way. I felt that way because it’s who I am. In a nutshell.”
He nodded and then got up to make himself another drink.
For the longest time, we chatted. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. By the time I was nearing the end of my second mug, I was already under the effects of the alcohol, numbing my nerves and making me sleepy. But I was glad to have stayed as long as I had. I was starting to see Guy relax and open up. Especially the part of him that was “happy-go-lucky.”
2
GUY
I watched as Cadence knocked back the last of her second drink and then set the cup on the desk behind her. She faced me again and slapped her legs with a soft smile on her lips. “You do good on those.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Would you like another?”
“No, no,” she said, holding up her hand and shaking her head. “I really shouldn’t.”
I nodded. “No problem. If you change your mind, I would be happy to make it for you.”
She smiled. “I’ll let you know.”
A comfortable silence settled between us.
I was on my fifth or sixth drink of the evening. I sucked at pacing myself. Honestly, I had lost count on how many drinks I had. But I had somehow managed to pay attention to how much she had to drink. Why? Fuck if I knew. Maybe the reason was because I understood she would be leaving at some point.
Then I would be left to my own devices and my own company. All over again.
To be frank, I really wasn’t counting my drinks, to begin with. I wasn’t in the habit of doing so. Never had been. I just knew I had more to drink than Cadence did. A lot more. That’s all that mattered. And the alcohol had dulled my senses. Especially my inhibitions. It was becoming harder not to let my better judgment go.
But who could blame me? Spending time with this woman came so easily. Talking to her was easy. Being in her presence was easy. And I wasn’t entirely sure how much the alcohol had to do with that. I wasn’t used to things going this way. This was new, different, exciting, exhilarating, and I didn’t want our time to end. Not that I was going to look at everything too closely or anything like that. I knew exactly what this was. And with my luck, she would realize what was wrong with me and run away, and I would never see her again.
Getting carried away with her was easy too. I couldn’t help it. I had never felt as connected to another person—much less a woman—as I did while sitting in a shitty hotel room, drinking from small, ceramic mugs as though they were fine China.
I was enjoying myself, and for the first time in quite a while it seemed. We chatted like we had known each other our entire lives and were just catching up after some time apart. I took that as a great sign.
Still, with the smile, and the way she knocked back the last of her drink, the time had come. She was going to leave soon. No matter how much I wished time would slow down.
She yawned.