AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Miles? Where am I? What happened?”
“You fainted. I had to carry you to my room.”
“I fainted? You… carried me? How long was I out?”
“Just a few seconds. Stay here. Let me get you some water.”
I scanned the room quickly to orient myself, and spotted the small fridge. I opened it, thankful to see two cold bottled water inside. Grabbing one, I twisted the cap off and handed it to Taylor while I knelt beside her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking a short sip.
I nodded. “Is this normal for you?”
“Fainting?” She shook her head. “I’ve never fainted before.”
“Are you okay now?” I said, brushing a few strands of hair from her face before I realized what I was doing.
What the fuck?
I snapped my hand away quickly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, I mean, uh, let me get your dad. I need to find your dad, to let him know.”
Taylor stared at me with something bordering on hostility.
“Don’t bother,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m fine.”
She stood up, took a deep breath, and walked stiffly out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
I sat on the floor next to the couch, stunned and confused.
What the hell is going on here?
I had prided myself in reading people correctly. Early in my career I did a lot of research into interpreting human behavior and mannerisms, and this knowledge had served me well dealing with all kinds of people in and out of the courtroom.
Obviously my skills did not transfer well when it came to the women in my life or I would have seen the tell-tale signs when my wife started cheating on me, and in Taylor’s case I felt like a fucking thick-skulled insensitive caveman fumbling around in the dark.
I really, seriously, had no fucking idea what was going on.
Closing my eyes, I reconstructed the sequence of events that unfolded from the time I stepped out of the taxi, but the ring of a phone interrupted me. I looked around, found the old-fashioned rotary dial phone atop a wooden desk, and snatched it.
“Hello?”
“Miles, it’s John.”
“Hey John,” I said, wondering if Taylor had already told her dad about the incident on the staircase.
“How’s the room, buddy?”
“Yeah, room’s great,” I said, shaking my head. I hadn’t even paid any attention to the massive suite.
“Cool. So anyway, dinner will be served in the main dining hall in about forty minutes. Tonight we’ve got teriyaki chicken, macaroni salad, and grilled pineapples. Hope you’re hungry.”
“You cooking?”
“Hell, yeah.”
“I’ll be there. Thanks.”
“You bet.”
