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She seemed so serious, too. It should’ve given me concern, but she would say anything if it got her what she wanted. She would obviously do anything, too. She sought me out, got a few orgasms for her trouble, but that was all she would get from me.
It was late, so I would listen to what she had to say in the morning, then I’d send Harper on her way. If I got rid of her soon enough, I might even be able to salvage what should’ve been a romantic weekend.
I didn’t need Harper. Unfortunately, I still wanted her, though. Maybe I was the fool I had sworn I wouldn’t be for her over the telephone. That filled my mouth with a sour taste and I forced myself to stop thinking about her altogether. I needed to go to sleep, and hopefully my dreams would be better than my current reality.
HARPER
I hadn’t allowed myself to cry over Gabriel Blake as I lay there in bed and listened for him. This was never the way it was supposed to be. The two of us were supposed to graduate high school together, go off to the same college, then marry afterward. I wasn’t supposed to be in one room while he lay in bed in another, and with so much animosity and tension between us.
“I’m so sorry, Gabriel,” I murmured, even though I knew he would never hear my apology.
What good would it do, anyway? He’d gotten over me easily if the constant headlines were any indication.
I scrubbed my hands down my face while shaking my head in frustration. If I’d been having second thoughts about whether to investigate this suspicion of mine further, after what had transpired between us tonight, there was no way that I couldn’t. I still loved this man. Seeing him and being back in his arms had uncovered my love for him. I realized it had never gone away entirely. I’d just been good at fooling myself.
“I wish you’d just give me the time of day.” My cause was futile at best.
Needing to try harder, I even once or twice got up and opened the door to find light coming from beneath his. By the way it flickered, I knew it had to be television he was watching. Again, even that was like a knife to the chest. It didn’t take long for memories of the two of us doing that together to come rushing back.
Looking back on them, they were perfect moments in time I never appreciated until they were gone. Back then, they’d been normal and comforting. What I wouldn’t give to crawl into bed with him right now and beg him to forgive me for hurting him in the way I had. I couldn’t no matter how strong the desire.
The silence was deafening. Once, I actually heard him leave his room and I could’ve sworn he was right outside my door. Hope bloomed, thinking he would come in to apologize, or at the very least, stop in to listen to what I had to say. He didn’t though.
“Impossible men.” It gave me even more pause. Gabriel wasn’t interested in the truth. He wasn’t interested in anything I had to say or give. “I might as well just leave and take care of this on my own.”
I lay there in the silence a few more minutes before deciding to do just that. I had come all the way to Chicago to save him, and I would make sure I accomplished that if it was the last thing I did. I owed him that much, so I knew what I had to do.
I pulled out my phone and started to check all nearby cities for any vacancies. I needed to find a place to set up camp for a few days until the storm passed and I could figure out what, if any, danger awaited Gabriel. As my hotel search continued, I finally found a place in Gary. I needed to make sure the website was accurate, so I called them.
“Yes, I saw online that you had a few vacancies remaining for this evening?” I asked as soon as the woman answered the line.
“We have five rooms left, but with this weather, I anticipate they will fill up quickly,” she responded.
“I’d like to go ahead and book one, even though I am an hour or two away from arrival.”
I booked the reservation for five days, hopeful I could handle everything within that timeframe. After leaving my credit card information, I pulled up a ride sharing app and soon had an Uber scheduled.
Because of the weather conditions, the driver indicated it would take him about an hour to get here. That gave me enough time to gather my things and get dressed. I stuffed everything else back into the bag, then saw Gabriel’s shirt draped on the back of the chair. I bit my bottom lip nervously, then stuck it in my bag as well.
I bided my time, doing so as quietly as I could, and when ready to leave, I opened the door and peered down the hallway. There was no longer any light coming from beneath his door, and I assumed it meant he was asleep. I didn’t want to wake him, so I used the flashlight on my cellphone and slowly made my way down the hallway.
I took the steps just as quietly, then slipped out the front door. It wasn’t long before I reached the lobby where I waited until I saw my driver pull up in the front. I rushed outside into the elements and nearly slipped on the icy ground. The snow was thick and still falling heavily. I hated for anyone to drive in these conditions, especially because of me.
“It looks rough out here,” I remarked when I slid into the backseat of the car.
“There’s a lot of wrecks, ma’am. Not many people looking for rides this late at night in the middle of a blizzard.”
I knew what he meant, and not wanting to get into any of my reasons, I flashed him a smile. “I bet. I’d planned to stay in town, but all the hotels were booked up so Gary it is.”
The Indiana town was about a half hour southeast of the city. I’d passed through there a time or two when younger, but it’d never been a place I’d ever stopped to visit. It was close enough to Chicago, so I was hopeful I could get a rental car tomorrow or Sunday at the latest.
“There are a lot of events this holiday weekend, but it looks like most of them will have to be rescheduled due to the weather,” he remarked.
I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now, so I sat there and kept looking down at my phone. Did Gabriel even know I was gone yet? He was likely still asleep, but even if he wasn’t, he would probably be thrilled I had left. Putting me out was one less thing he had to do in the morning.
God, how I wish I could tell him the truth about those pictures and my infidelity. It wouldn’t do any good, though. It would only rehash things better left in the past. I needed to put all hopes of a reconciliation out of my head. Gabriel would much rather do anything else over getting back together with me. What we had was over a decade ago, and I needed to keep my focus which meant remembering why I was even here.
Hoping to take my mind off of everything, I pulled back out my cellphone and started to check my work emails. I focused on them until we arrived at my destination.
