AllFreeNovel
Share Us
17
Kerenza
Someone once said that if everyone was saying the same thing about you, then perhaps it was time to turn your critical eye inward and reexamine yourself.
All my life I’d been (jokingly) told by friends and some family members that I was a drama queen who made a big deal out of small things.
I could admit, I had a tendency to overreact, but it was because I never wanted to be caught off guard and hurt again, like I’d been in the past. So yeah, I was dramatic, but I wasn’t a complete dumb ass. I knew when to turn it off, and now…now was definitely one of those times.
Had Oden come to me and confessed to secretly being involved with Isobel, or any other woman, that would have been a deal breaker. No-motherfucking-questions-asked.
But he hadn’t done that. Instead, he’d come to me and revealed that he’d been crushing on me for months and had literally moved mountains to meet me and make me fall for him.
Some would find that a bit creepy, but they didn’t know Oden Elijah Matthews. There wasn’t a creepy bone in his body—and I would know, with how familiar I was with his body.
Yes, I was reeling from his little confession, but amongst the shock and surprise, other feelings were more prominent. I genuinely cared about the man I’d just let walk away, and I needed to let him know it.
It took me fifteen minutes to rush through a shower, brush my teeth, and throw on a pair of shorts and a shirt.
My first stop was Oden’s suite.
At the sight of the open door and the maid’s cart parked just off to the side, my stomach turned. Still, I checked inside the room, startling the maid, and came up empty.
I rushed down to the lobby. He only had about a twenty-five-minute head start on me, so maybe he was still here, waiting for his car service. Or maybe he’d stopped to have breakfast in the built-in restaurant.
I hoped it was any one of those scenarios.
The elevator ride seemed to last a lifetime, though I only had to go down fifteen floors. As soon as the doors rolled open, I squeezed through the small opening and jogged over to the front desk.
The attendant’s eyes bulged, looking at me like I was crazy.
“Has Oden Matthews checked out yet?” I asked, breathing heavily from the exertion of running around this hotel like a mad woman.
The young-looking attendant pulled it together, and asked in a professional voice, “What is your relation to Mr. Matthews?”
Good fucking question.
“I’m his…friend.”
The corners of his mouth turned down in a grimace.
“Um, I’m sorry. I’m unable to give out any guest information, unless you’re a spouse or on the same reservation.”
“We are! We’re all under the Underthingz Lingerie Co. booking group.”
He eyed me dubiously.
“Check for yourself.”
I rattled off my full name and gave him the room number of the suite all of us models were sharing.
He confirmed everything I told him and, in turn, informed me that Oden had checked out fifteen minutes prior and had gone outside to await a shuttle to the airport.
Forgetting my manners, I took off running again without saying thank you to the attendant. I bobbed and weaved through the many people coming and going in the lobby and made my way outside. It was another gorgeous Miami day, and with the hotel positioned on a popular block near the beach, there were people everywhere. I stopped jogging and scanned the immediate area for Oden. Just when I was starting to give up hope, I saw the back of a familiar-looking head.
It was him.
Hastily, I pushed my way through the constantly moving sea of people, eyes trained on Oden the entire time. It was why I had managed to see him wave the hotel shuttle down and pick up his carry-on bag in preparation.
