won’t be leaving until tomorrow.
I consider it for a moment. I haven’t seen or spoken to Merric since the early morning after the wedding when he came to my room. The lingering questions in my mind want to know what changed and why he’s here now.
The thought of him coming back for round two hits me, and I shake myself from the fog.
I’m not some plaything he can come running to when he’s looking for some pussy. It seems like that’s all it was to him the last time. One week, that was all it was supposed to be.
Now here we are, back to the place where we swore we wouldn’t be.
I held up my end of the agreement. As hard as it was, I didn’t reach out to him. I came back to Wilmington and attempted to get back to my normal life.
The reality of the situation is this is how it will always be between us. We can’t continue to fan the flames between us only when the lights are out. Sooner or later, the fire will burn out, and like Merric has already said, we’ll be left with nothing but the mess of the situation to deal with.
“It’s probably not a good idea, don’t you think?”
He winces. His eyes narrow, snapping up to meet mine. He hadn’t expected me to turn him down. Probably because up until this point, it’s been him calling the shots, and I’ve gone along with everything he’s said. I’m not going to stand here and continue to let him drag my heart through the mud.
I step back, pulling my keys from my purse and hit the unlock button on my remote.
“I’m sorry you drove all the way up here for nothing. You could’ve just called.”
“I didn’t want to do this over the phone. Will you at least come with me so we can talk? I promise, I won’t even try to touch you. I just want us to talk.”
I hesitate before turning to leave. Merric wants to talk? Is he serious?
I want to fly back and make some offhanded comment, questioning if he’s even the same Merric as before, but I bite my tongue, instead nodding, asking him where he’s staying.
“I got a suite at the Ritz for the night. I didn’t know what to expect, and, well, I knew we couldn’t exactly sleep comfortably on your bed.”
My eyes shoot over to his, tilting my head to the side. “Oh, so that’s all this is about? What happened to it only being for the week?”
“No,” he states matter-of-factly. “If you’ll give me a chance to talk, you’ll know it wasn’t only about sex. You can’t be mad at me for hoping I’d be able to spend the night with you again or for wanting to know you’re in my arms while I do.”
My stomach flips at the mention of him wanting to hold me. My heart begs for me to go with him, while my mind shouts what a giant mistake this will be.
“Okay,” I agree. “I’ll follow you there.”
He stares down at me. I can tell he’s trying hard to give me space, not wanting to push me too much. He’s going with whatever I’m comfortable with, but I know him well enough to know this isn’t easy for him.
He presses his hand against my lower back, following me to my car. His hand shoots past me, reaching to open the door. He waits while I climb in, making sure I buckle my seat belt before he closes the door behind me.
“I’ll see you there then?”
“I’ll see you there, Merric.”
He nods, finally accepting my answer. My eyes follow him as he crosses the parking lot to his Maserati parked away from the rest of the cars.
The entire drive to the hotel, I’m playing out all the ways this will go in my head, shuffling through the possible theories of what he wants to talk about. The truth of the matter is, nothing has changed, and there’s no easy way for us to work through any of the reasons he’s holding back.
It’s only going to make this worse when the time comes for us to go our separate ways, knowing we’ll still likely see each other at different family events. While his dad is no longer here, it’s not like he has to show up. My mom will continue to stay in touch with him, and I know Merric won’t push her away.
Merric must’ve already checked in before he showed up at