“What?”
“Kissing. He was kissing me, okay?”
“That’s it? Just kissing?”
“Of course that’s it! I met the guy less than a week ago.”
“Yeah, but…it seems like it would have to be more than that.”
“What does? I mean, I’m not even sure he likes me.”
Macy starts to say something but must think better of it, because in the end, she just shakes her head and stares down into her soup like it’s suddenly the most interesting thing on the planet.
“Seriously?” I implore. “You don’t get to do that. I answered all your questions. You need to answer mine!”
“I know. It’s just—” She breaks off as a knock sounds at our door. Of course. “It’s probably my dad wanting to check on you again,” she says as she climbs to her feet. “He’s not very good at waiting on the sidelines, especially when someone he cares about is sick.”
I put what’s left of my soup on my nightstand and burrow down under my covers. “Will it offend you if I pretend to be asleep? I’m really not up for talking to anyone else right now.”
“Of course not. Fake sleep away. I’ll let him get a good look at you, and then I’ll kick him out.”
“Best. Roomie. Ever.”
I close my eyes and roll onto my side—face toward the wall—while Macy goes to answer the door. I can hear a deep murmur from whoever is on the other side of the doorway, but I can’t understand the words.
It must be Macy’s dad, though, because she answers, “She’s fine. She just had some soup, and now she’s sleeping.”
More murmuring from that deep voice and then Macy offering, “Do you want to come in and see for yourself? Nurse Marise gave her a lot of medicine. She’s still drugged to the gills.”
There’s a little more murmuring, not much. And then Macy closes the door.
“Coast clear,” she says, but her voice sounds a little off.
“Hey, I’m sorry if I made you feel like you had to lie to your dad. If you want to call him back—”
“It wasn’t my dad.”
“Oh. Who was it, then? Cam?”
“No.” She looks a little sick as she admits, “It was Jaxon.”
I spring up in bed for the third time tonight. “Jaxon? He was here? Why didn’t you let him in?” I throw back the covers and climb out of bed, searching the room for my Chucks, but they’re nowhere to be found.
“I did invite him in. He’s the one who declined.”
“Because you told him I was sleeping.” I give up on the shoe hunt and head for the door.
“Where are you going?” Macy squeaks.
“Where do you think?” I pull open the door. “After Jaxon.”
36
No Harm,
All Foul
I charge out of our room, figuring I’ll catch Jaxon a few doors down. But the hallway is completely empty. Still, he couldn’t have gone far, so I take off toward the main staircase. Worst-case scenario, I know where his room is, even if a cleaning crew is currently in there.
I finally find him on the stairs, taking them three at a time. He’s not alone, though—Liam and Rafael are with him, and all three of them seem like they’re in a really big hurry.
I should probably let them go, but he’s the one who came to my room, not the other way around. Which means he wanted to see me.
It’s that thought that galvanizes me, that has me calling out his name as I move to the top landing.
He stops on a dime. All three of them do, and then they’re all staring at me out of the same blank eyes. I have a second to try to absorb the direct impact of all that male beauty and intensity—it’s a lot—before Jaxon is bounding back up the stairs.
Liam and Rafael watch for a second, their faces locked in that expressionless look I’m coming to hate. But then they both give me a little wave, plus Rafael adds a thumbs-up, before they turn away and bound down the stairs.
“What are you doing out here?” Jaxon demands, and just that quickly, he’s in front of me. Only his face isn’t blank. It’s livid with a mixture of self-loathing and regret, his eyes an incandescent black that has shivers sliding through me for all the wrong reasons.
“Macy said you were looking for me.”
“I wasn’t looking for you. I came to make sure you were okay.”
“Oh.” I hold out my arms, do a little self-deprecating shrug. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine.”