Page 22 of Room Service
I hold the note to my chest and pick up the single white rose, bringing it to my nose as I inhale.
I read the note again. His words hit me right at my core, over and over.
Peace. It’s what I truly crave, what I yearn for, to have a life filled with experience, contentment, all the while being at peace with who I am.
Maybe Dorien was my stepping-stone towards that, and even as my heart sinks at the thought of never seeing him again, I know that he may just have come into my life at the right time. And maybe him leaving is meant to be, too.
Whatever the reason, I will always be able to look back on last night as the start of something new, something exciting, and something that will remain in my memories forever.
And if the next man I may fall in love with, date, or just simply fuck doesn’t give me what he did, then I know it’s not worth it.
He’s shown me what it’s like to be worshipped even as he made me kneel and called me a “good girl”. It wasn’t patronising, it was freeing. Pleasant. Needed.
Elise Woods is going to emerge from this room a less broken woman than she was before she got here.
Chapter Twenty
ELISE
“You did not…” Celeste says as she looks at me with wide eyes over our lunch break. I’ve just given her a brief rundown of the last twelve hours, and to say she’s shocked would be an understatement. “What the fuck, Elise?”
I can’t even find it in me to scowl at her, because the smile on my face won’t allow me to.
“Damn,” she remarks as I sip my coffee. “Well, it’s about bloody time. I mean, I know I’ve been telling you to get some decent sex for years, but… shit, this is like the start of a dirty fucking fairy-tale.”
I roll my eyes at her. “Stop it. It was just one night of sex.”
“Please, this was not just sex. Look at you… it’s like you slept with a fucking hanger in your mouth.”
I can’t help but laugh at her.
“It’s good to see, Elise, and it’s long overdue,” she tells me, her voice a little softer.
“I know,” I agree. “I can’t tell you how alive I feel today, despite the way my body aches from what he did.”
“I gotta meet this guy,” she says, but I know that will never happen. He’s gone, and a little part of me will probably forever wonder where he flew off to.
“He won’t be back,” I tell her.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do, and that’s okay. He gave me an outlet, and for that I will always be grateful.” I know deep in my heart that I’ll never see his face again. Never get to stare into his eyes as they captivate me in ways I’ve only ever imagined.
“It’s not over, you mark my words,” Celeste says adamantly, forever the romantic at heart.
I bypass her comment, because there is no point in trying to convince her otherwise, not when she’s as stubborn as they come and will argue that my mystery man will return in the not too distant future.
“I need to ask you a favour,” I begin, but she holds her hand up in front of her face to stop me from saying anything else.
“Girl, you don’t even need to ask. Of course you can stay with me. We can go pick up your things after work, and you can finally start the ball rolling with divorcing that wanker’s arse.”
“Wow, you’ve thought more about this than I have,” I say, keeping my tone light.
“I highly doubt that.” She gives me a pointed look before she continues. “The sooner you’re out of his clutches, the better. And this has been a long time coming.”
“It has,” I agree. I checked my phone earlier to see if any messages were waiting for me, but there was nothing. Derrick probably thinks I’ll stroll through the door later to make him food like nothing happened last night. “Come on,” I say with a sigh as I push myself up from the table and grab my rubbish to put in the bin. “Let’s get the rest of this shift over with.”
* * *
