Page 18 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man

Once on the ground level, I ran out of the elevator and surveyed the lobby. Alex was nowhere to be found. I went straight to the bar. A flash of blond hair met my eyes, but I soon realized it was someone else. She wasn’t in here either.

Next, I headed for the front desk. The attendant was chatting with her co-worker, so immersed in her conversation, she didn’t notice me standing there. I cleared my throat to interrupt. There was no room for politeness at a time like this. She flashed me a dirty look.

“Excuse me,” I said. “I have an urgent matter and need to find someone who’s staying here. Can you tell me what room Alex Jones is in? Or maybe her room is under Alexandria.”

She didn’t look like an Alexandria to me. She looked like an Alex.

“I’m sorry.” The woman at the desk shook her head. “It’s against hotel policy to give out that information.”

“What if I leave my ID with you for collateral or something so you know I’m not an axe murderer? I really need—”

“I’m sorry. It’s not something I can divulge.”

What the hell do I do now? Running my hand through my hair, I let out a deep sigh. I smacked my hand against the counter in frustration before taking off.

I wandered around once again in search of the beautiful blonde who’d had me under a spell from almost the moment we met. Alex was probably wishing she’d never met me at all. It messed me up to think she might believe I could jump so quickly from my interest in her to a girl like Kyra. If Alex only knew that I’d thought of nothing but her all night, hating the fact that she’d intentionally separated herself from the rest of us “young people.” That comment irked me to no end.

I considered going upstairs to the fifth floor and randomly knocking on each door, but I thought better of that, considering how late it was. It would’ve crossed the line into desperation, although I wasn’t far off at this point. My best bet, I supposed, was staying put in the hopes she was still down here. I camped out in a seat that overlooked the elevators so I wouldn’t miss her.

How the hell do I not have Alex’s number?

That needed to be rectified as soon as I found a way to redeem myself.

As the minutes passed, I knew I should go to bed since we had to be up early tomorrow to work on the house. Then Alex and I both had to drive home in the afternoon. But if I couldn’t talk to her tonight, I wouldn’t get a lick of sleep.

Had I ever lost sleep over a woman? I couldn’t recall a time I had. Or maybe it was that I hadn’t met a woman worth losing sleep over. I wasn’t sure why the eight hours or so between now and the time I’d see her in the morning mattered so damn much, but they did. I hated the idea of her going to bed tonight thinking I was a scumbag. I somehow felt like a scumbag, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“What’s got you looking so down, son?” a man waiting for the elevator asked.

I decided to just let it out to this stranger. “I disappointed a good woman tonight because of a misunderstanding. And now I can’t find her to apologize properly for the thing she thinks I did, which I didn’t even do.”

He blinked. “I’m too tired to decipher that. But I hope you find some peace.”

“Me, too, man.” I placed my palms together in thanks. “Have a good night.”

After he disappeared into the elevator, I hung my head.

After a full hour downstairs, I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to get to explain myself tonight. Feeling defeated, I took the elevator back up.

I wandered the halls of the fifth floor a bit, but there was no sign of her. After returning to my room, I retreated to the bathroom and took the piss I’d been holding for way too long before tossing off my clothes and jumping in the shower.

As the hot water rained down on me, I tried to calm my mind, but remained focused on the fact that Alex was somewhere in this hotel hating on me right now. The look of disappointment on her face when she saw Kyra on her knees was etched in my mind.

You know how I knew I was upset? I couldn’t even jerk myself off as I normally might’ve in the shower. I was too preoccupied to get it up at the moment.

After I got out, I felt no better, not a bit refreshed. I still felt like the asshole Alex surely thought I was tonight.

I threw on a T-shirt and some gray sweatpants before lying down. The springs of the mattress on the uncomfortable bed pressed against my back. It was eerily quiet in my room, aside from the noise in my head. I contemplated turning on the TV, but what was the point? I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything anyway. So I just lay there, staring at my own pathetic reflection in the glass of the TV screen.

A few minutes later, a knock at the door caused me to sit up.

Without checking the peephole, I opened it. A long breath escaped me as I took her in—the beautiful blonde I’d been searching for all night. Alex looked neither happy nor sad. I couldn’t read her expression. “Thank God,” I muttered. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

She stepped into the room, and the door clicked behind her. She fiddled with her hands, but didn’t say anything.

“Remind me to get your phone number after we talk. Tonight would’ve been a lot easier if I’d had it earlier,” I told her. “Not that you would’ve answered me after what you thought happened.” I sighed. “How did you know which room was mine?”

“I asked the woman at the front desk.”

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