Page 48 of That's the Way Rejection Goes

Roger pulled back, placing his hand on my cheek. “God… you’re just as beautiful as I remember.”

His gray eyes sparkled as he rubbed his thumb over my cheek. The touch was pleasant, but mostly I was in shock. It felt like a cold hand was gripping my heart, making it hard to breathe.

“Roger, I–”

I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine. And this time, the shock really set in. I just froze up. I didn’t kiss him back, and I wasn’t sure I even wanted to. Instead, my brain filled with a thousand different thoughts, each of them more confusing than the last. I didn’t understand what was going on or how it was even possible. At this point I was half convinced I’d fallen asleep at the desk and this was all some sort of fever dream.

But that’s when I heard the front door open again, the little bell tinkling. Without a hint of regret, I pulled away from Roger and held him at arm’s length. I looked up to see who was coming through the door and to my horror, it was Erick and Calum’s faces that I saw staring back at me.

Had… Had they seen Roger kissing me? Their expressions were mostly blank, although they seemed a bit fidgety. Granted, that could have been the cold. Erick was carrying a large box under one arm and Calum had his hand stuffed in his pockets, his shoulders hunched like the cold was getting to him. They didn’t seem upset, but usually they were smiling when they saw me. And right now, they werenot.

“We… uh… brought you lunch,” Erick said, gesturing to the box. “But you look kinda busy.”

I nodded, my brain still a whirlwind of confusion. “Uh… yeah.” I cleared my throat. “This is the new wolf that’s getting a room here.” I glanced nervously between them all. “Let me get him settled in and I’ll come up to your room so we can eat.”

“Sure,” Erick replied, all emotion missing from his voice. “See you up there.”

Calum, on the other hand, didn’t say anything. He only shot a dirty look at Roger before turning his gaze on me. A jolt of anxiety shot through my system as I saw the hurt in his eyes. It broke my heart to realize that yes, they had seen Roger kissing me. And Calum, being the sensitive boy he was, was far too hurt to even speak.

Together they crossed the room and got into the elevator, both of them making a point not to make eye contact with me. As soon as the door closed, that anxiety in my chest turned to anger. Heat flooded my system as I turned on Roger, my brows knitted together in fury.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Chapter Twenty-Three: Calum

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Erick muttered as the doors closed and the elevator began to move.

I just stepped closer to him, my head pressed against his shoulder. What was there to say? We’d walked into the hotel lobby to find Sam kissing another man, one we’d never seen before. Sam said he was a new tenant, but was that the truth? I’d never thought to distrust him before, but now I was wondering if that had been a foolish choice on my part. Was Sam the guy I thought he was, or did he lead some sort of double life? Or maybe it was our fault.

“Do… Do you think we did something wrong?” I asked as the elevator doors opened once more on the second floor. “Did we mess it up?”

“I don’t know,” Erick replied, shaking his head. “I knew there was a new rogue coming to the hotel this week, but I didn’t expect…” He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. “I just don’t know.”

I’d lost my appetite by the time we got back to our room. And judging by the fact that Erick put the box down and immediately flopped onto the bed, he wasn’t thinking about food anymore either. I went over to the bed and laid down beside him, knowing he was feeling just as bad as I was. However, I did reach down and lace my fingers through his, giving his hand a squeeze. He glanced over at me, a sad smile on his face telling me he appreciated the support. I knew it wouldn’t fix anything, but I wanted him to know I was there for him no matter what.

For a long time we just laid there, both of us staring at the ceiling. I found myself trying to come up with any excuse to let Sam off the hook, anything to stop myself from feeling so awful. I didn’t want to believe that Sam was hurting us on purpose. He didn’t seem the type to do such a thing. But at the same time, I’d seen him kissing another man. I couldn’t force myself into thinking he’d done it on purpose. So, instead, I decided to blame myself and try to figure out how I’d managed to push him away in the first place.

However, no matter how much I tried to blame myself, it didn’t make me feel any better. Eventually I could stand the silence no longer.

“So… who do you think that guy was?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Erick signed. “But obviously they know each other. Did you see the way he was looking at Sam? There was history there.”

“I guess so. Have you seen him before?”

“No. He’s not one of the tenants.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve been working the front desk, remember?” he snapped. “And he wasn’t at that poker tournament.”

I turned my head away, the bite in Erick’s words going straight to my heart. “S-Sorry.”

“No…” Erick sighed again, shaking his head. He reached over and grabbed my cheek, forcing me to look at him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. You didn’t deserve that. I’m just… I’m scared.”

“Me too. I don’t know what’s going to happen now.”

“I don’t either.”

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