Page 16 of One Weekend in Boston

I needed to get back up to the room. I'd wasted enough time, and if I didn't relieve Matthew's teammate soon, someone would call security. There was only so much walking around the man could do in a fancy hotel like this before someone thought he was staking out a room. We didn't need to draw attention to ourselves. In fact, I should never have left the room in the first place but it kinda felt like Shannon maybe needed the extra space.

I rode the elevator up and was met by Josh as soon as I turned the corner.

"Any problems?" I didn't think there would be considering Josh had explicit instructions to get Shannon out and then call me. As far as I could tell, neither happened, but I asked anyway.

"Nope. Your girl didn't even pop her head outside."

Shannon wasn't my girl, but I wasn't about to tell Josh that. Things were complicated enough.

"Thanks. I appreciate you coming over."

"Anything for Matthew. If you need me, just text. I'll just be outside." Josh was gone before I could formulate another response.

One of the first things my brother told me when he texted was that someone would be watching the hotel around the clock until further notice. Why he hadn't said anything in front of Shannon was beyond me but maybe it was for the best. Her hiding in the bathroom for over an hour was a clear indication things weren't okay.

I just didn't know how to make things better. This was uncharted territory for me. Not one-night stands; I had plenty of those over the years. I even had a few casual relationships but none of them made me feel this overwhelming need to protect the person I was with. I couldn't put my finger on it but Shannon was different. My heart knew it the second she stepped with me into my room last night. It was my head that was fighting it off.

When it was clear I had spent too long lingering in the hallway, I walked up to the door and used the key card to scan myself in. I expected Shannon to still be hiding away in the bathroom. Instead, I found her waiting for me with her legs crossed underneath each other in the middle of the bed and her hands resting casually by her side.

"Hey," I said.

Really? That's the best I can come up with?

"I think we need to talk."

The words no man ever wanted to hear. I approached the bed slowly and took a seat on the edge. Shannon was sitting directly in the center so there was plenty of space between us.

"Is everything okay?"

When I first realized she was hiding in the bathroom, I planned to joke with her when she got out. The joke lost its appeal at the hour mark and was nonexistent at this point.

"No," Shannon said with exasperation in her tone. "That look right there is the problem."

Well, now I was really confused. I had no idea what look she could possibly be talking about. I was worried about her. Worried that I did something wrong. Maybe pushed her too far too fast. We’d known each other for barely twenty-four hours and now she was stuck with me for the foreseeable future. That could be a lot on any person.

"What look?" I realized I sounded like an idiot. And the confusion probably wasn't helping matters, but I couldn't fix something when I didn't know what the problem was.

"The look of defeat. Like someone walking the plank with no hope of being rescued, or maybe someone on their way to the guillotine."

"Wow. That's a very morbid picture you painted there. Not sure I like where your mind went."

I hadn't thought I lookedthatbad but maybe I needed to look in the mirror or find a way to fix my face. Neither of those scenarios was how I felt, although maybe defeated was an accurate description. I didn't want Shannon to regret trusting me and her hiding away had bruised my ego a bit.

"Yeah, well, your expression is a bit morbid. I know I spent longer in the bathroom than necessary, but I just needed some time to come to terms with some things."

If Shannon thought she was making me feel better, she was sadly mistaken. Every word that came out of her mouth only made the rock sitting in my stomach grow bigger and bigger. But I let her continue before I interrupted and said something just to fill the space.

Shannon filled her lungs with air a few times and let it out slowly. It reminded him of those breathing exercises people used when they were having a panic attack or maybe needed to calmdown. I didn't have the slightest idea which it could be. I was in remote waters with rocky seas and no life jacket in sight.

"I think you can agree a lot has happened since we met in the bar last night." I nodded even though I didn't think she was asking a question of me. "We agreed on one night and here we are the next day, in a new hotel room and not having gone our separate ways. That's fucking with my head a little."

I opened my mouth, but Shannon stopped me with a finger to my lips. "Let me get this out before you say anything." I nodded again.

"Yes, we agreed to one night, but I think I knew even before I tried to slip away this morning that this would be more than that. I felt something with you that I've never felt before. That scared me, so running away sounded like a pretty good idea. Then you insisted on being a gentleman and escorting me to my room. Selfishly, I didn't fight too hard because what could a few more minutes with you hurt? And now this. My head knows letting you help me is smart. My heart is conflicted because the last time I let a man close to me, I ended up here. So yeah, I'm one big ball of messed up and I needed a minute to stall. Not that it helped."

That was a lot to take in. I was glad she wasn't having regrets, but I wasn't sure if how she felt was any better. Shannon wasn't staying with me because it was what she wanted. She didn't wake up and choose me. She was there because her life was in danger and I just happened to be able to help her. Was that a strong enough foundation to start something on? But first I had another question for her.

"Why didn't it help?"

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