Page 40 of Shift Change

He exhaled hard and muttered, “Motherfucker.”

Yeah, that about summed it up.

He shook his head and whispered, “It’s Riley.”

Riley yelled again. “I know you’re in there because we’ve looked all over the damn hotel. Let me in or I’ll tell the manager I think something’s happened to you.”

Shit, shit, shit.I held up a finger to keep Holky quiet and yelled, “Hold on. I’m coming.”

“Apparently not yet,” Holky whispered, giving me a wry smile.

I huffed. “I won’t let him in, so stay quiet.”

There was a big wet spot on my underwear, so I dug sweatpants out of my suitcase and pulled them on. Riley started pounding again.

The door had no safety chain, so I only opened it a few inches. “What is it? I was sleeping.”

He tilted his head, obviously trying to see as much as he could through the crack. “I see. Do you know it’s after eight?”

“Now I do. Thanks for the update.”

I started closing the door, but he shoved his foot between it and the frame. “Is Holky in there?”

My heart stuttered. “N-no. Why would you…” My cheeks burned, and I wanted to kick myself in the ass for being nervous. “Why would you even ask that?”

“Everyone’s downstairs hanging out except you two. We texted you both and got worried when you didn’t reply. Harpy asked Nels and me to see if we could find you.”

Shit. Would a posse be next? “Where is Nels?”

Riley’s lips twitched into a lopsided grin. “Checking out the first floor where the bar and shops are.”

I hoped that meant he wouldn’t show up here. “Well, Holky’s not in here.”

“Hm.” Riley narrowed his eyes. “He’s not in his room either. Get dressed so we can go downstairs. There’s plenty of pizza and beer, and it’ll be a good chance to do some bonding with us.”

A squeak of the bedsprings made my heart lurch.

“Come on,” Riley said. “You must be hungry.”

Obviously, the only way out of this was to go with him. “Okay. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Open up. I’ve got to piss, and it’s not like I haven’t seen you naked.” His voice was far too amused for someone supposedly in a bladder emergency.

I tried to sound casual, like I hadn’t just been about to kiss Nate Holcomb. “Uh… yeah, I need to use the bathroom right now. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Riley’s grin torqued into a full smirk. “I’m down the hall in 918. Finish your business and come get me. We’ll walk down together.”

Great. I have an escort now.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll be there soon.”

He still didn’t move. Eventually, I heard the shuffle of his foot leaving the threshold. “Room 918,” he repeated, as if he were talking to an idiot.

“Got it. I seriously have to go.”

The second the door clicked shut, I slumped against it and let out a slow breath. Holky was sprawled across the bed, grinning like a cat who’d just watched a canary dodge a bullet. “See something you like?” he asked.

“I can’t believe you’re still hard after that.”

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