Page 12 of Obsession on Repeat
I walked away, the taste of his kiss burning on my lips, and the sound of the camera shutter ringing in my ears.
My alarm shrieked at 9:30. I smacked it and rolled over with a groan. I stretched, letting the sheets tangle around me before I finally opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling.
First thought: Sullivan.
Second: coffee.
I frowned. He hadn’t shown up at the club last night. He dropped me off at my apartment… and vanished. No text. No call. No message through Alice. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did. He was too close, and then suddenly, too far.
Yawning, I shuffled into the kitchen in black shorts and a tank, letting the hum of the coffee maker fill the silence. A few minutes later, I settled on the couch, mug in hand, scrolling through the usual half-dead morning channels. I should’ve been asleep. Venom didn’t close until three, but I’d stayed later than I needed to, long after my set, long after Alice told me to go home, because some pathetic part of me thought he might show up.
He didn’t.
Sighing, I clicked off the TV and tossed the remote onto the coffee table. "I’m an idiot," I muttered. The apartment didn’t argue.
I sat there for a minute longer, then pushed up from the couch. In the bedroom, I changed into exercise pants and pulled a jacket over my sports bra. Running always helped. It didn’t solve anything, but at least the pavement didn’t ask questions.
5
Iwasdrippingwithsweat when I returned. I approached my apartment with my head down, focused on retrieving my key from the inside of my bra. Someone coughed. I looked up to see Sullivan leaning against my door frame, amused at having caught me with my hand down my shirt.
"It’s not what it looks like." I pulled my hand free. "I’m looking for my key."
"Do you always hide your keys in your underwear?"
"Only when I’m feeling kinky. Give me a minute." I eyed him as he moved away from the door frame. I angled my body, grumbling under my breath. "And no peeking."
"Are you sure you don’t want any help?"
Smiling victoriously, I pulled out the key. "I can search my breasts fine on my own, thank you." Ireached the door, doing my best to ignore him standing so close to me. "You weren’t at Venom last night."
"I had a busy day with my management team, so I decided to get some rest."
I concentrated on sliding the key into the lock. "Alice told me she hadn’t seen you."
"Really? That’s interesting. I could have sworn Alice told me she had Saturdays off."
I flung open my door at the same time I brought my gaze to his. "Since when do you know about Alice’s off days?"
His eyebrows rose at the suspicious tone in my voice. "I started asking about yours, and she voluntarily told me."
"If you have a question about me, you can ask me, not someone else. You don’t see me going online when I’m curious about you, do you?"
"You probably don’t own a computer," he chuckled.
"I do too!" I objected, turning to face him in the doorway. He started laughing, and it took me by surprise. "Why are you laughing? This isn’t funny."
"I’m sorry, Rory."
"Then stop laughing."
He coughed as if a move to stop the next laugh from coming out and cleared his throat. "I’m sorry; you’re too adorable, staring up at me all…" He sighed, reaching out to stroke the side of my face. "You’re angry with me."
"I’m not angry," I grumbled.
"Yes, you are, but it’s okay. I only wanted to see you. I’m sorry if I bothered you."
"You’re leaving?"
