Page 24 of One Room Vacancy

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But desire isn’t the same as trust, and a nice forearm doesn’t erase a year of emotional whiplash.

I grab a rag from the bar, forcing myself to look unimpressed even as my pulse betrays me.

“You missed a spot.”

I try to act like it’s nothing, like my pulse isn’t thudding with memories I’ve tried hard to bury, but he leans just a little closer.

“Don’t worry, Sage. I’m a quick learner.”

God, I hate him.

God, I don’t.

Eventually, I step out from behind the bar to get some air. The back alley is quiet, so I lean against the brick wall and tip my head back.

Footsteps crunch behind me.

Of course.

“I didn’t mean to push,” Gabe says. “You just looked…off.”

“I’m not your problem,” I mutter.

He doesn’t leave. “You’ve been different,” he says after a beat. “I didn’t expect…this.”

“Well, welcome to consequences.”

Something flickers in his expression. He takes a step closer, then stops. “I’ve been trying,” he says. “Around the apartment. I thought maybe?—”

“Trying doesn’t erase what already happened.”

He swallows, and I can tell he wants to say something more. Instead, he just nods.

I brush past him to go back inside. As I reach for the door handle, I hear him quietly say, “I’m sorry.”

I pause but don’t turn around.

Because I remember the last time he said that.

Back in the bar, I shake off the memory like a drop of cold water.

Savannah catches my eye from her booth. “Like I said, not subtle,” she mouths.

I roll my eyes and turn back to the bar, leaving Gabe’s gaze behind me.

Because I’m not doing this again.

Not with him.

SIX

GABE

“She doesn’t hate you,” Liam says with an almost-laugh as he sits across from me at Andre’s, the mocking nature of his amusement at my vulnerability precariously perched on the edge of pissing me the fuck off.

“Oh, but she does.”

“No—she doesn’t. Trust me, I’d know.”

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