After my shower, I threw on a clean black T-shirt and some gym pants. I normally slept in my boxer briefs, but I wasn’t sure if I would see Elodie again tonight. I turned on the TV and grabbed some pretzels I’d bought at the airport. I was just starting to get into a movie when Elodie sent me a text.Elodie: Hailey is out like a light. Wish I could fall asleep, too. She totally crashed. That swimming did her in.It did me in, too, just in a different way.Was she hinting for me to invite her to hang out in my room, or was she just giving me an update?
Without thinking it through, I typed.Hollis: I’m awake if you want some company.Chapter 20* * *ElodieI wasn’t expecting him to invite me next door. Don’t get me wrong—I was hoping he would, but Hollis rarely put himself in a position to be alone with me. So this was surprising. Although, Hailey was sleeping just over the wall, so I suppose he knew nothing could happen.
I quietly creaked open the door that connected our rooms before closing it.
Hollis stood by the window, looking down at the evening traffic on the street below. He turned around, seeming a bit tense.
“Hey.” I grinned.
He rubbed his hands together. “Hi.”
I looked over at the television. “Did I interrupt your movie?”
“Nah. I hadn’t gotten into it yet.”
I took a seat in the corner chair. I didn’t dare lie on the bed.
His eyes glossed over my legs, and his jaw ticked. I was wearing short sleep shorts and a T-shirt. I’d caught him checking me out numerous times at the pool, too. I loved catching him looking at me.
At this particular moment, he looked hotter than ever with his hair wet from the shower. He smelled like the aftershave I remembered from my panties. Just the thought of our game made my pulse race.
But it was like foreplay that had led to nothing. That whole experience was the polar opposite of what I encountered when I was with him—a relationship that was friendly at best.
Hollis moved over to the bed and kicked his legs up. He lowered the volume on the TV and said, “Your ex-husband seemed like a real douche.”
The fact that he’d brought up Tobias right now sort of surprised me.
“I didn’t think he was a douche for many years. I was quite smitten. He was my professor, after all. I had a lot of respect for him at one time. The whole person-of-authority thing can be very alluring. Student-teacher. Employee-boss. You know how it is.”
Hollis cracked a slight smile, but he didn’t touch my comment as it might have related to him.
He cleared his throat. “How often does he show up at your house unannounced?”
“He does it from time to time. A part of him still looks at it as his house. I try not to let him get to me anymore, though.”
“Shouldn’t he give you more privacy than that?”
“Well, there isn’t much to see lately. It’s not like he’s going to find me in any compromising situations.”
Hollis stared for a bit then asked, “Why has it been so long since you’ve been with anyone?”
My eyes widened. “Have you tried online dating, Hollis? It’s bad. I don’t want someone who’s just after a quick fuck, even if that’s all I need sometimes. It’s frightening out there. There are diseases and scary people. I don’t know. Sometimes I just don’t think I was made for this.”
“You were made to be with one man...”
“Yes. I have a lot to give someone, the right person. But I’m too apprehensive to take the necessary steps to find him, I guess. I suppose I thought I had found him in Tobias. But I was wrong. So now it’s like starting from square one.”
I decided to move the focus off me and satisfy some curiosity of my own. “You don’t think you’ll ever settle down?”
He blew out a breath. “No. I’ve made the decision to remain single. I had a bad experience in the one serious relationship of my life, and I haven’t had the desire to put myself in that position again.”
Wow. There was definitely a story there.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“I’d prefer not to.”
“Okay. I understand.”
God, I was so curious. Seeing that vulnerability peek through made me more attracted to Hollis. He wasn’t as cold as I’d originally thought; he was likely just protecting his heart.
I played with some lint on the arm of the chair and asked, “So, that woman from the other night...when I interrupted you... She knew exactly what she was there for? No expectations?”
“Yes. All the women I associate with are clear on the fact that I don’t want anything more than a sexual relationship. I’m open with every person I meet.”
“Do you meet them online?”