“I don’t talk about who I voted for, I don’t talk about who is in power, and I also don’t talk about whatever political shit is going on,” I huff out and touch the screen to speed up one more notch. “Ever.”
“Why?” he asks. I look over at him, and if I wasn’t such a great runner, I would trip over my feet. He picks up his shirt, showing me his abs, and wipes his forehead with it. “I think it’s healthy for democrats and republicans to talk things through.”
“Said every single democrat until you show them the other side of the coin, and then you’re the asshole,” I point out. Even though I’m not a republican, I’m not going to tell him this.
“So you’re a red pin,” he says, almost shocked. “You live in LA, you’re a woman, a smart woman,” he starts to say. I stop the machine and turn to look at him while he continues.
“This, this right here is why I won’t talk about politics,” I tell him, grabbing the bottle of water and taking a long drink, my chest rising and falling. “That and I dumped my last boyfriend at the voting poll.” I shrug my shoulders. “I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”
“You dumped him at the voting poll?” Tyler asks incredulously. “Like you went there and said, ‘babe, which way you voting?’ and then when he tells you”—his laughter gets louder—“you left him?”
I roll my eyes at this and cross my arms over my chest. “No, not like that.” I try to make it seem like it wasn’t like that even though it was close. “He didn’t have all the facts,” I tell him, and now he stops running and looks over at me. “He was voting because of one freaking policy, which, by the way, would never have made it to the House.”
“Did you wait for him to vote before you dumped him, or did you do it before you walked in?” he asks, egging me on and thinking this is a huge joke.
“Does it really matter when I did it? The outcome would be the same. We were growing apart anyway,” I lie, knowing full well it was just starting. I had even left a toothbrush at his place. I really thought he would be the one and then, okay, maybe he was the one, but we had a good time. He made me laugh.
“You’re lying,” he says, looking straight at me with his hands on his hips, “and you’re also a democrat.” He places his hand over his chest, proud of himself.
I roll my eyes and then turn the treadmill back on. Grabbing my earbuds and plugging them in, I ignore him and the laughter that is filling the room now. He doesn’t say anything either as he turns away and continues his run. We run side by side, neither of us saying anything but watching the same thing. When the phone beeps in front of me, I start my cool down. I pull the buds from my ears, and it’s then I hear another voice.
“Here you go.” I turn to the side and see that Cassie is here, dressed in black pants that fall right at her ankle and a pink silk top. “I didn’t know you were going to be here this morning, but when I went to your room, it was empty.”
He doesn’t say anything. He just nods. I look over. “You should invest in a collar.” I smile at her while she glares at me. She obviously didn’t know I was the one next to him. I grab my water bottle and take sips as my heart rate returns to normal. “They sell the little ones with a bell on it so you’ll know exactly where he is. If I’m not mistaken, you can even track it on your phone. Kind of like find my iPhone except it’ll be where is Tyler.”
I grab a towel at the front and walk out, not bothering to turn around to see her response. Once I’m back in my room, I take a shower. Slipping into the hotel robe, I walk to the sink to blow-dry my hair, then tie it in a low ponytail, and curl the ends. Keeping my makeup minimal, I add just a touch of eyeshadow and mascara. I grab my cream-colored pants and slip them on. They pleat in the front and land at the ankle, so I roll them up twice to give it a cuff. Grabbing my olive long-sleeved V-neck shirt, I pull it over my head and tuck it in. I roll the big sleeves up to the elbow, then wrap the taupe Hermes belt around my waist. I get up and put my black sandals on, the thick strap across the toes and the thick band tying around my ankle. My phone beeps, letting me know it’s time to head downstairs, so I grab my purse and head to the elevator.