Inked: A Driven World Novel (The Driven World), стр. 23
Everyone keeps telling me that I’m a different person now. But one thing goes wrong in my life and I fall back into old habits. Habits that took too long to break and a lifetime to regret.
I’m done with regrets. I’ve got a truckload that weigh me down on a daily basis. I do not need any more. Especially any that include a smooth-talking man with an addictive British accent.
Everything was fine until he rolled over and fell asleep. I was perfectly distracted, he took me away from everything that’s been eating at me, but then it was over and all that was left was the girl I hated.
So, I did what I thought was for the best. I somehow got myself dressed and stumbled from the room. I liked to think it was somewhat elegant, but the reality of it was that I’d drank half a bottle of Macallan, so I probably bounced off each wall as I made my way toward the door.
I’m sure I must have woken him up in the process, but that he decided to keep his mouth shut. After all, it would stop him from having to deal with the awkwardness that was inevitable this morning when we woke and he thanked me for a great night before walking away without a second thought. Or even worse, him sneaking out before I woke.
I know what I was to him. A one-night stand. If he was interested in anything else then he wouldn’t have taken me straight to a hotel room. He’d have brought me home, given me a kiss to remember him by and asked me out on a date. But he didn’t. He got me to the closest bed and allowed me to dive headfirst into the perfect distraction. Alcohol and sex.
I’m such a fucking idiot.
“Harlow?” Bailey’s voice calls through the house seconds after the front door slams shut.
I wasn’t surprised to find it empty when the taxi dropped me off sometime before dawn. Bailey makes a hobby out of spending her weekends in anyone’s bed but her own.
Her footsteps thunder up the stairs as she calls out again, and I know my solitude is coming to an end.
I rush to wipe the tears from my cheeks, expecting her to come crashing in at any moment. I don’t think for a second that it’ll cover up the fact that I’ve been crying. I’m sure my red-rimmed eyes will tell her everything in a flash.
She gets closer before the door handle twists and she pokes her head inside.
“Here she is. Did you have a—Fuck, what’s wrong?” She races over, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her brows pulled together as she looks over my face, trying to find signs for why I’m so upset.
I blow out a breath as I try to figure out how to answer that question. Bailey has been by my side through everything, she knows all my dark and dirty secrets, but watching it is very different to actually experiencing it. She tries to understand, but it’s hard. She can tell me all she likes that things are different now, that I’m different, but it’s hard to believe it when I fall back into old habits like last night.
“N-nothing. I’m just regretting last night.”
“Do not tell me that he was bad in bed. That man screams sex god. If you tell me that my sex-o-meter is off, I’m going to be seriously pissed.”
“No, it’s not that. He was…” Her eyes widen in excitement. “Fine. I just shouldn’t have done it.”
She moves after a second and sits on the floor with her back against the wall.
“Why not? You deserve to have some fun. And it’s not like you did it with some random guy who was only interested in one thing.”
“Didn’t I? I feel like I’ve just taken five giant steps back.”
“Harlow, stop,” she begs. “This is nothing like that. You are not that person anymore.”
“I had a one-night stand in a hotel, B.”
“You’re making it sound like you did something seedy. You didn’t. Corey wasn’t just some random guy, and he clearly didn’t just want to get his leg over and move on.”
“How’d you figure that out?” I ask, interrupting her.
“Because he was at that bar thirty minutes after I messaged him. He wanted to see you again, even though you ran out on him the night before. If he only wanted a quick roll in the sheets, I’m sure there would have been some hussy he could have picked up without the threat of being kicked to the curb once again.”
“I guess.”
“There’s no ‘I guess’ here. He wanted you. He jumped at the opportunity of a second chance.”
“But he took me to the closest hotel with only one thing in mind.”
“So? There could be a million reasons why he didn’t take you elsewhere. He might live with his mother or something.” I raise a brow at her. “Okay, yeah, he doesn’t seem like a mommy’s boy, but you never know.”
“So what are you suggesting here exactly?”
“I’m saying you shouldn’t write him off. Call him, see if he wants to meet up again.”
“No, I don’t think—”
“Don’t forget him before you have any solid evidence, H. He could be the one.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“You didn’t let me finish… he could be the one to help remind you how good men can be.”
I bark out a laugh and flick some bubbles at her when she stands and steps toward the door.
“I’m just saying, have an open mind. He might be the one, or he might not be. Everything happens for a reason. You fell into him for a reason.”
She slips from the room, leaving me with that little bit of advice to dwell on.
I sink back into the rapidly cooling water and close my eyes.