Chapter 13

Eli’s POV

‘Your ex is in town.’

Long after Chloe had walked out of my office, the word still hung above me, just below the ceiling and close enough for me to touch.

Marcus.

I had not heard that name in years. I shook my head because I knew it was a lie. I had heard it. I had just gotten very good at pretending I hadn't. I stared at the ceiling, trying to understand what I was supposed to feel: shock, annoyance, nostalgia. But instead, what I felt was something dangerously close to excitement.

Marcus and I never ended up because I stopped loving him. That was the part that I never told anyone. He cheated on me once, at least that was the one time I found out, and somehow, after hours of crying and one very long conversation that ended with both of us sitting across each other on his apartment floor, I forgave him

He sealed it with a kiss that turned into two and suddenly our clothes were off again and by morning I had forgotten why I was mad at him. I didn't know if that made me stupid. It probably did.

But Marcus had always been good at making me feel like I was the only person in the room. He was charming, beautiful, and wore confidence like a second skin. He was the kind of man who walked into a restaurant and somehow made everyone look up and that meant a lot to me because I was the boy that nobody ever paid attention to.

And when Marcus looked at me, I used to forget that anyone else existed. We eventually went our separate ways but it had nothing to do with the cheating.

Life had gotten complicated. His career as an entertainment took him in one direction and my career took me somewhere else. There was no screaming or dramatic final goodbyes just two people who loved each other and somehow realized that love would never be enough.

My phone rang. I glanced at the screen and my heart jumped into my mouth. Marcus.

I stared at his name for several seconds and then I answered.

I cleared my throat. “Hello?”

There was a beat of silence and the sound of the clock on my wall suddenly grew annoyingly loud.

“Hey Eli,” he said in that voice that had always been as smooth as silk and felt like it was wrapped in honey.

“How are you?” I asked trying to conceal the excitement in my voice.

“Damn, you still sound exactly the same.” he said and I laughed.

“Was I supposed to sound different?”

“I mean, I thought so but I hoped that you didn't considering how well you sound when you're beneath me.”

My stomach coiled in excitement, and I hated myself for that. “Marcus.” I said stiffly.

“Come on, I'm being honest.”

“You're still ridiculous.” I shook my head as a laughter bubbled to my throat.

“And you are still pretending like you don't like it.” I could imagine him leaning back on a chair right now, the sun casting a glow on his face and highlighting those hazel eyes.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Currently?” he asked back.

“Yeah.”

“Thinking about you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” he replied with laughter in his voice. “I got into town this morning.”

I heard. “Oh, Chloe told you already?”

“Mm-hm.”

I could practically see his smile. “So, are you going to let me see you?”

I hesitated. “I don't know,” I said carefully.

“Well, good thing that's not a no.”

“It's not a yes either.”

“Dinner?”

“I have to be up early for a shift.”

“Coffee?”

I grunted, trying to think about it.

“Drinks, then?”

“You are persistent, aren't you?”

“Come on, you used to like that about me.”

My stomach twisted, and I bit on my lower lip. “Fine. One drink.”

“Three.”

“One.”

“Five.”

I rolled my eyes. “Goodbye Marcus.”

“Okay, two.”

I smiled, “Fine.”

“Tonight.”

I looked towards the window and nodded. “Yeah, tonight.”

“Do you want me to pick you up?”

“No Marcus, just send me the location.”

“Fine. See you tonight. And wear that perfume you know I like,” he said and hung up before I could reply.

I hated how much I was grinning from ear to ear.

Two hours later, I was sitting across from Marcus in a dimly lit bar, wondering how it was possible for someone to still look the same after all this time. He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His hair had grown slightly longer and his new cut framed his face even better. His jaw was sharper, but his smile remained exactly the same.

“You're staring. You know it's rude, right?” he said looking up from his cup.

I looked away. “I was just trying to figure out why you haven't changed.”

“Well, I have always told you I'm a vampire. You didn't believe me. Not my problem,” he said and I laughed.

We fell silent, and then he randomly looked up and said. “I've missed that mouth.”

I choked slightly on my drink, and he grinned. “There it is, my good boy.”

“Stop,” I said in a whisper, looking around to remind him we were in public.

“I would stop if your cheeks weren't catching colors right now.” He slid his legs beneath the table and they rested on mine. The contact was minimal but it made my heart race.

“They aren't.”

“You know it's how it always was when I started with you.”

I stared down at my cup because he was right and I didn't have anything to counter him. We spent the next hour catching up. He told me about the tour, the cities he went to, the artists he met, the ridiculous parties and the hotel rooms that all had a souless feel to them and almost began to look the same. He told me about the artist he had wanted to sign who threw champagne bottles for a television.

I told him about work, about my patients and about my boring life. Everything, except the one thing that had been taking over my mind recently: Adam.

Marcus studied me over his glass. “You seem different.”

“How?” I asked resisting his eyes.

“I don't know,” he tilted his head. “Happier, I may say.”

I almost laughed. “You say it like it's a bad thing.”

“Is it?” he asked leaning forward, and his fingers brushed over mine on the table. I looked down at them and then back at him.

“Come back to my hotel,” he said in a low, gruff, inviting voice.

The words were casual but I knew exactly what he was asking. I should have said no, but instead I poured my drink down my throat and my fingers grabbed my jacket. “Okay.”

The hotel room felt familiar in a way that made my chest ache. Marcus closed the door behind us, and the really spacious room suddenly felt too tight. Despite the air conditioning, I felt heat wrap around me loosely.

“It’s been years since we were last in this position.” Marcus cradled my face with one of his palms and I leaned into it, inhaling deeply. He ran his thumb across my lips and carefully slid it into my mouth.

I sucked on his thumb without looking away from him.

“I have missed you,” he said as he leaned forward and ran his tongue against the side of my neck.

I exhaled heavily, feeling a bulge in my pants.

“Did you miss me too?” he asked, nibbling on my neck.

“Yes.” I threw my head back and a moan escaped my throat.

He slipped out his thumb from my mouth and crashed his lips against mine hungrily. His hands grabbed my waist and then my butt, and he kept on kissing me, moving backwards until my back was against the table.

He pushed me onto the table and took off his shirt. His hand started slipping into my pants. But then he stopped.

I blinked. “Is something wrong?”

“You're nervous,” he said.

“No, I'm not.”

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said, trying to kiss him back. But then my mind betrayed me, because all I could think about was Adam sitting in that hospital bed, him looking at me after apologizing, listening to me when I spoke, his voice and the way his eyes followed me when he thought I didn't notice, the warmth of his hands around mine.

Marcus pulled back.

“I'm sorry,” I said.

He studied my face. “This never happens.”

Unlike Marcus, those words did not come out arrogantly. He was confused and that's what even made it worse.

I looked away. “I just…”

“Is it work stress?”

“No, it's just been a long time.”

“So?” he asked.

“So maybe this was a bad idea,” I said, getting off the table and placing my buttons right.

He went silent then his expression changed. He watched me for a few more seconds as I stood there awkwardly. “There's someone else, isn't there?”

My heart kicked. “No,” I replied too quickly.

“That's not what your body says.”

“There is nobody,” I said.

“Then why are you somewhere else?”

I swallowed and looked out the window. The city was really busy beneath us. I heard a loud horn and a driver curse at someone.

He took a step towards me. “Who is it?”

“It's complicated.”

“That doesn't answer my question.”

I exhaled. “Marcus.

“Tell me.” He pressed. I shook my head and he laughed but there was no humor in it.

I sat at the edge of the bed and rubbed my hands over my face. “I don't know.”

“You don't know if there's someone else?” he asked. From the way he sounded, I knew he was getting angry. “What's his name?”

My heart stuttered and I didn't say it, because I didn't have to. I looked at the floor and for the first time, I wondered if my sister was right. Maybe I was really losing my mind.

A month ago, when Adam had first come into the hospital and I had seen him on that bed, I didn't want anything to do with him. I wished that he had died on that ice, because that was what he deserved after years of making high school hell for me.

Now I was sitting in a hotel room with one of the hottest men who has been in my pants and somehow the only person I could think about was Adam.

“I should leave,” I said and I got up.

“I will see you some other time, Eli.” Marcus said as my hands wrapped around the door knob. “And you better be ready for me.”

I sighed. He was really never one to give up.