He scoffs and peeks over at me. “Figures.”
Fighting back a smile, I sink into my seat and turn to stare out of the window as we drive through the streets of Miami. A little piece of me hopes the city will bring a memory back but as we ride to the hotel in silence, my mind is still as blank as the day I woke up in the hospital. When we reach the hotel, Sawyer parks in front of the office and leaves the truck running to run inside and get us a couple rooms while I power on my phone and send Mercedes a quick text to let her know we’re spending the night in a motel. As soon as I know the message was delivered, I turn my phone off again without waiting for her reply. Earlier today, before Gavin even got home from work, I turned off my location and spent hours online figuring out how to turn off the “Find my iPhone” app but I still don’t want to take any chances of Gavin finding me before I have a chance to figure some things out.
The door to the office swings open and Sawyer stalks out with a scowl on his face before stomping over to his door and yanking it open. I arch a brow and study him as he climbs behind the wheel and lets out a heavy sigh. He mentioned that he has been up and driving for almost twenty-four hours now and I can see that catching up to him pretty quickly.
“So apparently,” he growls. “There’s some big convention thing in town and they only have one king bed left.”
“Okay…” What exactly is he suggesting? That we share a bed? Heat creeps up my neck as I think about lying next to him in bed.
“We can try somewhere else if you want?”
I shake my head to clear my thoughts and sigh. “No. If there’s something going on in town, I don’t think we’ll have much luck anywhere else. Besides, it’s getting really late.”
“True,” he answers, nodding his head. He runs his hand over his face as he sighs. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”
He leaves me in the truck as he runs back inside and after a few moments, he walks back out with a key in his hand before driving us to our room around the back of the U-shaped building. Once we’re parked, he hands me the key before rounding the back of the truck to grab our bags. I unlock the door and step inside as I look around. As far as motel rooms go, it is average with a large king-sized bed in the middle of the room, a couch against the adjacent wall, and a round table with two chairs in front of the window next to the door. My gaze falls on the couch again and I scoff. Sawyer is a big guy and there is no way in hell he is going to fit on that tiny little couch.
“How is it looking in here?” he asks and I glance over my shoulder as he walks into the room and sets the bags down. He is so close that the scent of his cologne envelops me and I turn back to the room as I close my eyes and take a deep breath. God, he smells good. It is subtle but an incredibly masculine scent that makes me think of things I should not be thinking right now when my life is such a damn mess.
“Not great.”
“I’ll take the couch.” He steps up next to me and his arm brushes my shoulder. Sucking in a breath, I peek over at him as my belly does a little flip.
“It’s way too small for you.”
Meeting my gaze, he smiles - this cocky but still kind smile that does all sorts of crazy things to my insides.
“I’ll make it work.”
I nod, unable to break eye contact with him. My heart thunders in my ear and my skin tingles as I turn toward him, once again my body moving without permission. His brows knit together and his lips part as he faces me, his gaze dropping to my lips before falling further to the curve of my neck.
“We…uh,” he says, his voice deeper and full of gravel. “We should get some sleep. I was planning on getting an early start tomorrow.”
Releasing a breath, I nod. “Right.”
He takes a step back and looks at the floor, killing the moment and I suck in a breath as a blush creeps up my cheeks. I turn to my suitcase and grab the handle before turning back to him and pointing to the bathroom.
“I’m just going to go change.”
“Yeah, okay… me, too.”
We stare at each other for a second before I force myself to walk away from him and roll my suitcase into the room. As soon as the door is closed and locked, I brace my hands on the edge of the sink and glance up at my reflection. For a week, the girl looking back at me has been a stranger and even though that’s still true, she looks lighter. There’s no confusion in her eyes or stress on her face because away from Gavin, I have the freedom to take my time figuring out who I am now - memories or not. I flash myself a smile as I push off the counter and open my suitcase. My pajamas are sitting on top - a pair of soft cotton shorts I’ve had since college and a white tank top. Biting my lip, I peek over my shoulder at the door and consider finding something else to sleep in. When I packed this morning, I had intended on being alone or with Mercedes when I wore this and the shorts are, admittedly, on the little side but before I can overthink it too much, I strip off my clothes and slip into my pjs before throwing my dark hair up into a messy bun.
Turning back to the mirror, I press my hands to my belly and rise up on my tiptoes to check the length of the shorts. They hit me at the top of the thigh but as I spin to check the back, I’m happy to see that none of my ass is hanging out. I turn back to face the mirror with a shrug and ruffle the bun on top of my head until it looks cute. As I’m inspecting myself again, I stop and shake my head. Crap. Why do I even care if I look cute for this guy? I’m certain that my attraction for him is nothing more than a week full of confusion and heartache urging me to seek out something uncomplicated because that is what I need right now. Sighing, I close up my suitcase and turn toward the door.
“Are you decent?” I call out and his light, husky laugh sends a rush of warmth sweeping through my body.
“Yeah, darlin’. I’m decent.”
I step out of the bathroom and he looks up from where he’s sprawled out on the couch in a pair of mesh shorts and a wife beater. More tattoos decorate his tan skin and his large muscles bunch and flex as he moves. His gaze immediately drops to the bronzed skin of my thigh and his lips part as one brow shoots toward his hairline. I can feel his eyes as he slowly drags them back up to my face and when we connect, the look he flashes me makes me feel like I’m on fire. I’ve never felt sexier than I do right now in some of the oldest, rattiest clothing I found in my closet.
Okay…
So, maybe there is something more to this than I thought.
“Uh… so I was, uh, thinking we should try to get out of here around seven and that should get us back to Baton Rouge around eight or nine.”
I nod. “Sure.”
“‘kay.” He nods and our eyes meet across the room. My heart is pounding so damn hard that I’m certain he can hear it on his side of the room and when his gaze falls to my chest, I suck in a breath. God, I can’t even imagine how good it would feel to kiss him but I sure as hell want to find out. No. What am I thinking? This is the last thing I need right now.
“Goodnight, I guess,” he says, cutting off my thoughts and my head jerks in agreement as I turn toward the bed and pull back the covers. When I was in middle school, I had this huge crush on this boy named Johnny but every time I tried to talk to him, I ended up tripping or mumbling or stuttering. Basically, I was a mess and there is something about Sawyer that makes me feel the exact same way. Maybe it is just because of everything I’ve been through recently or maybe it’s more. Honestly, I don’t know but I’m not going to figure it out tonight, that’s for damn sure.