CHAPTER SEVEN
Saturday morning at seven a.m. sharp I waited on my front porch for Seth. I’d dropped Starlet off the night before at Rory’s apartment and then gone home to pack my bag.
Never once since booking that room did I regret my decision to do so. This was right. It made sense. Soon I would be over Seth, moving on so that I could focus on work and my friends without drifting off and spending every two minutes thinking about this guy I had no business being interested in.
Seth’s Jeep pulled up the drive. I stood a little straighter and tugged my tank top down. I’d dressed for a day in the woods, with leggings and hiking boots.
Seth jumped from the driver’s side, clad in his usual jeans and t-shirt.
Did his whole closet consist of one long row of identical jeans and his whole dresser stacks of plain shirts in varying colors?
He grinned at me and excitement coursed through me as I smiled back. “Hi,” I called, grabbing my bag and heading for the Jeep.
Seth opened the passenger’s side door for me. “How are you?”
“Great. Thanks for coming so early.”
He winked. “Again, I’m an early riser.” He took my bag from my hand. “Top up or down?”
“Down, definitely.”
He nodded and his eyes travelled down my body. “All right then.”
After stowing my bag and pulling the canvas down, we hit the road. I plugged the address into the GPS on my phone and settled back into my seat.
We flew through the streets of Chicago. Seth was a quick driver, and though his frantic pace made me a little nervous, I was also glad for it. I was ready to leave the city’s smog and noise far behind. It had been months since I took a proper weekend away. I looked forward to the screwing part of the weekend, but I also couldn’t wait for walks along the water and a massage.
“Thanks for coming with me,” I told him.
I kept my eyes on the road in front of us but felt his gaze on my face. “You’re welcome.”
“I guess I could have gone alone, but since I booked the place for two it seemed like a waste. I figured I might as well share it with someone.”
“It was nice of you to think of me.”
I couldn’t look at him, certain he knew I was lying and that I’d only just booked the retreat.
When we were finally out of the city, the quality of the air changed dramatically. The morning was already hot, the warm wind whipped at our faces and woke us more fully. With each mile, the businesses and homes became fewer and fewer. Strip malls and gas stations popped up and then vanished, slipping past us as meaninglessly as the lines beneath the tires. In no rush to get there, I had picked the GPS route that took us along winding country highways.
“This is beautiful out here,” I shouted over the roaring wind.
He nodded and smiled. God, he smiled a lot.
God, I liked it.
He better not smile while he’s screwing me.
Traveling with the top down meant there was too much noise to hold a real conversation, but that was just fine. I watched the trees go by and peered eagerly over each bridge we passed, soaking in the sight of creeks and rivers.
A gravel driveway looping through the woods took us to the lodge. A monolithic cabin, a mansion, sat on top of a hill. We parked to the side of it, the nose of the Jeep pointed out over the lake spread below us.
“Wow,” I breathed, the first word I’d spoken in over an hour. I’d barely looked at the pictures on the website, so the view came as a surprise.
“Yeah,” Seth agreed. “It looks great.”
The front door opened into a lobby highlighted by a large fireplace and a stuffed bear standing on his hind legs. I checked in, and a porter arrived to show us to our room on the second floor.
After the door shut and Seth and I were left alone, I turned to him. “Sorry, it’s just one room. I thought it was going to be me and my girlfriend...”
He walked past the two beds to open the curtains wider. “It’s all right. I would sleep on the floor just to stay in this place.”
I smirked and went to join him at the double windows. The view of the lake here was even better than in the parking lot.
“So what’s on the agenda?” Seth asked.
“Well, let’s see… there’s a massage this evening, right before dinner. And a canoeing lesson this afternoon.” I studied the brochure. “There are lots of hiking trails all around the place, and this says the lake is good to swim in. Did you bring a bathing suit?”
No answer.
I looked up at Seth. His hands were laced behind his head, and he gazed down at me from only about a foot away. All it would take for us to kiss would be a simple shuffling of our feet. How strange that I hadn’t even kissed him yet. I was going crazy from lust for the man, and the only time he had touched me was when he laid his hand on my wrist. He’d been so determined in the bar. Aggressive even, stopping me and asking for my number. But then, at my house, he seemed the exact opposite. Slow. Unnecessarily respectful. Tentative, even.
Which Seth would I see this weekend?
“This light is nice,” he said softly.
I stared back at him, his words the last thing I’d expected to hear. “Yeah?”
He nodded. “Yeah, it’s good morning light. Really soft on your face. I did bring my swim trunks, by the way.”
He turned and went for his bag. I stayed planted where I was, my legs shaking and my hands crumpling the glossy brochure.