Sitting on the edge of the tiny bed that Merritt and I shared for the better part of a week, I’m really going to miss this place. Looking at the door to the room and the spot where we first laid eyes on each other, I never thought I’d feel the way I do about him, but he’s shown me so much and proved to me that maybe not all men are alike.

This week has been such a whirlwind. It has flown by; from body shots, to being kissed in the forest, to a game of Truth or Dare like no other, to watching the clouds roll by, and to the most mind-blowing sex, it’s all been the best, and I’ll always hold those memories close to me. For Christ’s sake, he saved my life.

“You ready?” Merritt asks me, popping into the room.

“I am.” I take his hand, and he yanks me off the bed. “I’m gonna miss your lips.”

“Just my lips?” I tease him as he kisses me.

“Yup…that’s all.”

I smile and follow him as we head downstairs to say goodbye to everyone.

“Thank you for such an amazing trip,” I tell Ari as I hug him and unfortunately squeeze a little bit too hard. He winces from the pain. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Anytime, Quinn, you know that.”

Smiling back at him, I say my goodbyes to everyone else. “Call me as soon as you’re home,” Willow orders me and hands me back my cell phone.

“I will.” Taking it back from her, I realize I really don’t want it. This time away from obsessing over my phone has been so unbelievably refreshing. But this trip is only a week; now it’s back to the real world and real life.

“What time is your flight?” I ask Merritt as I hug him and he says, “Two-thirty.”

“I’m gonna miss you.”

He cups my face looking deep into my eyes. “You still have to drive me to the airport, so you’re not rid of me yet.”

I smile, and we look around the house one last time. Then head outside where we all load up and go our separate ways. As the other group leaves, Merritt and I sit in my car, so many emotions running through me. First of all, I hate goodbyes and even though I only wanted a week, the thought of ending things here with him is hard. I plug my phone in and exhale.

He takes his hand and rests it atop my knee reading me well, “Thank you for everything, Quinn. I’m really gonna miss you.”

“Of course. I’m sorry,” I apologize as tears fill my eyes. “I just hate goodbyes.”

“This doesn’t have to be goodbye,” he says, and a part of me doesn’t want things to end. It’s not fair of me to place him in the same group as all of the other men I’ve been with. He’s different; he’s proved that time and time again. So would it be so bad to give things a shot?

Looking into his sexy eyes, I’m reminded of all the things he’s done for me, from saving my life, to my bracelet, to cuddling in the world’s most uncomfortable tiny bed. To the hours on end, we’d just talk…about nothing and everything all at the same time.

But before I can answer him, my phone chimes on and the familiar noise draws my eyes to it. Tell your boyfriend he better watch his fucking mouth and man up saying what he emailed me to my face. I blink processing the text as another, and another chime comes through.

“What’s the matter?” Merritt asks me.

The familiar stomach churning feeling of betrayal that I have grown to know so goddamn well rains down upon me. How is this possible? What does he even mean?

“Quinn?” Merritt asks me again and then it hits me.

I checked my email from his iPad when he was in the hospital with Ari. “Did you email my fucking ex?” He shifts in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. “Did you?” I ask again, this time more agitated.

“I did, I saw the email he sent to you and had to.”

Jesus Christ, he’s just like every other man out there. And just when I was beginning to think that he was different, he’s not. I’m not even with him, and he’s already gone behind my back and done something to hurt me.

“Why wouldn’t you have told me?”

“The things he said to you were so awful.”

“They are just words. It wasn’t your place; responding is what he wanted. It’s giving in to him. I even blocked his phone number, and he keeps using other numbers to contact me.”

“That’s why I contacted him—he’s a bitch and needs to be put in his place.”

“You don’t know him, Merritt; there’s no putting that man in his place…trust me.”

“I could with my fist!”

“But it’s not your place. Don’t you see that? This is just another reason why I need to be single. I don’t need anyone making choices for me.” Starting my Jeep, I pull away from the house and head towards the airport. I don’t want him to miss his flight. He’s quiet as I drive. I don’t think either of us saw things ending this way, which is funny because there wasn’t supposed to be anything between us to begin with.

We knew at the end of the week our time would end and that is exactly what it’s come down to.

Stopping at his terminal, he reaches for the door handle. But doesn’t get out. He leans over the center console and cups my cheek, his warm hands so soothing against my skin, but I fight the feeling. “Just so you know, last week was one of the best of my life, and I was only trying to help you with the email…Goodbye, Quinn.”

He kisses me one last time and stupidly, I let him. He ignites so many emotions inside my belly and then just like that…he’s gone.

The pain of watching him walk away hurts so much. I’ve grown to like our time together more than I’d realized, and in a way…depend on him. But I remind myself that we can’t be together. He’s got a busy life as do I, neither of us has time for a relationship.

Sitting here, I realize just how lonely of a life I lead. Merritt’s words that last week was one of the best of his life is just how I feel. And even though I’m mad as hell at him and as much as he says he was trying to help me and thought what he was doing was right…it wasn’t. The truth is, he didn’t tell me. He just swept it under the rug. I find some peace in reminding myself of that as I drive home.

If he could so easily brush that away, he’d do it again and again in a heartbeat. I made a decision to focus on myself after my ex broke up with me and that is exactly what I’m going to keep doing.

* * *

“I’m home,” I tell Willow as she answers her phone on the first ring.

“Oh, good, was the drive okay?”

“Yeah, not too much traffic.” Opening the door to my quiet condo, everything is as it was when I left it. “You guys make it home yet?”

“Almost, maybe another thirty minutes or so.” Willow and Ted live down south in Colorado Springs, which is about an hour from me.

“All right, well, I’m gonna unpack and do some laundry before heading to my parents’ for dinner.”

“Tell them we said hi.”

“I will. I…I might also shut my phone off tonight.”

“Why?”

“My ex, he keeps calling and texting me, I need a break from it.”

“Don’t do that, Quinn. Put a stop to it. Call and have your phone number changed.”

“I’ll think about it, I promise. Bye, babe.”

I hang up my phone and then power it down. I think it’s come to that point, where I need to just turn it off. And in all honesty, Willow might be right; I might need to change the phone number too. Even if it is a pain in the ass, the comfort of knowing he can’t call me will be worth it in the end.

Unzipping my suitcase, I begin to sort through all my clothes so I can run a load of wash and I notice the sash that Merritt used as a blindfold on me is tucked to the side of my bag. Slowly, I pull it out and written across it in what looks like thick black marker is his phone number. The memories of our time together all come flooding back to me. God, we had fun, so much fun. He was amazing and sexy and fulfilled so many desires inside me…but sadly I push them away…I have to…to protect myself.

Tossing the sash on my bed, I let it go and keep my head on straight as I throw a load of laundry in the wash, then make the short trip to my parents’ house.

Pulling up to it, my mom is standing in the driveway with her hands on her hips, while my poor dad is on a ladder stringing more holiday lights along the gutters of the house.

“Wow, more lights?”

“Yeah, I just felt like it needed that little extra oomph,” my mom responds and gives me a hug.

“It looks great. Hi, Daddy, be careful.” He curses under his breath, clearly frustrated to be adding more lights to their already outrageous setup. You know those houses your parents would always take you to when you were a kid, the ones with lights that music would play to? Well, that’s my parents’ house. They go all out every year and have nonstop traffic driving by for the entire month of December.

As my dad comes down the ladder, he gives me a hug and says to my mom, “Is that all you want added to the roof? Because once I put this ladder up, I’m done until January.”

She laughs him off, not answering him, and it’s because she’ll want to add more or make a change like she always does and he’ll gripe and moan, but he’ll do it…for her. We follow my dad in through the garage and the second we enter the house, the smell of her amazing vegetable shepherd’s pie invades my senses.

“I made your favorite,” my mom says.

“I can smell it.”

“So how was your trip this year, dear?” She always loves to hear about all of the things we do and the games we play, like she’s vicariously living through me. My dad is already lounged back in his recliner watching TV in the living room.

“It was good. I had to share a room with a guy, so that was unexpected.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he’s one of Ari’s friends. They used to work together.” My dad turns the TV up, still hating to hear me talk about dating or men in any fashion.

“How’d that go?”

“Good, he was nice and…” I trail off, what am I even trying to say? Am I going to tell her that I like him? Why would I do that when what we had was only for a week? It was a one-time thing, and now we’re done.

“And what?”

“Oh nothing…he was a real gentleman, he even bought me this.” I show her my bracelet and her eyes beam touching the locket.

“Oh, Quinn, it’s just like your old one.”

“It is. We found it in a store in Steamboat.”

“That’s where your dad and I got yours.”

“Really?”

“Yes. How nice of him to buy it for you.”

“Well, I didn’t have my wallet, and I tried to pay him back, but he wouldn’t let me.”

“It’s lovely, dear…really lovely.”

And it is. Looking at how happy my mom is that I’ve got a new bracelet makes me realize that I’ve got Merritt to thank. And maybe, I need her unbiased opinion about everything. She is one of my best friends. I tell her everything, so she knows about my ex and would understand if I told her about my and Merritt’s one-week agreement. She might be able to shine some clarity on things.