Retreat Read Online Free Page B

“Hmmm?”
         “I’m leaving,” she said.
         “Okay!” he called out loudly in his quest
to be awake. “I’ll be up in a minute!” His eyes drifted closed.
         She took a deep breath.
         “David,” she said, patting his knee again.
         “What? What is it?” he said thickly,
grabbing her hand with his, which was sweaty from the warm cocoon of sleep.
         “My ring. It’s on the table.”
         “Okay,” he said, settling his head back
against the couch. “We’ll get it fixed in the morning, baby.”
         He slipped back to sleep.  
         “David,” she said, louder than before.
         No response.
         “This is hopeless.” She pulled her hand out
of his clammy grasp and pushed herself up off the couch. “And more than you
deserve. Go back to your wife and children. They’ll need you.”
         She left without trying to wake him again.
He’d be there late into the night with no one to rouse him, and then chances
were he’d be in such a stupor that he wouldn’t realize she was gone until
morning. It was just as well. More time to practice what to say when he called.
         If he called.
         She honestly wasn’t sure how he’d react.
Their relationship had been swift but steady. He’d been methodical in his
pursuit. She used to think he loved her, but after tonight she doubted it. If
he loved her he’d have told her the truth.
         Hell, he might not do anything at all, she
thought, but then she remembered the picture.
         She frowned as she started her car. He’d be
upset that his lie was exposed.
         As she backed out of the garage and watched
the door drop down it dawned on her that she hadn’t given any thought to where
she’d end up sleeping, but Jon probably had.
         A soft smile flirted with her lips. He knew
the George Washington was across the boulevard from Aesthetics and that she’d
likely end up there.
         She briefly considered going somewhere
else.
         Very briefly.

 
         Country music drifted from the hotel bar on
the open balcony as Clara walked in. It sounded like a live band, and she
thought she could make out a guitar and a fiddle. The music soothed her, making
her feel almost human again after the coldness she’d felt at David’s.
         After she checked in, Clara pressed the old
round button to call the elevator, watching as a long black arrow swung past
each number as it descended from the seventh floor.
She hoped her room was far away from it or she’d never get any sleep. She
wasn’t sure she’d get any anyway.
         She hoped there was a mini-bar.
         There was a loud ring, the sound of brakes
on rubber and a clunk. The elevator door jarred open.
         “You came back,” Jon said, grinning as he
stepped out.
         “Shocking, I know,” Clara said. She
couldn’t help but smile back at him. He’d changed out of his black suit into
dark jeans and a gray polo shirt that showed off his dark hair. Plain black
cowboy boots offered the only hint that he was Texan.
         “I figured you’d be in bed by now,” she
said.
         “No you didn’t. Care to join me at the
bar?”
         “I could use a drink,” she admitted. About
seven of them. Fast.
         “First round’s on me.” He took her bag and
suit and carried them to the bellhop. “Take this to her room, will you?” he
asked, slipping him a bill. “What’s the number, Clara?”
         “615.”
         “Room 615. Thanks, man.”
         The bellhop nodded and headed toward the
elevator.
         ‘Thank you,” she said.
         “Thank you for coming back.”
         “This is the only decent hotel downtown.
And it’s right across the street from my office.”    
         “That’s how I knew I’d see you again
tonight.”
         “You’ll never change,” she said. “Always a
step ahead.”
         “You can