Mercy by Sasha Wexler

Author:Sasha Wexler [Wexler, Sasha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

The moment my last symposium lets out, I make a beeline for the elevators and I almost make a clean getaway, but from across the lobby I hear Pramila calling my name, and stupid me, I look back. Why couldn’t I have just pretended not to have heard her?

But that ship has sailed, because our eyes lock and she hurries over to me with a wide grin. She looks like she feels about a million times better than she did this morning.

“I feel a million times better than I did this morning,” she says, and for a second I’m disoriented because she’s said exactly what I was just thinking. “Want to grab an early dinner?”

“Oh,” I say, and I can’t tell if there’s a nervous edge to my voice or not as I speak. “I’m not very hungry.”

“No worries. Why don’t we grab a glass of wine instead and then take a look around the city? I promise you won’t have to carry me back to my room this time. We’ll do something cultural. Keep it classy.”

Tell her.

“I haven’t quite shaken off last night,” I say lamely. “I think I’d better stay in.”

“Oh come on,” Pramila wheedles, jostling me a little in the side. “You were exponentially better off than I was this morning. Light years. Come out with me. We’ll check out the French Quarter.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

Tell her.

Pramila looks disappointed, but she shrugs. “You sure?” she asks one last time, and I nod firmly, a single bob of my head.

Tell her. She’ll understand.

But I don’t say anything. I just slink over to the elevators and ride up alone.

There is nothing wrong with what I’m doing. I’m single, Jake’s single, we like each other, and I’m nineteen years older than him. So what?

So what? So what? So what? I get more flustered with every step I take down the hallway after I exit the elevator. If our roles were reversed it wouldn’t be an issue at all. Men date younger women all the time and nobody bats an eye.

By the time I reach my room, I’m all twisted up inside, and I can feel a wrinkle forming between my eyebrows and the beginning of a headache setting in.

My door opens at a flash of my keycard, and Jake’s right there to pull the door wide. His arm curls around me, draws me over the threshold. His lips descend on mine, and all my negative thoughts dissipate, my phantom headache vanishes, and my worries retreat. Right now, this kiss is everything.

“Ready to go, beautiful?”

“Let me get changed,” I say breathlessly.

“I’m going to need you to lock yourself in the bathroom while you do that. We’re on a tight time schedule and seeing you naked could blow the whole thing out of the water, as I might not be able to control myself. You understand?”

I can’t wipe the grin off my face. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. I’ll wait for you out there. Clock’s ticking.”

I snap him a quick salute, grab the only dress I packed, and scurry into the bathroom with it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.