Page 110 of As the Years Pass

“Can you blame us?”

He laughs. “Not at all, my friend. Not at all.”

Everything here is bright and clean, so unlike the dreary weather I’ve become accustomed to. It’s a needed break, one that hopefully won’t turn into a disaster. This could be good for us, for me especially. This is an opportunity to fix things with him and let him know that us being friends is just fine. If it’s all I can get, I’ll take it.

We pull up in front of the hotel, and the driver assists me in getting my bags from the trunk. I shove my backpack up my shoulder, then take my suitcase and thank him before heading into the hotel. I check in and take my things to the elevator and up to my room.

I swipe my key against the door, but it beeps red. I try it again, same thing. I tug on the handle anyway, but it doesn’t budge. I glance at the paper the staff gave me to make sure I’m at the right room. Definitely what she wrote down. I try it one more time—still nothing.

Why do I always have issues at hotels?

“Emmet?” I turn and find Adam looking as good as ever. “Hey, I thought that was you.”

“Hey,” I say, smiling through my frustration with the door.

“I was actually about to text you.” He comes up beside me. “Need some help?”

He looks so good it makes me want to cry.

“I think my key is messed up.” I hold it up to show him, as if it’ll agree.

“Let me try.”

He holds out his hand for the key, and I give it to him. He presses it against the door and it does the same thing. He tries again, but still it’s a red light and not a green one.

“You want to put your things in my room and we can go down to the lobby?”

“Sure, that would be great.”

“I’m actually your neighbor,” he says with a smile, pointing from the direction he came.

What sweet torture this is. His room is right beside mine. Now I’ll get to lie in bed and imagine him jerking off on the other side of the wall.

As if I wouldn’t have done that anyway…

I bring my bags into his room, taking in the beautiful view of the ocean, that I must have too since we share a wall. His bed is against the wall on the right, with a large TV across from it and a small sitting area and kitchen when you first walk in. It isn’t much different from the room we stayed in while in California, only it’s much nicer.

“You ready to go down now?” he asks.

“Yeah, I probably should.”

We head down to the lobby together. While in the elevator, all I can smell is him and I put my hands into my pockets to stop from touching him because it’s all I can think about. There’s no way I’m getting through this weekend alive. This will be nothingbut torture, and I don’t know why I thought doing it was a good idea. I’ve been with him for five minutes and I’m already desperate. Dread fills my chest because as much as I’ve been saying I just want to be friends, I don’t think that can happen.

I hate that because him in my life at all is better than never seeing him again.

But maybe that’s not true. Maybe it’s better to cut ties before it hurts too much later.

Too late now, moron. You invited him here.

It’s just one weekend. I can get through this. See how I come out on the other side, then I’ll need to seriously rethink my life.

Maybe I should move again.

“Thank you for inviting me,” he says with a smile. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to leave the kids and work, but I’m glad I did. I needed a break.”

“It’s no problem.” I force a smile. His is bright and kind and so fucking sweet.

I head to the front desk with him in tow.