Room For One More

CHAPTER EIGHT : Back Where It Began

StackTrace

I seethed at the note.

Short. Flirty. Threatening.

Room 408. Again? — A

I should have crumpled it. Flung it. Like I never saw it.

Instead, it seared in my pocket all day.

The office lights had been extinguished by 7 p.m. The building was deserted.

And I stood outside Room 408 again.

What was I doing?

I knocked—once, twice.

The door creaked open.

Aiden.

No suit. No sneering smile. Only a dark t-shirt and eyes I couldn't read.

"You came."

"I shouldn't have."

"But you did."

He stepped aside.

The room remained the same. Too much memory for four walls.

I stayed near the door. "Why did you leave that note?"

He shrugged, moving toward the window. "Because I wanted to see you. Without the job. Without the walls."

"There are walls," I said. "This one. The one between us."

He turned, his eyes gentler. "There doesn't have to be."

I crossed my arms. "Aiden. Are you kidding me? Or is this a game to you?"

That stopped him in his tracks.

"I've had enough games in my life," he murmured. "This. whatever it is, is the first honest thing in a while."

Silence.

And then he stepped closer. Slow. Careful. Like I'd flee.

I didn't move.

His fingers brushed against mine. Not pulling. Just asking.

I left my eyes closed.

And let my hand stay in his.

Until my phone call.

Cassandra: "Enjoy your little secret, Elena. It won't be a secret for long."