The hotel room door clicked shut behind us, and the silence stretched as Carmen kicked off her shoes, walked toward thebalcony, arms crossed. I thought she’d open the sliding door and go outside, but she didn’t.
I should leave her alone. Give her space to come to me when she’s ready.
But—
“Baby?” I called out softly.
To which she didn’t answer. I figured that would be the case.
“I’m sorry I yelled. Can we talk, please?”
Still nothing.
I came up behind her and slid my arms around her waist, lowering my mouth to the warm skin of her neck. To my surprise, she didn’t pull away. Her body softened slightly under my touch, but the tension didn’t disappear.
“Nothing to say?” I asked, already bracing for the sting.
“Nope,” she said, crisp and final.
“Why not?” I murmured.
She exhaled quietly and sharply. “You’ve been out of control, Theodore.”
I rested my chin on her shoulder. “What about you, Carmen?”
“What about me?”
I felt her tense, but I held her so she wouldn’t pull away. “You’ve been acting up, too.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know I have. I’m just over all of this.”
Now it was my turn to tense. “What do you mean? You wanna go home?”
“No, no.” She exhaled and closed her eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”
Good. I wasn’t letting her.
“I’m just so tired of the petty, childish drama.”
“I know. I am, too.”
Quiet wrapped around us as I looked out of the glass door. Her reflection caught my eye, and I stared at the woman who controlled my every action. My emotions were very muchdependent on how it would affect Carmen, and that became very apparent because I couldn’t relax at all while she was on edge.
“So what are we gonna do about this?” I asked, my voice low. “Because I’m trying to keep my jealousy and temper under control, but it ain’t working. I want to take motherfuckers’ heads off just for breathing the same air as you.”
“I know.”
“It’s like we’ve been apart so long, getting used to each other again is a shock to the system.” I swallowed. “And you don’t make it any easier.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. How am I supposed to react when you do the shit you do, Carmen? I know I was wrong for blocking Marcus. I’m not even that mad about the site visit anymore. But being in Vincent’s office? Especially after we talked about it? What if I did shit like that to you?”
Her eyes opened, and she caught my gaze in the reflection.
“Nothing happened in that office. I would never do anything like that, Theo.”
“How would you feel about me being in a room with another woman, Sweetness?”
