Текст книги "Game On"

Автор книги: Katie McCoy

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

When we got to the hotel, instead of pulling the car around to the front, Nathan steered it towards a back section of the hotel I had never noticed before.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he told me, helping me out of the car.

“You seem to be fond of surprises,” I answered, hoping he’d like the surprise I had planned for him, namely the black lace lingerie I was wearing under my jeans and jersey. Lingerie I had hoped most fervently I’d be showing him tonight.

“Come with me.” He pulled me towards a door marked employees only.

“Are you sure we should be here?” I asked as I followed him up a flight of stairs.

“A friend of mine works here,” he told me. “How do you think I got in and out to see you without drawing suspicion?”

He opened the door to a small service hallway with an elevator at one end and pulled out a keycard, swiped it, and pushed the button. The doors dinged open.

“Going up?” he asked with a wicked grin.

I couldn’t help it; the minute the elevator doors closed, I was on him. It had been too long since we had touched and that soft, gentle kiss on the pitcher’s mound had only ignited my need for him. Pressing my body against his, I tilted my head up to meet his lips, my tongue twisting with his as he gathered my hair in his fingers. He spun me so my back was against the elevator door, one hand dipping down to the small of my back and then lower, cupping my ass so I was pressed firmly against him. Against the hard, hot length of him. I wasn’t sure I could make it to my room. I wasn’t sure I could make it to the next floor. Then again, beds were totally overrated. What was wrong with an elevator wall?

“I want you so fucking much.” My voice was husky and I could feel Nathan groan deep in his chest. The elevator dinged again and the door slid open.

Nathan pulled away from me and took my hand. “We have all night,” he said, leading me into the hallway.

It took a moment for me to realize we weren’t on my floor, but before I could say anything, he flashed me another grin.

“I told you. I have a surprise.”

The surprise was a suite on the top floor of the hotel. It was the most beautiful room I had ever seen. We were surrounded by windows, the entire city of Austin glittering below us. In the bedroom, I could see the enormous bed, and there was a bottle of champagne chilling next to two crystal glasses.

I felt a lump in my throat. No one had ever done anything like this for me. No one. I looked back at Nathan who was watching me with an intensity I had never seen before. He had said he liked me. Well, I was officially a goner. Hook, line, and sinker. I was his.

“You jump, I jump,” he said.

“For a moment I just stared at him, my voice totally escaping me.

He gave me a sheepish grin. “Three sisters, remember?”

“You are so fucked,” I growled, as I pulled him into the bedroom.

***

I had planned to take my time. I had wanted to explore every inch of him, to really do my due diligence and pay homage to the body that had given so much to so many. But after the room and the jersey and the fucking speech, I was saying the hell with patience. I was going to have him and I was going to have him now.

But before we were halfway across the room, he had hauled me up into his arms, his mouth against mine, my legs locking around his waist. God bless baseball, I thought, the muscles of his waist and stomach rock hard against my thighs. I fisted my fingers in his thick, beautiful hair as his tongue met mine. Every part of me ached for his touch, my fingers now dragging down the length of his neck, down across his chest to tug at the buttons of his shirt.

But the buttons refused to participate, my hands too eager and too clumsy. I gripped both sides of his shirt and pulled, satisfied when it tore open, showering now-useless buttons across the suite floor.

I tore my lips from Nathan’s to grin wickedly down at him. “I hope you didn’t like that shirt.”

His eyes were filled with fire and need. “I hated it,” he rasped, a hand sliding through my hair and across my neck to pull my mouth down to his.

Somehow he maneuvered us to the bed, my fingers shoving his ruined shirt off his shoulders. Dropping kisses down the side of his neck, my mouth found its way to his bare skin, to the muscle tensing and flexing. I couldn’t help myself. I took a bite.

Nathan moaned, his legs buckling, and suddenly we hit the bed, his back against the sheets, me sprawled across him, my knees on either side of his hips. We were perfectly aligned, the hardness of him against the softness of me and before I could stop myself, I rocked forward.

Nathan let out a hiss of air through clenched teeth as his fingers gripped me. I rocked again, feeling the long, hard ridge of him against the seam of my jeans. We were wearing too many clothes.

As if he had read my mind, Nathan strained up against the bed, his fingers grabbing at the bottom of my jersey, yanking it up and over my head. I leaned back, expecting to feel his hands, his mouth against my breasts, but when I looked down at him, I found that he was leaning back on his elbows staring up at me.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he managed, his hands against my hips.

I said nothing because I had momentarily lost my ability to speak at the sight of him, his naked chest and arms, his pants low on his hips. His body was perfect, lean and firm beneath my hands, but it was the look on his face that made my heart skip a beat. I had never seen anything more intoxicating than the way he looked at me, like he was the luckiest guy in the world.

There it was, that dangerous lump in my throat. That thought in the back of my head saying, “This is the guy. This is him.”

But I pushed that thought aside and reached back, unhooking my black lace bra with a single flick of my fingers. I peeled it off and tossed it over my shoulder before leaning forward, my hair falling down across my bare shoulders and chest.

Nathan’s eyes went liquid hot.

“Fuck me,” he groaned.

“I plan to,” I said and kissed him again.

His hands cradled my face as our tongues tangled together, and then, just as my hands made their way towards the button of his slacks, I found myself suddenly on my back, Nathan’s body stretched out hard and long against mine. It was the most delicious sensation, his weight pressing me into the bed, his hands dragging down the length of my body, before sliding up to cup my breast in his wide, smooth palm.

I moaned against his mouth and I could feel him smile, his thumb smoothing across my nipple with the most tantalizingly soft sensation. It was agony and I arched up into his hand, needing him to touch me, to really touch me.

Tearing his lips away from mine, Nathan flashed me his wickedest smile and then lowered his mouth onto my breast. The hot wetness of his tongue made me writhe beneath him, my fingers caught in his hair as he lavished attention on my nipple, sucking, licking, and dragging his teeth against it with the most perfect amount of pressure.

I felt a familiar pull in my stomach, that delicious build of tension, and knew that I needed more. But before I could say a word, Nathan’s hand moved down the length of my stomach, his fingers making quick work of the button and zipper on my jeans. Instead of sliding those magical fingers into my panties like he had done before, he lifted his head, shot me that same wicked smile and using both hands, tugged the jeans and panties loose from my hips. My shoes fell to the floor, followed quickly by the remainder of my clothes. I was now stretched out across the sheet, completely naked, as Nathan, wearing only pants, stood at the foot of the bed. I could see the hard ridge of his cock straining against the zipper of his gray slacks. I wanted him inside of me.

I heard him suck in a breath of air, his eyes taking in every inch of me. For a brief moment I felt the impulse to raise my hands, to cover myself, to hide, but the expression on his face, that intense longing and hunger, made me wet and wanting..

Before I could say a word, before I could beg him to press his body back against mine, to touch me, to take me, he knelt down, pushing my knees apart. With one, smooth tug, he hooked his hands behind my knees and pulled me towards the end of the bed where he was waiting. Ready.

I felt his breath against my thighs, felt the soft whisper of his stubble against my skin and then the hot lick of his tongue against the part of me that wanted him the most.

I let my head drop back against the sheets as he wrapped his fingers around my ass and pressed his hot, wonderful mouth against me. His tongue plunged deep inside and I moaned, my hands clutching at the bed, as he brought me to the edge of desire. My legs were draped over his shoulders, my toes digging into his back as he teased my clit with hot open-mouthed kisses before sliding his fingers into my wetness. He thrust in and out, as he sucked on my clit, feeding my needy pussy.

I came, screaming, back arching and fingers scrambling against the sheets. My entire body shook with the intensity of my orgasm and for a moment I was lost, gone in the perfect pleasure of it all. When I came back to earth, Nathan was crawling up the bed to capture my mouth, his fingers slick against my breath, his tongue tasting of me, intimately me.

God, this man. He was so fucking gorgeous, those wide shoulders flexing with well-earned muscles, that six-pack of abs I wanted to get drunk on, and fuck, everything that was still hidden from me beneath his pants. I wanted it all.

I reached for his zipper and this time he didn’t push my hands away, lifting his hips so I could free his cock. It was hot and huge against my hand and though I wanted nothing more than to have him plunge himself deep inside of me, I couldn’t resist lowering my head and wrapping my mouth around it, tasting the salt and slickness of his desire.

“Sophie,” he moaned, falling back on the bed. “Fuuuuuuuuck.”

I smiled against his cock. Nothing was better than making him feel this way. Nothing. But before I lavished any true attention on it, Nathan was rolling me over, pinning me to the bed, our naked bodies sliding against each other, his hand reaching down to tempt my aching clit.

I rocked my hips against his palm, his fingers tormenting me. But it wasn’t enough this time. I needed more.

“I need you inside me,” I moaned, protesting when he rolled away from me. But he was back in a flash, ripping the wrapper off a condom and rolling the latex down his throbbing length. Planting my feet on the bed, I parted my knees for him, ready, oh so ready. Quickly he settled between my legs, his thick cock pressing against my wet opening. He rubbed the ridge of it slowly against me and I moaned, my toes digging into the bed. I wanted to pull the weight of him against me, the length of him inside me. I wanted him to fuck me until I forgot everything but how good his body felt.

But he was taking it slow. Too slow.

I growled, reaching down with the intent of guiding him inside of me, but he pulled my hand away, pinning it, along with my other arm, above my head.

“Be patient,” he chided, though I could see it was taking enormous effort on his part to hold back. The muscles in his neck were thick cords of intensity.

“I don’t want to be patient,” I said through gritted teeth. “I want you to fuck me. Now!”

The heat in Nathan’s eyes exploded and I could see the moment he lost control. With a groan, he pulled away from me and then, before I could take another breath, plunged his cock deep.

“Oh fuuuuuuuuck,” I moaned, my head falling back on the bed as he slid all the way inside of me. It was tight and hot and so fucking perfect.

“Fuck, Sophie.” Nathan’s voice was a groan in my ear, his breath hot on my neck. “You feel so goooooooood.”

“Fuck me, Nathan.” My hands clawed at his hips, reaching back and gripping that same ass I had been admiring since I first laid eyes on it. It felt amazing in my hands. “Fuck me now.”

And he did. Pulling back, he slammed into me again, our bodies wet and slick against each other. With each thrust I felt the tension build in my belly, that aching tightness waiting to be released. Nathan fucked me, harder and harder, the bed springs screaming beneath us, as I gave myself up to the sensation of his gorgeous, perfect body sliding in and out of mine.

His mouth found mine, our tongues mimicking the thrust and slide of the rest of our bodies, his hands clutching blindly at my breasts, my ass as I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms around his shoulders and hung on for dear life.

Then without warning, with his cock deep inside me, Nathan gripped my hips and smoothly rolled onto his back. I threw back my head, feeling the complete length of him stroking me.

“Sophie,” he barely managed to choke out as I began to ride him, rolling my hips to push him deeper and deeper inside of me. His head fell against the sheets and I had the most perfect view of the most beautiful man as he thrust his body up to meet mine. The muscles in his neck were tense as I lifted myself and came back down harder and deeper.

My breasts bounced with each movement, Nathan’s fingers tight against my hips. I leaned forward, seeking his mouth as I felt tension rising in my belly. His hands slid up my body to cup my breasts, his fingers teasing my tight, pearled nipples as his lips met mine. Everywhere our bodies touched was hot and wet and perfect.

Wrapping his arms around my back, in a testament to his strength, Nathan eased up towards me, until I was nearly sitting in his lap, his cock going impossibly deep inside of me. I moaned, racking my nails down his back as he leaned his head down and drew a nipple into his mouth. His teeth scraped me lightly and I shuddered, clenching my teeth. The pressure was almost too much and I could feel my release on the horizon. My hips were moving as if I had no control over them, rolling wildly against his cock, wanting to feel nothing but him against me.

Then, without warning, I was on my back again and Nathan was the one setting the pace. He thrust into me again and again until there was nothing but the sound of our bodies coming together echoing in my ears and the sensation of him filling me. I closed my eyes, losing myself in his touch, in his command of my body.

“Come for me,” Nathan whispered in my ear and just as it had been before, that was what pushed me over the edge. Only this time when I fell, screaming and shuddering, Nathan followed immediately after.

***

Afterward we lay there, our bodies wet and heaving, my mind devoid of all thoughts except “Fucking hell, I want to do that again.”

Nathan raised his head, his hair stuck to his damp forehead in the most adorable way and grinned at me, also in the most adorable way. My heart twisted. I had fallen for him, I thought, as he trashed the condom and crawled back into bed, gathering me up against his gorgeous chest. And I didn’t even care anymore, I realized as I fell asleep in his arms.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“You know,” he said, looking at me from the bed the next morning, sheets gathered around his waist, hands behind his head. “I always thought the girls-in-a-jersey thing was kind of a cheesy move. But I gotta say, seeing you in my number is the hottest fucking thing ever.”

I had gotten out of bed, pulled on his jersey and my black lace panties and nothing more. And it was that sight that had woken Nathan from a sleep deeper than the dead real quick.

“Oh really?” I blushed, but tried to play it cool. “Why’d you send it if you thought it was so cheesy?”

Nathan reached out, but I dodged his hand.

“Chris suggested it. And I think I’m going to have to send him a fruit basket or something because damn.”

“You’re incorrigible,” I told him, pulling my hair into a messy bun, knowing that the gesture would pull the jersey up, revealing the lace panties Nathan had barely had a chance to see last night before they were pulled away with my jeans. He moaned.

“Come here,” he growled.

“You have to meet your family,” I reminded him, but came over to the side of the bed anyways. I was tempting fate but I didn’t much care at that moment.

“They’ll understand if I’m late,” he said, stretching his hand towards me, but I was just a little too far for him to reach.

“I don’t want them to think I’m a bad influence on you,” I teased, shrieking as he leapt up and grabbed me around the waist, pulling back into bed. He rolled us across the sheets until he was on top, his magnificent body pressing down on mine.

“You are a bad influence,” he whispered, dropping kisses along my neck. I leaned my head back so he could have better access. “And I love it.”

I was reaching back to kiss him when my phone rang.

“I’m going to buy you a new phone,” he teased, handing it over, “that puts everyone on vibrate but me.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and answered without looking at the caller ID. Big mistake.

“Where the fuck are you?” Tim thundered on the other line.

Shit. I scrambled out of Nathan’s arms and grabbed for my jeans.

“Uh—”

“I’ve been banging on your door for, like, an hour,” he whined. “You on the can or something?”

“I, uh.” How was I going to explain this one?

“Just get downstairs, OK?” Tim said and then hung up. A multitude of expletives paraded through my head. The last thing I needed was for Tim to find out that Nathan and I had spent the night together. He was desperate enough for a story, and he would be more than happy to throw me under the bus in the process. In fact, getting the dirt on Nathan and getting me fired at the same time would pretty much be Tim’s perfect afternoon.

“Who was that?” Nathan asked, looking entirely too cute and entirely too naked. Too distracting. I shoved my jeans on, knowing that I had to get to the lobby as soon as possible to see what Tim wanted.

“Tim,” I told him, wishing that it had been anyone else but him.

A frown crossed Nathan’s face. “What did he want?”

“I don’t know,” I grabbed my bra from the floor. “But he was knocking on my door downstairs. I need to get to the lobby.” I leaned over the bed to give Nathan a kiss. But the frown didn’t go away. My stomach did an unpleasant drop. “You’re late to meet your family anyways,” I pointed out.

He looked over at the clock and swore. “Shit, you’re right.” We both yanked on the remainder of our clothes, looking exactly like two people who had spent the night and then the morning together. Unless I could go to my room and change quickly, I wasn’t going to be fooling anyone.

“I have to go,” I told him, wanting nothing more than to stay in this suite with him for as long as either of us could stand it. Forever, maybe. The realization that I meant it, that I was already thinking about forever with a guy I had literally just met, scared the shit out of me. It also made my heart sing.

“I know,” he said, the frown on his face now gone completely. It had been replaced by the tender smile I was growing very used to. “Come here.” He held open his arms and I stepped eagerly into them. We were in this together, weren’t we? Last night had been special. It had meant something. He kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll call you later, OK?”

“OK,” I said, reluctantly pulling away from his embrace and moving towards the door. But before I could slip into the hallway, he called out.

“Hey.” He had a big smile on his face. “Last night was amazing.”

I smiled back, feeling like I was glowing. “It was.”

He winked at me. “Then let’s plan on making tonight more of the same.”

***

I practically floated down the stairs to my room. Even though I knew that Tim was waiting for me, I took the time to wash my face and change my clothes. When I brushed my hair, I could smell Nathan, that faint scent of grass tickling at my senses with each swipe of the brush. I never wanted that smell to go away.

When I reached the lobby, however, all the good feelings I had brought with me disappeared the moment I saw that Tim was seated in the corner with a guest. A guest that looked like a younger, but equally bitter and vindictive Tim. Neither of them bothered to get up when I approached.

“Finally!” Tim’s exasperation was obvious as he waved me towards one of the seats. He then stared at my empty hands with confusion. “Where’s your notepad?” he asked.

“My notepad?”

“To take notes,” he said slowly, like I was an idiot.

I pulled my phone out of my purse and set up the recording app. How did Tim function as a journalist these days if he had been waiting for me to take notes? I had a feeling he was being especially stupid on this trip because he expected me to cover for him. I fought the urge to roll my eyes in front of our guest.

Though I shouldn’t have bothered. Tim pointed his thumb at me and sighed.

“Women,” he said, as if that was some sort of explanation for our exchange. If only I had turned on the recording app to catch that. HR could look the other way if they didn’t have any proof of Tim’s shitty, sexist behavior. They’d have a lot harder time doing it if I caught and recorded it. And to my annoyance, the stranger just nodded as if he completely understood Tim’s frustration.

But I wasn’t going to let either of them overrule my own professionalism. I leaned over the table, reaching out my hand.

“Sophie Hall,” I introduced myself.

But Tim’s new friend just stared at my hand as if I had offered him a live snake. He looked like someone who had not had a lot of experience with women. Pale and slightly oily, he gave the impression that he hadn’t eaten a meal with all four food groups in a very long time. There was a definite gut visible beneath his dirty black T-shirt and his fedora looked as though it had been left in a puddle of grease recently. Everything about this guy set my warning flags off. But it was clear that Tim thought he was fantastic from the excited way he was leaning towards him, obviously eager to get the story started.

I withdrew my un-shaken hand and pressed start on the recording app.

“So, Rob,” Tim began eagerly. “You went to high school with Nathan Ryder, is that correct?”

My stomach clenched. Fuck. Did this guy have some dirt on Nathan?

“That is correct, Tim,” Rob said in a voice that was affected and vaguely robotic. No matter what it was definitely creepy. “I was a year behind Nathan Ryder, the baseball player.”

“You don’t need to say his full name each time,” Tim said. “Just tell me the story like you told it over the phone.”

There came that uneasy feeling again. So Tim already knew the information that Rob claimed to have and wanted to get it on the record with me as a witness. Obviously he thought it was good. I clenched my fingers into a fist and prayed that I was wrong.

Rob cleared his throat and began again. “Nathan Ryder—I’m sorry, Nathan, was the boyfriend of a girl named Becca.” A look of reverence came over Rob’s eyes. Clearly he had been in love with this girl. “She was the most beautiful girl at our school. What she ever saw in Nathan, I’ll never know.”

This guy was clearly a moron that much I could tell. Anyone who looked at Nathan and wondered what women saw in him obviously had no idea what women wanted. But I had a feeling that was exactly Rob’s problem.

“Becca was the kind of girl who was nice to everyone, which is probably why she ended up dating Nathan. She had trouble saying no to people.” Once again I tried not to roll my eyes. “We were lab partners. We spent time together after school.” Rob smiled. It was creepy. So very creepy. “I could tell she liked me. She told me she was thinking of breaking up with him.”

Liar, I thought. You are a filthy, stinking liar. And my gut backed me up.

“I’m a really nice guy, you know.” Rob paused and when I looked up, I realized he had directed that creepy smile at me. “Not like those jerk jocks that just use girls and throw them away. Like Nathan did to Becca.”

“Tell us what happened after prom,” Tim urged, and I clenched my fists tighter, feeling my nails cutting into my skin.

“Well, Becca went with him, of course, because she was too nice to say no. Even though she told me that they were going to break up afterwards.” Rob’s eyes got squinty and intense. Instinctively, I leaned back in my chair, wanting to put as much distance as I could between us. This guy gave me the major creeps.

“So they went to prom,” Tim prompted.

“Yeah. They went to the prom and of course, Nathan was drinking. He’s like, a huge alcoholic.”

I wanted to shake my head. Nothing about Nathan said that he had any problem drinking. In fact, all the times we had spent together around alcohol, he had been the more responsible one.

“So Nathan was drinking.” Tim leaned closer to my phone on the table. “Underage drinking,” he said in a loud voice.

“That’s right,” Rob said. “He was drinking and instead of taking Becca home at the end of the evening, he drove both of them into a tree. Becca lost her leg.”

My heart stopped.

No.

That was a lie. Everything this little slime bag had said was a lie. Nathan being a jerk—lie. Nathan being a drunk—lie. Nathan injuring his girlfriend in car accident after prom—lie. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to ignore the fact that they were shaking.

Tim cast a sidelong look at me, an unpleasant smile appearing on his already unpleasant face. “And you said you have proof,” he said to Rob, who nodded.

I leaned further back in my chair, as if I could disappear into it. I didn’t want to look but when Rob pulled out a three-rim notebook from his backpack, I couldn’t help it. In it were laminated sheets of photo collages, mostly comprised of pictures of a pretty brunette in a cheerleading uniform. There were some that seemed to be cut out of yearbooks or newspapers but there were a few blurry shots that appeared to be taken at a distance.

“Were you stalking her?” I asked, taking a closer look.

But Rob pulled the notebook away from me, moving it towards Tim.

“That’s not the issue here,” he said. “The issue is that Nathan Ryder is responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s tragic accident. Because he was big dumb drunk jock. See?” He pointed to a page from his notebook towards the end, where it had the headline: Two injured in drunk driving accident.

I peered closer at the newsprint. Nowhere did it mention any of the victims by name, but there was a picture of a car smashed into a tree. I winced at the sight of it, all that metal and smoke.

“It doesn’t say anything about Nathan,” I pointed out.

“Well, yeah,” Rob sneered. “His family paid to have it covered up. Because he was underage, he did community service and the records were sealed. Neither Nathan nor Becca ever spoke about it. Becca didn’t even stay in town to recover. No one knows where she went,” he said ominously.

Having met the Ryders, I had a hard time imagining them bribing people to keep this hidden. Something about this didn’t seem right. How could Tim have talked to all those people from Nathan’s high school and have no one mention this? It wasn’t that long ago—how could no one know about it? Everything about this smelled off.

“Thank you so much for your time, Rob,” Tim said, standing.

Rob got to his feet, clutching the notebook. “And you’ll tell me if you find her, right?”

“Of course,” Tim answered with a disingenuous smile.

Satisfied with that response, Rob gathered his things, and without a second glance in my direction, scurried out of the lobby like the cockroach he was.

Tim spun back to me, his face bright. “Did you hear that?” he crowed. “That’s the kind of story I’ve been looking for. Star athlete’s dark past. How he ruined lives getting to where he is today.”

I felt sick. But I wasn’t going to let Tim act like this proved anything. As far as I was concerned, Rob was big fucking liar who had been obsessed with Becca and still harbored some weird feelings for her and a deep-seated hatred for Nathan.

“There’s no evidence,” I insisted. “The article doesn’t name Nathan, or Becca, and we just have this random guy’s word against Nathan’s.”

“Who cares?” Tim said, snatching his bag and heading across the lobby. I scrambled to catch up with him, grabbing my phone from the table. “Let Nathan go on the offense. We just need to plant the seed of doubt in the public’s eye. Get people to second-guess the latest golden boy of baseball. If we time it right, we could get the Majors to back off on drafting him.”

Tim truly was a disgusting excuse for a human being. I dashed in front of him, cutting him off before he could reach the elevators.

“You can’t do that,” I said. “It’s unethical. You don’t have any proof.”

“Look,” Tim stared down at me, his words full of venom. “I know you’ve got the hots for the guy and he knows it too. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been trying to fuck you as a way to keep you distracted. So wake up, Saucy. He played you. He batted his eyes and now you’re ready to pass up your best chance at a nationwide story. For what? You think you have some future with this guy? Please. He’s a huge college athlete and you barely got past high school. He’s out of your league, babe, he fucked you over. Now transcribe that interview and have it to me in an hour.”

And with that, Tim turned and left me alone in the lobby.