I’m still leaning against the door when I feel a light tapping from the other side. “Can I come in, Little One?” he asks softly.

“I’ll be just a minute,” I return, my voice sure even if my thoughts aren’t. I’m sure he can tell I’m standing right next to the door and haven’t gone any further.

“Yeah, okay,” he says solemnly. I wash my hands letting the cold water run over my wrist while I stare into the mirror seeing my full reflection cast back at me from the mirrored covered wall behind me. “Nothing’s changed, Little One. I’ll give you an explanation, but I’m not sure it will make it any better,” he says sorrowfully through the closed door.

When I know I won’t cry, I open the door and find Masen sitting on the floor next to the door. He stands and grabs my hand in his. “Can we get out of here?” When I look around, I find Roxanne is gone so we’re alone.

“If it makes you feel better.” I shrug, knowing it won’t erase my knowledge of this place. He guides me with a hand on my back to the elevator. When we leave the building, it’s with just as many stares as when we entered. How many of these people watched Masen walk other women out? How many of them were the ones he walked out? I know it shouldn’t matter. Who cares what these strangers think about me, but it’s still hard not to let it bother me. I wish we hadn’t met all those years ago. Then, I could understand him and how he was still with another woman. When my thoughts turn dark, I wish he could feel what it feels like to know he wasn’t worth waiting for.

I stop and tell him. “I’m going to need a little time to myself. I’m too upset to deal with this right now. It would just turn into a huge fight, and I just don’t have the energy for it.”

His eyes search my face. I’m pretty sure I’ve mastered blocking him. He doesn’t seem to know or feel what I’m thinking. “I don’t want to leave you, but I can understand you wanting a few minutes.”

I start walking to a bench, and he follows behind me about ten paces. Realizing he’s going to stand and watch me, I walk back to him. “I mean alone, Masen. I can’t have you hovering over me right now.”

His face falls. “I can’t leave. I don’t want to, and it’s not safe.”

I huff and stomp to the car. “Let’s just go.” He reaches my door right before me and opens it but smartly walks over to his side and gets in instead of trying to help me in like he usually does.

Once we are driving, he looks at me from the corner of his eye. I can see the slight shift in his head. Then, he does exactly what I didn’t want, he starts explaining. “I wasn’t thinking. It never dawned on me what it would look like to you, other than a bedroom and office,” he says, squeezing the steering wheel. “I knew seeing it would bother you. I just didn’t think that would be part of it. I never made the connection.” He must have been listening to my thoughts, which pisses me off even more. I sit and stew, trapped in this car when what I really want to do is erase this whole morning from the time we got to his office. To think, I almost felt sorry for the receptionist. I snort, and his head whips to the side, trying to figure out what caused my reaction. “I let Roxanne put the apartment together,” he says guiltily. “When she asked what I had at home, I never thought twice about it. She said she wanted to get what I like, so I told her.” His shoulders shrink. “To be honest, I don’t think it was her intention. I think she really did just want to get me what I liked.”