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My stomach knots with dread.

It takes a moment, but eventually, he lifts my cell, wakes it up, and shows me the screen. “You’re still on a hook-up app?”

“What? No. Of course not,” I argue, but it’s kinda hard considering the evidence is staring me in the face.

Cooper’s brows rise. “I don’t have time for this bullshit. I’ve got a plane to catch.” He throws my cell onto the bed before spinning around and grabbing his suitcase.

“Wait, no. Let me explain.”

“You’ve had plenty of time to mention that you’re still fucking other guys, Garrett,” he states.

“I’m not. I haven’t been with anyone else since moving back to LA.”

“Okay.”

He marches across the room, collecting his suitcase.

“Okay? Okay? None of this is okay. It’s just a notification, Cooper. Look,” I demand the second my cell has recognized my face and opened the full preview.

“It’s not a message, look. It’s some bullshit alert about some event happening. Please, Cooper,” I beg. I sound pathetic, but I can’t stop myself. The thought of him walking out and leaving things like this after the night and morning we’ve had wrecks me. “I logged out of this app ages ago. It’s just…still on my cell. I’m not using it, I swear.”

“I’m going to be late. I’ll talk to you later,” he says coolly before ripping the door open and marching out.

My lips part to call him back, but I quickly slam them shut again. Someone overhearing me would be the last thing he wants.

“Fuck,” I hiss, falling onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

I give myself two minutes to chastise myself for not deleting the app or turning off its notifications before I sit back up, screenshot the notification, and send it to Cooper.

But even after it’s delivered, it still doesn’t show as read by the time I pack up all my shit and walk out of the room.

I pause before letting the door fall closed behind me and look back, remembering everything that happened in the short amount of time we were in there, and how it’s all gone to shit.

With a heavy sigh, I continue walking, listening for the soft close of the door as I make my way to the escalator. Thankfully, I don’t see a single person until I step out into the lobby.

Despite feeling like my world shifted beneath my feet back up in that room, everyone else’s seems to be business as usual. No one looks at me like I’ve just fucked everything up or ruined the best thing that’s happened to me since…well, ever.

With a heavy heart, I drop my key off at the quick checkout before walking out of the hotel into the spring morning air.

I take a deep breath, hoping it’ll ground me, but it does little to lighten my mood.

Pulling my cell from my pocket, I check my message thread with Cooper.

My screenshot is still unread.

Dejected and full of regret, I order an Uber to the airport and lower my ass to the wall to wait.

By the time I walk into Sienna’s apartment, I’m done.

My flight was delayed, and then once we arrived at LAX, we didn’t have anywhere to disembark, so we ended up sitting and waiting for what felt like hours.

I’m exhausted both emotionally and physically; my legs are like lead weights as I trudge down the hallway toward the living room.

The sound of the TV alerts me that Sienna is here, and I brace myself for impact.

She looks up the second I step into the room, but despite attempting to hide my feelings, she sees straight through my mask.

“Gare, what’s wrong?”