Pull him away from the woman

I gently pushed at the couple, murmuring an apology as I sat up. “I’m so sorry, you two, but I need a moment.” They looked disappointed but nodded, already turning back to each other as I slid off the mattress in the narrow room. Gathering my stuff under one arm, I stepped into the hall on unsteady legs, and reached for him.

My hand wrapped around his, and I leaned down toward the stranger’s face, still on her knees, forcing my voice to sound as sweet and casual as I could. “I’m so sorry, sweetie, but I need to talk to my husband for a moment.” The words tasted reckless, but I needed her to leave, and I was hoping hearing the word “wife” would convey the necessity.

The woman blinked up at me, with him still spearing her lips. He just stared at me in silence, with this look of curiosity when I stood back upright. Then, slowly, he looked down at her. “You heard her,” he said. “My wife needs me.” It was followed by a light chuckle.

Her lips slipped free with a wet sound, sucking at her own saliva. She rose without protest, wiped her mouth with a shrug, and disappeared into the crowd. For a moment, the hallway belonged only to us. The fire in my chest threatened to consume me; I didn’t know what I’d done, only that I couldn’t undo it now.

Without letting go of his hand, I tugged him away from the doorway. We passed door after door, finding most of them drawn shut, and muffled sounds spilling through, but my grip never loosened. Finally finding an empty private room, I pulled him inside, and slammed the door shut behind us. Suddenly it was only the two of us and the room felt smaller than it already was. I stood in front of him naked, my skin flushed, and my chest heaving. The quiet in here was deafening compared to the chaos outside.

I took a deep breath, then turned on him fast. “What are we even doing? Huh? I mean, what in the actual fuck, is this?”

He leaned against the wall as calm as could be, unfazed by the fact I’d just dragged him away from a stranger’s mouth, claiming to be his wife.

“Well, it looks to me like you pulled me out of a good time. That’s what it looks like.”

“Don’t-” My voice cracked. “Don’t play it off. You’ve been watching me for weeks. You think I don’t notice? Every time I’m with someone, you’re there. You don’t even try to hide it anymore.”

His attention didn’t waver. “And you’re doing something different?”

The truth of it burned in my chest. I wanted to scream at him, and break the façade he had. Instead, I laughed. It came out as a sharp, frantic sound. “So what then? Do you want me? Is that it?”

He didn’t answer, and his silence only made the panic in me climb higher.

I shoved at his chest, though he barely moved. “God, you’re pathetic. If that’s what it is, and you actually want me, then grow some balls and do something about it!”

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