Free Pants on Fire by Casia Schreyer Page B

running the air conditioner.”
     
    “It made the headache worse. Come on.”
     
    She laughed and held back. “Where are we going?”
     
    “The shower.”
     
    She followed him eagerly into the bathroom and into the shower. They ran their hands over slick skin and she took him in hand until he was hard and eager. He lifted her carefully and she wrapped her arms and legs around him, leaning her head on his shoulder and letting him take her.
     
    When they were both satisfied they washed up and returned to the bed to hold each other.
     
     
     
     
     
    “What are we going to do with our last few days together?” he called from the bathroom.
     
    Her cellphone, which had been blessed silent for the better part of two weeks, chose that moment to ring. She glanced at the call display and swore. “Hold on, I have to take this. Hello?”
     
    “Megan, where the hell are you?”
     
    She cringed. Her director had a voice that was wonderful on set, you could always hear the stage directions, but he never toned it down. “I’m on vacation, remember?”
     
    “Didn’t you get Bernie’s emails?”
     
    “I read them before I left, they looked pretty standard. Why?”
     
    “You idiot! Bernie emailed you a week ago with the reshoot schedule. We were set to start TODAY! But we can’t very well reshoot the scenes for Miss Maizy Daisy’s weekly TV show without Miss Maizy Daisy, can we?”
     
    Tyler stepped out of the bathroom to see Megan’s face had gone deathly pale. “What is it?” he whispered.
     
    “Look,” she said into the phone. “I’ll be there, just don’t panic. Yes I understand how important this is. Yes. Look, I’m on my way right now.” She hung up and grabbed her purse. “I’m sorry, Tyler. This is an emergency. It’s … look, I just have to go.”
     
    Bewildered he didn’t even think to grab her and steal one last kiss. “Call me!” he shouted as she disappeared out the door. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Now what?”
     
    ***
     
    Tyler sat in his hotel room for the rest of his stay, with the exception of a quick run to the used book store to restock. When he wasn’t reading he was staring at the phone, willing it to ring. It didn’t.
     
    He woke up on the very last morning of his vacation and ordered a large breakfast which he hovered over until he honestly couldn’t eat any more. Then he took his time packing and was just doing up the last zipper when there was a knock at the door. 
     
    His heart leapt. Megan.
     
    The woman at the door was not Megan. She gave him a tired look. “Are you finished? I need to turn the room over for the next guest.”
     
    Tyler nodded. “Yeah, I’m finished. The room’s all yours.”
     
    Dragging his bags downstairs he stopped at the desk where a man about his age was slouched in the chair. At the sight of Tyler he plastered a smile on his face. “Are you ready to check out sir?”
     
    “Yes, I guess I am.” He handed over his keycard. “Look, I’ve seen you at the desk before so you must have seen me come and go with a young woman.”
     
    “Megan? Yeah, I saw you two.” He finished on the computer and turned to wait for the printer.
     
    “Oh good, you know her. She left in a rush, an emergency, she hasn’t had a chance to call me and, well, I’d like to call her.”
     
    He shrugged. “She doesn’t live in Kingsbridge. I don’t have a cell number for her.”
     
    “Her dad used to work here, didn’t he? If I could have their number, just to make sure she’s all right? Or even the last name so I can find them myself.”
     
    He frowned and scribbled a number on a scrap of paper. “This is the number her old man left us, for emergencies. He may be retired but he knows more about this hotel than a lot of us combined.”
     
    “Thank-you.”
     
    “Before you go, a word of caution. You’re not the first guest Megan’s been involved with. This is kind of her thing. We don’t question it because of her dad. I