Opposite Day
OPPOSITE DAY
RACHEL
Denver International Airport is in a bizarre location. It sits in the middle of what looks like a prairie, yet we were only in the car fifteen minutes before the emptiness of the plains dissolved into a city that glittered like sequins on a New Year’s party dress. We passed a massive hospital that looked to be expanding and dozens of apartment complexes. Downtown Denver reminded me of Phoenix in that both are capitals, but don’t feel as suffocatingly busy as LA or New York.
I yawned as Cam greeted the Four Seasons’ valet who unloaded our luggage. He led me inside to the check-in desk where a man wearing a name tag that said Dennis smiled and welcomed us over. While he and Cam exchanged pleasantries, I tuned out for a moment to people watch, but ears perked up when I heard Dennis deliver some terrifying news.
“I’m sorry, but we are at capacity for the night,” Dennis said. “We don’t have two rooms available, but we have one Premier Studio King left after a cancellation.”
This was the opposite of what I wanted to hear.
“We’ll take it,” Cam said without hesitation.
My eyes widened. “One room?”
“I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Cam handed the man his credit card and smiled. Dennis gave us both a curious look and then finished the check-in process.
“You’re not?—”
“Why don’t you go to the room?” Cam asked. “I’ll have the bags sent up and get us a nightcap. That way you can have a little privacy.”
“Yeah, sure, thanks,” I said, grabbing the suitcase with my pajamas in it.
Cam pulled a ten dollar bill out of his wallet. “For the valet when he brings the bags.”
“I got it,” I said, waving it away. “It’s the least I can do with you paying for the room.”
He smiled and shoved his wallet back into his pocket. “As far as a drink? The usual?”
“Absolutely.” I couldn’t help but feel light as I headed to the elevator. Andrew would have been on his phone while I checked us in and he wouldn’t have tipped the way Cam did. I make dozens of decisions every day for our business and I don’t mind taking the lead, but it was nice to have Cam step in so I didn’t have to.
When I got to the room, my heart quickened when I saw there was only one bed with a short bench at the end. Cam was over six feet tall. There’s no way he was going to sleep on that. Since I’m a bed snob, there’s no way I was sleeping on the bench either. There was only one solution. I set my things down and called housekeeping.
As soon as the other bags arrived, I changed into my llama pajamas and tank top. Before washing my face, I paused, looking at myself in the bathroom mirror. The urge to reapply my makeup and sleep in my dress overwhelmed me, I remembered what Cam said on the way over.
Be yourself .
Right .
Wait, do I leave my bra on? My ribbed white tank was thick, but not that thick. What if I get cold or, dare I say, excited? I slammed my eyes shut and shook my head. It was almost 1 a.m. You’re going to bed, and you never wear a bra to bed. Be yourself!
When Cam finally got to the room, he had two drinks in hand. “Sorry, Mom called and …” He froze, his voice trailing off and his cheeks reddening as his gaze landed on me while I sat at the table checking emails on my laptop.
“What’s wrong?” I said, getting up to take my drink from his hand. His eyes wandered up and down my body, causing my own cheeks to erupt in flames.
“Are you wearing matching knee-high llama socks?”
I glanced down, kicking out my right leg. “You said to be myself. Well, this is what I look like at this time of night.”
“I had no idea. I mean, I’m absolutely undone. Sharing this room with those socks is going to be harder than I thought.”
He winked at me, and it wasn’t just any wink. It was this Hollywood hot man sexy wink that sent a sizzle of electricity through me. Mercy, I wish I still had my bra on. I turned and took three quick gulps of my drink.
“At least there’s a bench I can sleep on,” he said as he opened his suitcase and started to lay out his things.
“Please. That’s too small,” I said, sitting back down in front of my laptop.
“You’re proposing we share the bed?”
“I don’t see another option, unless you think you can’t keep your hands off my socks.”
Cam plugged in his phone charger. “Oh, I’ll be fine. Are you sure you can handle sleeping next to Hot Baker? You better not wake me up by moaning all night.”
“Not a problem,” I scoffed. “Besides, I have a solution.”
“And that is?” He slipped his shoes off and placed them neatly next to the wall by his suitcase.
Housekeeping knocked on the door, and when Cam answered it, he thanked her and tipped for the four extra pillows I requested.
“This is your solution?” Cam asked. “We’re building a pillow fort?”
“A pillow barrier that will keep us on our respective sides.”
“I hope that stops you from trying to grope me,” Cam said, taking them to the bed.
I pursed my lips so he didn’t see me smiling again.
“You need anything in here?” he asked, gesturing to the bathroom.
“I’m all set.” I pushed my glasses back up my nose and finished sorting through a couple of urgent customer emails before closing my laptop.
After I carefully built a row of pillows in a nice divide down the bed, I slipped under the sheets as Cam appeared from the bathroom wearing only a pair of gym shorts. Thankfully, he was not wearing his black boxer briefs or I would have had to spend the night in the hallway.
“I like this barrier you made,” he said, patting the pillows.
“Yet another useless skill I have.”
“Comment unclear. This is totally a useful skill. I personally feel much more comfortable now that you’ve built it so high I won’t be able to see you.”
He turned out his light and shifted in the bed. I exhaled, long and slow. He wasn’t near me, and I couldn’t see him, but that hadn’t stopped the electric charge coming off him from invading my space. His slow and steady breathing, his citrus and cedarwood smell.
I turned toward him and tucked my hands under my head, trying to get comfortable.
“Can you sleep?” he asked.
Do not blurt out that you’re having a hard time lying this close to someone so scalding hot. Filter! Filter!
“I’m exhausted, but I feel wide awake right now,” I finally admitted.
“Same,” Cam said. “Can I … do you think you can control yourself if I remove a pillow or two?”
“As long as you stay on your side,” I said through my giggle.
“I will. I don’t want to tempt you into breaking the rules before our first event. Ready?”
“I’m ready.”
He slowly peeled the top layer of pillows away and the sight of him sent ripples of excitement through me. The ethereal glow from the twinkling city provided just enough light to highlight every hard line of his upper body.
“How’s that?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Your male gaze is unnerving.”
“Maybe I should turn on the light so you can see that I’m not male gazing at you, I’m regular gazing.”
I laughed and put my hand up in protest as he reached for his light. “That will only keep us up longer.”
“Fair enough.”
He turned on his side toward me and rested his head on his hand.
“Thank you again for calming me down on the plane.”
The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Happy to help.”
“I’m sorry about what happened with Andrew and?—”
Cam held up his hand. “We’re just friends. You don’t need to apologize for that.”
“I should never have let him in the house. The sight of him repulsed me before I let him in my house, and now even more so.”
“Especially after the fish kiss,” Cam said with a wide grin.
I crinkled my nose. “Yeah, especially after that. And that wasn’t even my worst kiss ever, believe it or not.”
“Oh? And what was your worst kiss ever?”
“John Moterano, freshman year of college. We were at this house party. I kissed him not realizing that he had just eaten a handful of Doritos. When the kiss ended, I had bits of chips in my mouth.”
Cam cringed. “That is … yeah. So wrong.”
“What about you? What was your worst kiss ever?”
Cam glanced up at the ceiling. “There have been a few, but I have to say … Elizabeth Hastings. Things were getting passionate when she sneezed in my mouth and … how do I say this? There was a little transfer.”
I rolled on my back, half laughing and half gagging. “Awful.”
“I know. I don’t really like to talk about it.”
“I can see why,” I said, rolling back to face him. “You have my sympathies.”
“That means a lot, thanks.”
“What about your worst first date?”
“That’s easy. Bonnie Kilroy. Before we even got to the restaurant, she wanted to know how much money I made. She said she didn’t want to waste time on a man who couldn’t afford her.”
My eyes widened. “I can’t … What did you do?”
“I turned around, dropped her back off at her house, and said I didn’t want to waste time on a woman who couldn’t afford to be a decent human being.”
“Ha! Nice!” I raised my hand to give him a high five. “No wonder you don’t talk about what you do.”
“Yep. How about you?”
“Worst first date? Let’s see.” I tapped my finger on the bed. “Oh, Mike Kosner. He was sooo cute until he brought his mother to our date. She sat in the next booth over.”
Cam furrowed his brow. “That’s crazy.”
“I got up to leave and that’s when his mother slid into the booth where I had been sitting.”
“Whoa. Pretty sure you dodged a bullet there.”
“Agreed.”
“What about your best kiss?” he asked.
Without any hesitation and without any consultation with my voice of reason, I blurted out, “You.”
Holy shit.
What made this worse was the absolute wave of delight that flashed across Cam’s face. His sexy smile made my heart slam in my chest.
Damn this man.
“Me?” he said, scrunching his shoulders.
“Nope. Nothing.”
“Oh man, you’re in trouble here. You’re going to cave soon, Kicklighter.”
I faked a yawn. “You know, I’m pretty tired.” I reached for the pillows to rebuild the wall.
“Hey, I want to know more about your best kiss with me. What made it the best?”
I swatted him with the last pillow. “Goodnight, Grumpy Groomsman.”
He winked again. “Goodnight, Kicklighter.”