25. Good Surprise?
GOOD SURPRISE?
TARA
I can’t believe I held Aiden’s hand pretty much the entire flight.
I’m kicking myself for forgetting to get a script for Valium last week. I was so convinced that this opportunity was going to be torn out from beneath me that I hadn’t thought about my ridiculous fear of flying.
I hate that he’s seen such a vulnerable side of me.
I’ve always prided myself on being the cool, calm and collected one.
So having him see me jump at every slight noise that the plane made is just embarrassing.
Although not as bad as when I’d practically climbed into his lap when we hit some turbulence.
He took it all in his stride, though, trying to distract me with movies and convincing me to have a couple of glasses of wine in the hope that it might help calm my nerves. Which they did, thank goodness. Although I’m feeling slightly tipsy on the cab ride to our hotel.
When we pull up outside, one of the staff opens the door of the cab for me, and I blink up at him for a moment, surprised.
I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere that the staff opens the door for you.
Another person has already begun unloading the back of the car, and Aiden is paying the driver, so all I have to do is stand there and wait, which feels very strange.
With our belongings safely loaded on to a trolley, we follow the staff inside.
I hang back, staring around the opulent reception area while Aiden gets us checked in.
Wandering over to the bar area, I look up and realise that there’s no ceiling above it, creating a void.
I can see all the way up to the roof of the hotel.
The elevators are all glass, looking like something out of a sci-fi movie as they go up and down the wall.
The bar area is amazing, with about twenty circular booths at different tiers, with wire cones above them, giving each one their own individual roof in the void.
I’ve been to fancy-ish hotels before, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.
It’s the same hotel where the conference is being held, and I shudder to think how much this is all costing.
But the insurance industry isn’t known for being cheap at events like this.
Aiden appears at my side and hands me my room keycard. “We’re on the 36th floor. Our rooms weren’t ready yet, and they were so apologetic that they upgraded us both to something called a Panoramic Deluxe Room. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds like it’ll be pretty fancy.”
“I think fancy is the buzz-word for this entire trip,” I reply, waving my hand up and down to draw his attention to the bar area and space-ship elevators.
He grins. “Worth the flight, then?”
“Ah, yeah. I mean, I love the apartment and am incredibly lucky to live there, but this place makes it look like a hovel.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “I think that’s a stretch. Your place is amazing. But yeah, this is next level. Come on, let’s go see what our rooms are like.”
He leads the way to the elevators on the right and soon, we’re whooshing up towards the stars. Well, the 36th floor, which might as well be the stars .
It turns out our rooms are side-by-side.
Aiden holds his keycard to his door, nodding before I step inside mine and let the door close behind me.
The view that I’m met with takes my breath away.
I barely even notice the room itself when I step around my suitcase that the very efficient bell-hop has already delivered, making a beeline straight for the floor to ceiling window that runs across the entire wall.
Night has just started to fall, and the lights of the Singapore Marina and city skyline twinkle before me.
A thrill runs through me, unable to believe that I’m really here. We hadn’t discussed plans for the rest of the evening, but looking out at the city before me, all I want to do is go and explore.
A knock at the door pulls me from my reverie, and I reluctantly tear myself away from the view to open the door to the hall, surprised when I find no one there.
Another knock sounds, and I turn back into the room, spying a door to my right.
I open it to find Aiden standing there with a massive smile on his face.
“Wanna go exploring?” he asks.
“You read my mind,” I reply. “Have you seen the view?”
“Oh yeah, that’s why I’m excited. There’s an amazing street food area near here that I went to last time, and then there’s somewhere I think we should check out, but it’s a surprise.”
I study him for a moment, noting the twinkle in his eye. “Okay. I wanna get out of these clothes and take a quick shower first.”
I must imagine the heat behind his gaze, because there is no way Aiden is looking at me like the suggestion of me getting naked has gotten him hot and bothered.
Whatever that look was, it disappears quickly and he nods. “Good idea. Meet you in the hall in half an hour?”
“Perfect.”
On my own again, I finally take a look around the room and am taken aback at the sheer size of it.
The massive bed, which looks bigger than the king size one I sleep in at home, sits near the window, facing a large TV on the wall opposite.
The bathroom has a rain water shower, and a spa bath tub sits against the window that overlooks the bedroom.
Good thing I’m not sharing with anyone else, as there would be zero privacy, but it does mean I can look at the view from the bath.
I shower quickly before digging out one of the dresses that Sylvia picked out for me.
This one is shorter than I normally would go for, fitted to the waist before flaring out at the hips, and it’s much tighter than I ever would have chosen for myself, but after trying on that first dress, I’d become bolder with my choices.
I stand in front of the mirror and admire the way the emerald green looks with my deep red hair hanging down my back.
I put on a small amount of BB cream and mascara, aware that it’s about a thousand degrees outside and anything more would just melt straight off, anyway.
Realising I’ve forgotten to pack a small handbag, I slide a hair tie on to my wrist in case I get over the feeling of my hair sticking to the back of my neck and slip my small wallet and phone into the surprisingly deep pockets on the dress, before heading out to meet Aiden in the hall.
As I open the door, I discover Aiden already waiting for me, and I feel a sudden loss of breath.
I pause, taking in his fitted black T-shirt and dark jeans that cling in all the right places.
His wavy hair hangs perfectly tousled around his ears, and he still hasn’t shaved.
The light stubble gives him a strikingly handsome look that apparently makes my insides go weak, reminding me of the beard he’d been sporting when we’d first met.
Startling blue eyes meet mine, and he swallows hard, straightening up from where he is leaning against the wall and scrolling on his phone.
“You look… Yeah… You look amazing,” he says, blushing a little.
It’s good to know that he’s just as affected by my appearance as I am by his.
“Thank you,” I reply, a smile playing across my lips. Ignoring the way my heart rate seems to have picked up, I wave my hand towards the elevator. “Shall we go? ”
He clears his throat and nods. “Ah, yeah. After you,” he says, indicating for me to walk ahead of him.
I take the lead and wonder at our reactions just now… And feel my excitement growing in anticipation of what the night may have in store for us.
The open air market that Aiden takes me to amazes me with all the choices. I let him order for both of us and have the most amazing chili crab, along with a whole coconut to drink.
After we finish eating, he flags us down a cab and asks the driver to take us to Union Square, whisking me off to the surprise portion of the evening.
“What’s Union Square?” I ask, unable to handle the suspense any longer.
“I told you, it’s a surprise.” He grins at me while I scowl.
“If you haven’t worked it out, I am not a fan of surprises.”
He laughs. “Oh, I’ve definitely worked that out, Tara. But you’ll like this surprise, so just accept that you can’t control everything.”
I can’t help the pout that crosses my face, and that just makes him laugh harder, before reaching over and squeezing my hand.
Sometime in the last fifteen hours, we’ve reached a point where hand holding feels normal, but I try not to focus on that. We’re just friends, and he’s my boss. So what if his touch makes me feel all warm and tingly, and the sight of him makes my mouth go dry. That’s completely normal, right?
The cab pulls up outside a building that gives no clue as to what the surprise is. But when Aiden leads me inside and I can hear the latin music pumping, the apprehension I was feeling gives way to excitement, and I grip his hand tightly.
“We’re going dancing?” I ask, my wide smile almost hurting my face.
“Yep. Good surprise?” he asks while paying for our entry .
“Great surprise.”
We head inside and the place is jam packed with people. This is on a whole other level compared to the open air dancing back home, and I don’t know where to look as couples whirl past me.
“What do you want to do first? Dance, or grab a drink and watch for a bit?” he asks, placing his hands on my shoulders while he stands behind me and speaks into my ear over the noise.
The sensation of his breath on my neck sends a shiver down my spine, and it takes all my concentration to focus on his words and not on how my body seems to be reacting to his touch.
“Let’s grab a drink first. I’m going to need a little liquid courage to dance amongst all these pros.” He takes my hand and kisses the back of it. I’m so stunned by the motion that I don’t immediately realise he’s speaking to me. “Sorry, what?”