Chapter 16
16
JORDAN
F ifteen shows down. Nine to go.
“Goodnight, you guys,” I say to the band as we walk through the Botsford Plaza lobby.
They head toward the hotel bar, no doubt looking to stay there until it closes, while I practically beeline toward the elevators, a goodnight’s sleep calling my name.
“On the bus. Nine AM! You hear me?”
They all perform various signs of acknowledgment, Katrina assuring me they’ll all be ready to go on time.
I give them a wave and continue toward the elevators. Chrissy and August follow behind me, the air between them crackling with tension. I catch their hidden glances all the way up. August’s subtle smirk. Chrissy’s sinister eyes.
I swallow the tease on my tongue. Truthfully, it’s kind of sweet.
“Goodnight, Jordan,” they say as we step off the elevator.
“Goodnight, guys,” I say, fishing for my room key. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Chrissy unlocks her suite next to mine and August follows her inside.
Well, hopefully they’re quiet tonight. We share a wall.
I enter my suite. I peel off my clothes and let down my hair, debating whether to take a shower now or wait until morning. It doesn’t take long for me to make that Morning Jordan’s problem and I whip out my pajamas before heading into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
Over the sound of my electric toothbrush pulsing against my gums, I hear a knock on my door.
I walk over to the peephole and see... nothing but black.
Slowly, I slide the chain into place before opening the door an inch.
Bronson stands in the hall with his hand planted over the peephole.
I exhale, relieved. “Bronson.”
He chuckles.
I release the chain and open the door wider. “Why would you do that? I thought you were a serial killer or something.”
“We need a system,” he says, ignoring the complaint.
“A system?” I ask, waving him into the room.
He walks in and I give the hall a cursory glance before closing the door behind us.
“Yeah, a system,” Bronson says as he follows me to the bathroom. “Something you can do to discreetly let me know you want me to follow you upstairs at night.”
I rinse the toothpaste from my mouth and spit. “Hm,” I say, considering it. “Yeah. I didn’t even think of that.”
“I did, but...” He smirks. “You fell asleep.”
“You mean you put me to sleep?”
He shrugs cockily.
“Well..” I press my lips together in thought. “I can text you?”
He shakes his head. “Anyone can read a text.”
“What do you suggest, then?”
“Drop a pen.”
“Drop a pen?”
“If you want sex, drop your pen on the floor. Then I’ll know to follow you up.”
I nod along. “What if I don’t have a pen?”
He grunts. “You always have a pen.”
“But what if I accidentally drop my pen?”
“You’re not that clumsy.”
“But what if?”
“Then I spank you for your clumsiness and we go to bed. No harm done.”
I laugh. “All right. That works, I guess.”
Bronson glances around the room, then nods. “You going to sleep?”
“Yeah,” I say. “It’s been a long day and we’re heading to Detroit in the morning, so... I need to get my beauty sleep.”
“Beauty sleep,” he mutters. “Right.”
His eyes draw a line down my body, tingling the skin beneath my sleep cami and shorts.
“Bronson,” I warn.
“You want me to suck on your clit until you fall asleep?” he asks, ignoring my tone.
My stomach jolts in surprise, though... I really shouldn’t be shocked by anything that comes out of Bronson’s mouth at this point.
“No,” I say, taking a breath. “No, thank you. That won’t be necessary. And you know how I feel about… that.”
“You said you’d never come from oral before,” he says. “Not that you couldn’t.”
“And you took that as a challenge, I see.”
“Yes, I did.”
“No, Bronson,” I say, unable to stop the smile curling the edge of my mouth. “No, thank you.”
Bronson bites his lip, his teasing eyes pointed downward. “You sure?”
“Yes.”
He shrugs. “All right, then.”
“But don’t let that stop you from having a good time tonight. You’ve got a girl in the Chicagoland area, don’t you? What’s her name? Uh…” I search my memories. “Hannah!” I recall with the snap of my fingers. “You should give Hannah a call.”
Bronson pauses, his features subtly turning back to his usual stoicism. “Yeah,” he says. “Maybe I will.”
“You should. Celebrate! We’re almost to the east coast. That alone is worth a celebration, I’d say.”
He nods.
I give him a friendly kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight, Bronson,” I say. “Go have fun.”
He hovers in place for a moment, his eyes soft in thought. Then he takes a step back toward the door. “Goodnight, Jordan.”
I wave goodbye. As the door latches behind him, I roll my eyes and smile at the butterflies tickling my stomach.
Such a strange feeling.
I do my best to shake it off before climbing into bed. With lights out and my sleep mask on, I wrap myself in my blankets and hug a pillow to my chest, my heart thrumming wildly.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
I take a deep breath and count down before taking another one, hoping the long, purposeful breaths will calm my heart rate, but the pounding continues...
Bang. Bang. Bang.
A murmur of voices echo in my head. One deep and rough. The other high and feminine. Moaning and... groaning?
No.
Those voices aren’t in my head at all.
They’re through the wall.
I sit up in bed and grab my phone. Finding Chrissy’s number in my contacts, I hold the phone up to my ear and wait for her to answer. Before she does, the banging behind me slows and the voices drop low.
“Hello!” Chrissy answers.
“Do you mind?” I ask.
“Do I mind what?”
I turn and knock on the wall behind me.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Oh, shit!” Chrissy cracks up. “Sorry, babe. We’ll keep it down.”
“Thank you.”
“See you in the morning.”
I hang up with a grunt, but I don’t set my phone down yet. For a moment, I sit and stare at it in my palm, my fingers buzzing for me to swipe over to Bronson’s number and... drop a pen.
But he’s probably half-way to Hannah’s by now.
I plug the phone back into its charger and go to sleep.