Chapter 19 Wren
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WREN
“We’re staying here tonight?” I ask with wide eyes as I turn in a wide circle in our hotel room. That’s right, hotel, not motel. Now that we have IDs, we were able to secure a room at a much nicer place. The room is about four times the size of any of my previous ones and much cleaner, too.
“We’re moving up in the world, huh?” Pete asks, dropping one of our bags on the floor.
I decide to go check out the bathroom, and my eyes widen when I see the tub. “Oh wow! This tub is big enough for three people!” I yell as I run my hand around the lip.
“Is that an invi—omph!” Pete starts to talk, but is cut off, and when I step back into the room, I see him slightly bent over, rubbing his stomach as Jagger walks away from him.
Did Jagger just hit him?
I frown, wondering what I missed, but I’m distracted by Dex stepping right in front of me. He stares down at me with a pinched brow.
“What’s wrong?” I ask. “You’re frowning.”
Suddenly, he drops to one knee and grabs my hand, startling me. “Wren, will you do me the honor of going on a date with me?”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise, and my jaw drops open.
“A date?” I ask nervously. He nods, and a slow smile spreads across my face as butterflies take flight in my stomach. “I’d love to, Dex.”
He pulls me into a hug with a celebratory cheer, then pulls me back to look at me again. “Be ready to go in one hour.”
“You can’t take her out by yourself,” Sly says as he takes a seat on the couch. “It’s too dangerous.”
“What if I promise to stay inside the hotel?” Dex asks over his shoulder with pleading eyes.
Sly sighs but nods his head. “Fine.”
Jagger signs something to Sly that I only catch part of, something about following. Sly nods in reply. “Definitely.”
“What do I wear?” I ask Dex nervously. The only dresses I have are still dirty.
“It doesn’t matter. You’d look beautiful in a paper bag.”
I try not to laugh at the image as he stands up, kissing my knuckles.
“I’ll see you in an hour.” He grabs a bag and closes himself in one of the bedrooms. Since we’d rented a suite, there was a large living space, one large bathroom, one small one, and two bedrooms, both with large king-sized beds.
I didn’t like the idea of not sleeping in the same room as all of them, but I knew there was no other option.
“Is he going to just sit in there for the next hour?” I ask the others.
Pete snorts. “I’m sure he can think of something to bide his time. Especially if he’s thinking about spending time with you.”
I’m not sure what he means, but as the others get settled around the room, I start to wonder if accepting the date with Dex would make them think I like him more. They kept telling me they weren’t going anywhere. But would they stick around if they thought I had chosen Dex?
But Dex asked me out, knowing that Jagger had kissed me.
Just thinking about that kiss has my body warming.
I had no idea kissing could feel like that.
I figured it would be a little enjoyable, but it far exceeded any expectations I ever had.
I felt that kiss all the way to my core.
My entire body had lit up like a Christmas tree, and I had silently prayed it would never end.
Sly was really upset about it. Was it really because he thought Jagger was pressuring me? Or was it jealousy?
Deciding it isn’t something I want to ask, I grab my bag and start searching for something to wear.
Black and white plaid material catches my eye, and I smile, knowing exactly what I want to wear.
I set it aside, knowing it will only take me a few minutes to get dressed, then I head over to where Jagger is sitting on the large couch.
He sees me approach and pats the spot next to him. I happily sit down and snuggle into his side, his arm wraps around me as he plays with something he ordered yesterday. They called it a tablet. It works similarly to a phone.
I watch as he scrolls through the online store, adding a few things to the cart. “I guess we’re staying here for two nights so that we can get some more stuff?” I ask. He nods, then passes it to me with an eyebrow raised in question.
I take it, thinking about a couple of things I wanted to get.
When I type in my search for the first one, Jagger squeezes me tight.
I look up at him, and his blue eyes stare at me intently, like he wishes he could tell me something.
I shrug and lick my lips as I try to explain.
“If I have an ASL book, I can learn and teach the others while you drive.”
He tilts my chin up and starts to lower his face toward mine.
My heart thumps heavily with anticipation, and I close my eyes just as his lips brush across mine in the briefest of kisses.
He pulls back way too soon, and when I open my eyes, he kisses my forehead, then pulls me back in to rest against his chest.
Feeling that flutter of butterflies in my stomach, I try to relax against him as I continue my shopping. When Pete joins us, sitting right next to me, I pass the tablet to him. Sly turns on the TV and stops flipping channels to some nature show.
I watch with interest as a boat idles in the ocean, and something dark starts to move in the water below. Something large breaks the surface, and a large gust of water blows high into the air. My eyes widen in surprise. “Was that a whale?” I ask, leaning forward to get a better look.
“Yeah, a blue whale, I think,” Sly tells me as I watch the large creature move around the boat.
“It’s huge! I thought they were like… I don’t know, six feet long?”
“Some are a lot smaller, but several species are much larger. The blue whale is the largest mammal in the world. I believe they can grow up to around a hundred feet.”
“No way!” I inch forward on my seat, watching with rapt fascination.
Of course, I’d learned about whales and other animals as part of my education growing up, but it was brief, and seeing them on TV was a lot different from seeing an illustration in a book.
Eventually, the show shifts to squids, which are also fascinating, but I excuse myself to get ready for my date.
I change in the bathroom and look at my reflection nervously, hoping Dex likes my outfit. Taking a deep breath, I step back out into the living space and move around to where the three of them are still watching TV.
“Um, guys?” Three sets of eyes turn in my direction.
“Fucking hell,” Pete says with a groan as he grabs a pillow and pulls it into his lap, his green eyes moving up and down my body, leaving a trail of heat in their wake.
“No,” Sly says, and I turn to him with a frown. He shakes his head. “No way. Go change.”
My shoulders slump at his apparent disapproval of my outfit. “You hate it?”
Pete laughs, and movement from Jagger has me look up as he signs, “You look beautiful.”
My cheeks heat at his praise. “Thank you.”
“She can’t go out like that. Everyone will be staring at her,” Sly says, throwing an arm out in my direction.
“They’re gonna look at her no matter what she’s wearing,” Pete says with a grin as he continues to look up and down my body.
There’s a loud knock at the door, and my eyes widen in alarm. Sly jumps up, squeezing my shoulder as he passes. “You wait here, I’ll see who it is.” He heads over and looks out the peephole, his shoulders dropping when he sees who’s there.
“Wren, it looks like your date has arrived.”
I pinch my eyebrows in confusion, and he beckons me over.
As I approach, he opens the door to reveal Dex.
He’s holding a bunch of flowers in his hand that look like they don’t quite belong together.
A button-up shirt stretches so tightly over his chest and biceps that I’m worried it might rip at the slightest movement.
He’s styled his hair back and smiles at me as he passes me the flowers.
“These are for you.”
“Thank you, Dex,” I say, taking the flowers and giving them a sniff. “They’re lovely.”
“Why don’t I put those in some water for you, so you can get going?” Sly asks, and I pass them to him with a thanks.
I say goodbye to the others, then Dex takes my hand and leads me down the hall to the elevator. As we wait for it to arrive, he turns me toward him and looks me up and down, and nerves fill me at his perusal. Will he hate it as Sly does?
“You look delectable,” he says, licking his lips.
“It’s okay? I don’t think Sly liked it. He said people shouldn’t see me in it.”
He laughs as the elevator doors open and we step inside. He presses a button, then turns to grin at me. “I think he meant that you look so good that he doesn’t want others seeing you in it.”
“I… I don’t know what that means,” I tell him honestly.
He pulls me against his chest, his fingers trailing over my cheek. I swallow nervously. “It means that you look so hot that he doesn’t want others looking at you like that. He’s jealous. He only wants us to look at you with lust.”
“Oh.” I’m not sure what else to say. I didn’t realize Sly felt like that. “And you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you jealous?”
“As long as you’re with me, then I don’t need to be. They can look, but only the four of us get to touch,” he whispers as his fingers skate down my chin and his thumb swipes over my lower lip. “That is, if you want us to.”
“I do,” I whisper back.
Just as his head starts to dip toward mine, the elevator pings, and I jump back as the doors open. He squeezes my hand and leads me into the lobby. I don’t ask where we’re going as he leads me down the hall. When we stop in front of a fancy restaurant, I realize he’s taking me to dinner.
A dinner where I didn’t have to cook or clean?
I smile and wrap my arm around his as we wait for the hostess.
I glance down the hall and see three familiar heads poking out of a doorway.
When they see me looking, they quickly pull back, and the door closes.
I bite back my smile as Dex pulls me with him, following the hostess to our seats.
We’re placed by a window that overlooks a small garden. There’s a small tea light candle on the table, and the dim lighting adds to the romantic atmosphere. We’re handed menus and then left alone.
Dex glances around at the surrounding tables with a frown.
“This isn’t right,” he mumbles, pushing to his feet.
I watch in confusion as he swipes the candle off the empty table beside ours, then he moves around the room, stealing the fake little tea lights from a dozen tables, some of which have people sitting at them.
They look at him like he’s insane, but nobody questions him, not even the staff.
He finally plonks back in his chair across from me and places them, one at a time, around the table until every free inch is covered in them. “Much better!”
He looks up at me in such eager excitement that I don’t have the heart to tell him I don’t need all of them to make this special. Instead, I smile as I tell him. “This is really nice, thank you for bringing me here.”
“I’m glad you like it. Do you need help ordering?”
I look down at the menu, and my eyes widen at all the choices. “I can have any of these?” I ask, unable to keep the hope from my voice.
“Of course, order anything. Do you know what everything is?”
I quickly peruse the list of items and nod. “Yeah, I’ve made most of these.”
“I thought you only ate salad and healthy stuff?” he asks in confusion.
“Yes, but I still had to cook nice things for Robert. I’ve made most of these, but I’ve never tried them.”
“He’s a fucking abusive asshole,” Dex grits out, his anger surprising me.
“He wasn’t abusive,” I say in defense.
“Not all abuse is physical, baby,” he says, reaching out to place his hand over mine on top of the table. “What you just explained, that’s a form of abuse. Just because he never left a mark on your skin doesn’t mean he didn’t leave any on your soul.”