Chapter 24
“Carly, wait up.”
Despite Nate's voice behind me, I keep a brisk pace to the elevator. It's been a long night, and as of one minute ago, I'm officially off duty. The last thing I want to do is spend my free time with him, especially not after having his mouth on mine.
When I reach the elevator and push the button, it doesn't immediately open. I was able to dodge Nate for the rest of the dinner cruise, but I have no such luck now.
His shoulder bumps mine as he joins me, waiting. “Where are you going?”
“To my room.”
“Why? The night is young.”
“Hardly. It's eleven p.m., and we have an early morning train to catch tomorrow.”
“Okay, Grandma.”
I flip a glare in his direction. “Some of us have to run this event.”
“Oh, please. At this point, running the event is all about herding cattle and shmoozing executives. You can spare an hour for a tuk-tuk tour. Might be good for optics.”
“Optics? No, thank you. I'm officially off the clock for the evening.”
“Okay, if you say so. But it's your loss. I saw Isaac and Lauren walk out the front of the hotel. I'm sure we'd bump into them."
My lips purse as my head inclines toward him. “I think we’ve given them plenty of content for one night.”
His smile beams. “And what a show it was.”
The elevator door opens. I wait, letting a few people off before I step inside. To my annoyance, Nate joins me for the ride.
“I thought you were going to do a tuk-tuk tour.” After that kiss, the last thing I want is to be trapped in a tiny box with Nate. I push the button for floor twenty-seven then scoot to the side, keeping a safe distance from him.
My eyes follow with an irritated glare as he also pushes the button for floor twenty-seven.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Push the elevator button that I already pushed, as if me pushing it the first time didn't get the job done. You’re a double pusher.”
“I’m just making sure.” He smirks.
“Or maybe you just like bothering me on purpose.”
“We already know I like that." His smile morphs into something self-satisfied.
I glare at him, not losing eye contact as I reach out and push the button again. To my annoyance, he does the same thing, holding my stare the entire time.
“You’re so irritating.” I throw my hands out.
“You didn’t find me irritating earlier.” He steps toward me, and I instinctively move back, pressing against the elevator. The palm of his hand rests on the wall behind me, allowing his body to lean into mine.
I lift my chin in defiance. “How do you know I wasn’t acting?”
Laughter sniffs out. “I know.”
“Don’t be so sure.” A flirtatious smile creeps onto my lips. Two can play this game. “Is this acting?” I trace a finger down his arm slowly, back and forth. There’s a tick in his jaw, but it’s not enough of a reaction. “What about this?” My fingers slide up his stomach, caressing over his chest, ending around his neck where they slowly skim his nape.
This time, there’s a throat bob and a swallow.
But I’m not done luring him in with my prowess.
All of this is more intimate than I want to be with my enemy, but it’s payback, so it’s fine.
I’m in control, and I’m proving a point.
“Or this?” I tug on his shirt, pulling his head down to me, and bury my face in the base of his neck. I drag the tip of my nose to his jaw, placing a soft kiss, then skid my lips down to his collarbone, covering his neck with my hot breath.
That’s when his Apple Watch beeps, notifying him of an accelerated heart rate.
Checkmate.
Nate swears under his breath, frantically tapping buttons on his watch.
“Smooth.” I sniff out a mocking laugh. “Real smooth.”
The elevator dings, and the doors open.
I exit, but not before I flash him a cocky grin. “ That was acting.”
The doors close behind me, leaving Nate standing there alone.
* * *
I sit up, hitting my pillow three times to add more fluff, then fall back with a huff.
It’s one a.m., and I can’t sleep.
I thought fantasizing about a dream kiss with Nate was bad, but fantasizing about a real one is a thousand times worse.
The damage is done.
My thoughts are out of control.
Every time I close my eyes, I picture Nate’s hands on my body and his warm lips coaxing mine. I imagine the taste, the smell, the warmth, and then suddenly, I’m throwing my covers off to get relief from the heat.
I may have pretended in the elevator that enjoying his kiss was all just an act, but I was lying.
LY-ING.
That kiss hit in all the right ways.
And I hate him for it.
I hate him for having power over me.
And I especially hate him for kissing me like that.
It’s going to be a long, sleepless night.
* * *
@girl_sees_the_world:
I can’t sleep. I need a distraction.
@worth_traveling_to:
Am I your distraction?
I’m not surprised by the quick response. It’s around noon in Arizona, not two a.m. like in Bangkok.
@girl_sees_the_world:
I hope so. Tell me something. Anything. I need something new to think about.
@worth_traveling_to:
Do you ever eat at Chick-fil-A?
@girl_sees_the_world:
Interesting subject choice.
@worth_traveling_to:
Hey, you said to tell you something. Anything. Don’t hate on me when I choose something.
@girl_sees_the_world:
You’re right. Sorry. Yes, I occasionally eat at Chick-fil-A.
@worth_traveling_to:
I always get weirded out when they say, “My pleasure,” after everything. I know it’s meant to be super nice, but they say it so much that it doesn’t feel genuine anymore. I don’t think they’re getting any pleasure out of serving me my food.
I laugh, curling into the extra pillow beside me on the bed.
@girl_sees_the_world:
First-world problems.
@worth_traveling_to:
I know, but it was the best random thing I could come up with on the spot. What’s keeping you awake when you should be sleeping?
There’s no way I’m telling Mr. International that a hot kiss with my coworker is keeping me up tonight. So, I go with the easier answer.
@girl_sees_the_world:
I lied too. I’m a liar now. I just thought you should know.
@worth_traveling_to:
Welcome to the fold.
@girl_sees_the_world:
I’m not proud of it, and I’m giving you fifty percent of the blame for convincing me that I needed to make my ex jealous.
@worth_traveling_to:
Only fifty? Why not one hundred?
@girl_sees_the_world:
The other fifty percent of the blame goes to my co-conspirator.
@worth_traveling_to:
I thought I was your co-conspirator.
@girl_sees_the_world:
No, you’re just my pen pal.
@worth_traveling_to:
Just a pen pal? I hope I’m a little more than that. (winky-face emoji) But in my defense, I never told you to lie. I just told you to act like you’re thriving without him.
@girl_sees_the_world:
And to make him jealous.
@worth_traveling_to:
Well, did it work?
The truth is, I got so lost in the kiss with Nate that I didn’t even notice if Isaac saw it or not. He seemed tense the rest of the night, so maybe.
@girl_sees_the_world:
I think he was jealous, but that’s beside the point. Now, I’m a liar, and the lie puts me in compromising situations the rest of the week.
@worth_traveling_to:
Compromising situations?
And by compromising situations, I’m talking about every single moment with Nate’s hands on me that I’ll have to endure.
@girl_sees_the_world:
Yes.
@worth_traveling_to:
In that case, you're welcome.
@girl_sees_the_world:
I wasn’t thanking you.
@worth_traveling_to:
Maybe you should be.
@girl_sees_the_world:
If you knew what I had to suffer through the next few days, you’d want to apologize for your role in all of this.
@worth_traveling_to:
It can’t be that bad, can it?
@girl_sees_the_world:
Yes, it really can be that bad. But I’m a big girl and can handle it.
Just like I did in the elevator.
@girl_sees_the_world:
I just wanted to keep you updated on the situation because you said you were invested. What about you and your lie? Any new developments?
@worth_traveling_to:
The lie has progressed into something bigger, which is good and bad.
@girl_sees_the_world:
Hopefully, the good outweighs the bad.
@worth_traveling_to:
Tonight, it definitely did.