Chapter 26
T hey fell back against the door to their hotel room, kissing and giggling while Charlotte fished her phone out of her bag to pull up the app that would open the room’s smart lock. Thankfully, her phone had just enough charge to open the door, saving them a hike back to the front desk
Once in the room, they took off bags and shoes. “Every part of my body wants to commit a murder against me,” Charlotte said as she flopped onto a chair.
“If that’s how you, a professional at this, are feeling, imagine how much every bone in my body is screaming right now.”
“I do not recommend looking at the step count on your watch tonight. You can look tomorrow when you’ll feel triumphant about it, but tonight, it will confuse and possibly upset you to learn how you walked so much around one place.”
“Sounds like expert advice,” Gregory agreed. “I could use some more advice.”
Charlotte perked up, expecting him to ask about something to do with kissing.
“How much will I regret making a cup of coffee?”
Oh.
“I mean, maybe if you do like half caf or something you won’t be awake all night.”
“I’d be fine with being awake all night.” He took the chair next to hers and waggled his eyebrows, and the sight of Gregory being so chill was going to undo her.
“But I was talking about whether it would be like, sanitary, to use that coffee maker. I’ve read too many ‘don’t do these things in hotel rooms’ articles that mention how gross the in-room coffee machines are.”
“Huh, I wouldn’t have pegged you as the listicle reading type,” Charlotte said.
He shrugged. “We all have our weaknesses.”
“I guess so,” she replied. “To my knowledge, no one has ever died from drinking terrible hotel room coffee.”
She stood up, cringing as her feet lit on fire. Charlotte bent over to kiss Gregory’s cheek. “Why don’t you risk it and make some coffee for both of us, and I’ll take a quick shower before you?”
“Yes, again, full of expert advice. No one should go to bed with a day of theme park grime on them.” His voice turned mischievous. “Whether they’re going to sleep or not.”
Charlotte took the quickest shower of her life, scrubbing away the layers of sunscreen, sweat, and God knew what else. Much as she loved theme parks, she couldn’t deny that germs abounded. Feeling too shy to walk out in only a towel or a robe, Charlotte slipped on her pajama short set and picked up the sacred mint foot-rub tube.
Swinging the bathroom door open she said, “All yours.”
She’d been so fast the coffee maker was still percolating, gasping away as it dripped into the pot below.
“Gregory?”
No answer. She tiptoed around the corner and saw Gregory stretched out in one of the chairs, arms folded, head leaned back, and eyes closed. And was that a trace of a snore? Of course, she thought, laughing softly. He was out . Without taking a shower. This was another reason it was a gamble to sit down in a comfy spot for too long after a long day of going on rides, waiting in line for said rides, and eating as many snacks as possible.
Charlotte turned off the coffee maker—no one would have to bet their life on hotel room coffee tonight—and flipped off the bathroom light. She opened the closet door, the loud creak not making Gregory stir at all, and pulled a blanket from the top shelf. Taking his probably sweaty shoes off seemed like a level of intimacy he might not be into yet so she left them on his feet and covered him in the blanket.
She got the last of the lights in the room and crawled under the covers. Charlotte rolled over once or twice, trying to see Gregory’s outline in the chair through the bedroom door in the dark. Exhaustion swept over her, not allowing her body the luxury of reliving her and Gregory’s kisses and not giving her mind the space for anxiety to swirl about what might happen next. Charlotte fell asleep almost instantly.
* * *
The aroma of waffles and bacon swirled into Charlotte’s dreams, strong enough to make her eyes open. She propped herself on one elbow and took in the room through sleep-addled eyes, spying a full breakfast spread on the coffee table. Slowly, her brain cleared and she remembered where she was—and who she was with. Except she didn’t see Gregory anywhere in the room and the bathroom door wasn’t closed.
“Gregory?” she said tentatively.
No answer.
She stretched and scooted toward the edge of the bed—just as well Gregory had fallen asleep on the chair since she’d sprawled across the king-size mattress—and swung her feet out, glancing at the clock. It wasn’t even eight yet. She padded across the floor toward the food and saw there were indeed two plates. Then she walked toward the bathroom and peeked in slowly, saying his name again in case he was, for some reason, lurking in the shower in the dark.
Empty bathroom confirmed, Charlotte prioritized hygiene, appreciating the chance to brush her teeth before Gregory appeared from wherever he went. She shrugged into a light robe and was deciding how rude it would be to eat without him when the hotel room door beeped. Charlotte froze, then bent her knees slightly to prepare to do something—attack a possible room invader, she guessed—but an arm holding a coffee cup came through the door.
“Here, I got it,” she said and stepped forward to swing the door open for Gregory, who was juggling a whole container of drinks.
“You’re awake.” He smiled.
“Yeah, the smell of bacon could pull me out of a coma.”
“You kinda do sleep like the dead,” he said, walking the drinks to the coffee table. He took cups of coffee and a couple of different juices out of the holder. “I kept thinking I was going to wake you up while I was getting ready this morning, but I realized there was no way. You were out.”
“Well, it was a busy day and we were both exhausted.”
“Yeah, about that.” He gestured at the chairs. “Come sit and let’s dig in before it gets cold. I had it brought to the room, but I forgot about drinks and I didn’t know what you might like besides coffee, so . . .”
“So you brought a breakfast beverage sample platter?” Charlotte teased but the thoughtful gesture made her feel fuzzy, like a soft sweatshirt on the first day of fall. It made her think that, when they got around to talking about last night, it wasn’t going to be bad, that they’d both been on the same page and both wanted to return to it.
“Basically, yeah.”
“I normally just do coffee, but that’s only because I never remember to get juice. If I’m getting breakfast somewhere, I love orange juice.”
Gregory looked pleased with himself and held up two cups. “Pulp or no pulp?”
“Pulp, please, I like to chew my orange juice.”
He wrinkled his nose. “That makes one of us.”
“The coffee is their daily flavor too—honeycrisp apple, I think. After smelling the coffee I started before I passed out last night, I figured it was best if we let the hotel coffee maker exist in peace.”
Charlotte snickered. “That bad, huh?”
Gregory made a pained face. “Like sweaty feet mixed with bean water.”
“I’m so glad you shared that as we’re about to eat.” It didn’t stop her from picking up a fork and digging into the waffle she’d smothered with maple syrup.
They chewed in comfortable silence. Most hotel room service wasn’t anything impressive but DreamUs resorts made delectable waffles so popular they even sold their proprietary mix so people could make the treats at home.
Gregory wiped his mouth with a napkin and cleared his throat. Here we go , thought Charlotte. “So, uh, last night,” he said.
Charlotte speared a link of chicken-and-apple sausage. “Yes, about that.” She bit off half the sausage, refusing to show her hand first.
Gregory looked alarmed at how much food she’d shoved into her face but recovered quickly. He put a hand on Charlotte’s bare knee. “I hate that I fell asleep.”
Charlotte hurried through the last couple of chews and swallowed hard. “Yeah, me too. But I was out as soon as I closed my eyes, so maybe it was for the best.”
“Oh,” Gregory said and withdrew his hand. “I was worried about that—that I missed my chance.”
Charlotte was sipping her coffee, which gave her time to process that he was disappointed they hadn’t been able to follow their kisses up with more. She wouldn’t leave any room for misunderstanding. She put her cup down, stood up, and took one step to loom over Gregory before sitting in his lap and putting each of her hands on either side of his sharp jaw. He wrapped his arms around her.
“You haven’t missed your chance, Gregory. We haven’t missed our chance.”
She pulled his face closer and leaned into his lips, showing him with a kiss how happy she was that he wasn’t going to try to brush off the heated embraces of last night as a mistake, or a business liability, or some other excuse. He answered her lips with equal fire and when he slipped his tongue into her mouth, Charlotte thought she might melt into a puddle.
They took their time, lingering with each kiss, each movement of exploration. Gregory brushed her robe down her arm, baring her shoulder, and left a trail of kisses along her collarbone. Charlotte moaned in pleasure.
“I want to hear that sound again,” he said, voice raspy, and pulled her closer into him, helping her arrange one knee on other side of his legs, straddling him. She could feel that he was enjoying this as much as her, and she lightly ran her nails over the exposed slice of skin above his pants, earning a groan.
“Charlotte,” he breathed.
“Yes?” she asked.
“This is all—You’re okay with this, right?”
“More than okay.” She pressed her hips down and leaned in to kiss his neck right below his hairline.
“Thank fuck.”
Charlotte pulled back. “Gregory! I have never heard you say ‘fuck’!”
Gregory cupped his hands below her bottom and stood, lifting her. Charlotte wound her legs around his thighs. “There’s a time and place for everything, Charlotte. Now, can we move to the bed?”
“Yes, immediately, please.”