Chapter 15
15
Patrick
Jaylen in my arms like this is the only thing I’ve dreamed of since I was a teenager. Tonight, has shown what could have been between us for the past fifteen years. We sway back and forth to the music. Everyone else fades away and it’s me and her.
“This has been fun. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“Thank you for taking the ticket last minute.” She’s still going with that story. I’ll let her have it even though I know she’s full of shit.
The song comes to a close, and I twirl her before dipping her. She wobbles a fraction because of the heels, but I won’t let her fall. “Want to get out of here?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” She laughs as I pull her back to standing. “I can’t wait to get out of these shoes.”
Moving us off the dance floor, I find a space without anyone around. “Take them off.”
“What? I can’t walk through here barefoot.”
“You won’t be.” She gives me a look like I’ve lost my mind, but slips off her heels. “Hop on my back.”
Bending down, I wait for her to grab onto my neck. “We’ll look ridiculous.”
“Who cares? We’re leaving.” Finally, she puts her arms around my neck and her legs wrap around my waist as I stand. “There’s no point in your feet hurting even more when I’m perfectly capable of carrying you.”
“I guess you’re making good on your promise.”
“You’re damn right.” I chuckle. At least she remembered that.
I weave my way around people, trying to give enough space so her wings don’t knock anyone out. Hannah and Kelly are with the guys they were dancing with in the corner of the room. They wave at us, and I nod my head toward them. Jaylen lifts one hand, and I assume she waves goodbye.
A few more minutes and we’re outside. Valet is only a few more steps, and I grab hold of Jaylen’s legs with one hand so I can dig in my pocket for the ticket. While waiting, I take her to a ledge nearby and set her down.
“We should probably get these wings off you before they get back with the truck.”
“Good idea.” I stand behind her and slide the wings off her shoulders. This would be so much better if we could do this in the room. But her wings won’t fit in the cab while I’m trying to drive. As soon as they are off, she fumbles in her skirt to turn the lights off. It does nothing to dull her shine.
The valet pulls around with the truck, and I lift her off her feet, cradling her close to me. The attendant opens the passenger side door, and I slide her in before setting the wings in the backseat. By the time I get to the driver’s side, she has the GPS pulled up for the hotel.
“Looks like we should be there in about five minutes.”
“Good.” I tip the valet and put the truck in drive. I can’t wait for us to get to the hotel.
“Did Kelly tell you the room number?” I have both of our bags slung over our shoulder. Jaylen found a pair of flip flops in her bag and slid those on before we got here.
“No, but it should be written on the card.” She pulls it out of her pocket and studies it. “It looks like we’re on the fifth floor.”
I press the up button and we wait for the elevator. It feels like it’s taking forever to get here. Finally, the doors open and I usher Jaylen inside before pressing the number five on the panel.
“Your feet doing, okay?”
“Yep.” She moves closer to me and wraps an arm around my waist. “Thank you for carrying me out.”
“I’ll carry you anywhere.” It’s not a lie. We still have to figure out how we’re going to make this work beyond my time here, but I have no doubt we can.
The elevator opens on our floor, and with another look at the keycard, Jaylen leads us in the direction of our room. The halls are quiet, but music can be heard all around us. It’s a festive night in the city.
She swipes the card on the door and pushes it open. There’s a bottle of wine, two glasses, and various snacks sitting on top of the dresser. Looks like her friends planned our entire evening for us.
“Well, the girls were presumptions.” She shakes her head and pushes the door closed once I’m inside. A part of me assumed they would get us two beds, but nope a king bed fills the center of the room.
“Might as well put it to use.” I set our bags down beside the bed and lead Jaylen to it. “You sit. I’ll pour us a glass of wine.”
“You’re just out here breaking all your rules.”
“What do you mean?”
“You went to a huge event. You danced in front of people. And you’ve drunk everything except for beer while we’ve been out.” She ticks off each thing on her fingers. “It’s like I don’t know who you are anymore.”
Luckily, Hannah and Kelly had the forethought to leave a corkscrew. I open the bottle of wine, let it breathe for a minute, and pour it into the glasses. Turning to her, I hold one glass out. “I don’t think you realize the things I would do for you.”
“Believe me, I know,” she sighs. “I was just too young to realize it when we were graduating.”
Shrugging my shoulder, I sit down beside her and take a sip from the glass. It’s like drinking juice, and I know it’s exactly what she likes. “We’re older now. We have a perspective we didn’t have before.”
“Yes, we do.” She slides my glass of wine out of my hand and sets them on the dresser. When she turns around, she’s pulling the halo headband out of her long brown hair. The gems reflecting the dim hotel light. “We don’t have to figure the rest out, but tonight we can start fresh.”
She pulls me up and starts unbuttoning my shirt. Placing my hands over hers, I stop her. “We don’t have to do this tonight. I was joking earlier.”
“I wasn’t.” She shakes my hands off of hers and continues unbuttoning the shirt and slides it down. She makes a nose of frustration when she realizes I have a white shirt underneath. While I can say this side of her is a surprise to some extent, I know better than to argue. When she wants something, she goes after it with everything she has. I’m considering myself lucky it’s me she wants.