November 9 #3
It was standard at any South Star Hotel.
An open-plan, low-lit lobby narrowed into a corridor leading to the rooms. Thick, plush navy blue carpets with gold diamonds lined their way.
They passed a large dining hall with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the mountainous terrain.
The topography of Utah was amazing, but the hotel itself held no appeal for her.
She’d lived in an identical one in Chicago with her dad for six months and eventually the novelty wore off.
The view from their room was breathtaking. The rocky ridges and trees in the distance—it was Mother Nature at her finest.
The bellboy carried their bags in and disappeared without a word.
Once she was alone with Kevin again, her discomfort returned.
They’d had a bad fallout today and they were both equally to blame.
She should have told him that she wanted to go to Vegas and he should have held his tongue before the situation escalated out of control.
His words were so true, though, and she couldn’t get them out of her head.
She’d tried. She’d sat in the bathroom for almost an hour trying not to think about it.
She’d thought she’d mastered the art of not crying.
There was a time when she was actually proud of herself because she’d learned how to block out hurt and pain.
But when he said those things to her, everything hit her all at once.
The loneliness she so desperately tried to escape swallowed her in that instant and for the first time in eight years, she cried.
And now that feeling had stayed long enough to become a mood.
She found herself in a very odd predicament when it came to Kevin.
A part of her disliked him. Really disliked him.
He was rude and abrasive. Yet the other part of her appreciated him for all that he was.
He was honest and straightforward, no matter how offensive the truth was.
Everyone else handled her with kid gloves, tiptoeing around issues so as not to hurt her feelings.
Sometimes one simply needs a good dose of reality and that’s what he represented. Something real.
However, the reason why she hadn’t continued driving was because she needed to get away from him for a while.
The sweatpants and T-shirt she wore were ideal for what she had planned, so she grabbed a towel and her water bottle from her bag and headed to the door.
“I’m gonna workout,” was all she said before she left the room.
She found an open, quiet spot a few feet from the pool and did everything she’d already done that morning. She pushed and pushed until her muscles were sore and lethargic. The endorphins pumping through her veins helped ease the burden of emotions, but she still couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Kevin didn’t strike her as the type of person to do something for the sake of doing it.
He didn’t have to sit outside that restroom for almost an hour, but he did.
And he didn’t do it with any intention of getting something in return.
He didn’t have to jump back into the car, but he did.
It would be cheaper and easier for him to take the bus.
She knew it and he knew it, yet he stayed.
He didn’t like her, and she was okay with that.
She wasn’t sure if she liked him either.
However, his actions told her a few things.
He had a softer side that he was reluctant to show.
And taking into account everything that had happened in the last few days, he wasn’t ready to give up on her yet.
Beneath his brash exterior was something much deeper…
and she wasn’t ready to give up on him yet either.
She felt a lot better when she got back to the room and dragged her sweaty self directly into the bathroom.
After a hot shower, she was finally ready to face him again.
She dressed into a clean pair of sweatpants and a thick pullover, and twisted her thick hair into a single braid.
When she walked out of the bathroom, she found him sitting on the bed and they stared at each other for a solid minute before she spoke.
“So what now, Kevin?”
He smiled and, once again, she saw a glimmer of a person who might actually be likeable. “Let’s eat.”
* * * * *
Kevin stopped talking when the waiter placed a plate of chili-cheese fries in front of him and a burger in front of Jasmin. This hotel was too extravagant for their taste so they’d both ordered off the kiddies menu.
They’d chosen a booth seat. On one side they were exposed to an amazing view of the mountains and on the other, the back of the high, black leather seat kept them closed off from the rest of the world.
The low lighting and soft music in the background made it feel slightly intimate and he wasn’t entirely sure if he was comfortable being with her in this type of setting.
Then again, this was going to be a long trip and he might as well get used to being with her in any kind of setting.
“So because this is probably going to take longer than we planned, I thought of a few options,” he said once the waiter left the table. “I could give you all the money I have and then once my allowance comes in, I’ll give you that too…or we could have some kind of a loan agreement.”
Her eyes glazed over with complete disinterest. “Kevin, if you bring up money one more time, I’m gonna slap you.”
“I have to contribute something.”
She stopped eating and placed her elbows on the table.
This topic really seemed to be irritating her.
He’d figured that she was well off, and after the few conversations they’d had, he could tell that money was of no importance to her.
But it still didn’t feel right to take so much and give nothing in return.
“Look,” she began, “if I had to do this trip by myself, I would have paid for all the fuel, my accommodation, and food. So if you really feel that bad about it, we can continue sharing a room. That way, you’re saving but I’m not out of pocket. Now can you can stop harping over this nonsense?”
“It still doesn’t sound fair to me.”
“Ugh! And you say I’m annoying. Fine. You pay for all the food and refreshments. All of it. I don’t want you to go into this blind, so I’m warning you that I have a Skittle fetish. Do we have a deal?”
That was more than manageable. “Deal.”
“Good.” She reached over the table and took one of his fries. It was something she did without thinking.
“You’re picking off my plate again, Jazz.”
She immediately tensed. “Sorry. Socially inept, remember?”
Damn, he’d done a number on her today. She broke eye contact and he could actually see her withdrawing.
With a shrug, she tried to explain herself. “I eat alone most of the time…but when I used to go out for lunch with my cousins and Rachel, we always used to share…pizza or whatever. It’s just a habit…I’m sorry…I won’t do that—”
“Fuck, enough with the sob stories.” He scooted to the middle of the booth and took his fries with him. “You’re killing me today.”
He placed one hand on her inner thigh and her long hair brushed against his fingers as the other wrapped around her waist. Tightening his grip a little, he pulled her right beside him.
He heard a tiny gasp and he didn’t know if it was because of shock or because a guy had never touched her that way before. It could be both.
Just to test it a little further, he gently caressed her thigh as he removed his hand.
Her reaction was subtle. He probably would have missed it if he wasn’t looking out for it.
Her breath caught and her lips parted just a bit.
It was strange. She touched him so brazenly and yet she became nervous when that behavior was reciprocated.
Either way, it proved one thing. This girl hadn’t been touched before.
It was something he needed to be mindful of if they were going to be sharing a room…
and, by the looks of it, everything else.
“I don’t mind sharing,” he said. “Just ask me first.”
She looked up at him and smiled, a real smile this time. “Can I have some of your chili-cheese fries?”
He smiled back. He couldn’t help it. “Yeah.”
She reached out and took another one. The movement was tentative, like she hadn’t been doing it on her own for the last few days.
“If I ask…then it’s okay?” she asked, taking another fry.
“Yeah.”
The somber, awkward aftermath of tension dissipated and she was in a better mood now. Funny how it took so little to make her happy.
“So…can I tell you that your dimples are really cute?”
His smile widened and he nudged her with his shoulder. “Don’t push it.”
His eyes sort of got fixed on her for a few minutes, but she was too busy eating his food to notice.
He took note of every detail; her smooth honey-kissed skin, her pitch black hair.
After their very nasty argument this afternoon, he was starting to see someone he hadn’t seen in the last four days, someone who was simultaneously stronger and more fragile than he’d expected.
It was like he was looking at her for the first time.
Her eyes weren’t a simple brown. They were a fusion of hazel and green and gold, a color so unique, there was no word for it. The only way he could think to describe it was to name it after its owner. Jasmin. She had Jasmin eyes.
Mentally, he took it back. Her eyes weren’t too wide.
They were just the right size to house all that innocent vulnerability.
Mentally, he took it back. Her lips weren’t too plump.
They were simply overripe and untouched, because they had never been put to better use.
Once he mixed that with her inappropriate honesty and overwhelming kindness and then wrapped it up in all her crazy, he realized that maybe—just maybe—she was beautiful in a way this world didn’t understand.