26. Dylan
26
DYLAN
T he first half of the tour has exceeded my expectations. After reading Evelyn’s book for the first time, there was no doubt in my mind that she’s extremely talented. But seeing the turnout thanks to the marketing that we’ve done so far has been incredible.
Although it’s not the biggest book tour known to man, the audience that Evelyn charmed on social media has been enough to sell out of the copies that we brought along with us every night. Her fans have genuinely felt like her friends, and I’ve already connected with many of them on social media.
It’s nights like those that make me thankful for what I do. I know that marketing isn’t a life-saving career. Social media gets a bad rap because we’re always so connected all the time, but I’m watching someone’s dream come to life right before my eyes because of it, and that’s something that I’ll never get over. Where else can you connect with people from all over the world?
In a world so big, it makes me feel like I’m a part of something worthwhile–even if it is just creating content calendars and scheduling posts. They have a much bigger effect on people like Evelyn, who are trying to chase the dreams they’ve always envisioned for themselves.
Parker’s also a man of his word and has been the definition of a gentleman the entire time we’ve been out. Of course, there have been stolen glances and the brushing of hands every now and then, but he’s kept his hands and lips to himself the entire time.
That hasn’t stopped me from touching myself at the thought of what it would be like to sneak into his hotel room every single night. To save some money, we’ve been staying in some two to three-star hotels, and the lack of warm water has been a saving grace for my hormones. I need a cold shower every time I’m around him, and it’s getting progressively harder to keep my own word.
I swear, every time my head hits my pillow, all I can think about is him coaxing me through my almost orgasm on that elevator. And when I’m not thinking about that, I’m daydreaming about how he ordered me to take my shirt off shortly after I finally admitted that I loved him back. I should’ve been appalled, yet I’m not sure I’ve ever been more turned on in my life. I’m so wound up that I feel like I’m going to snap any second.
Luckily, we had two days off of the tour, and our last stop before our small break was New Jersey, so I got to spend time at home and take a much-needed break from the tension.
I spent the past two days sleeping, trying to unwind as best as I could before we had to leave again. Although book tours might not seem like a high-stakes event, I’ve been going nonstop for the past week. Between that and the horny stupor I’ve been in, I haven’t gotten a full-night’s rest since we left.
Now, I’m gearing up to get back on the road and head to the airport to do it all over again.
I run through a mental checklist, making sure I have everything I need for another week of living out of a suitcase. Clothes, check. Pajamas, check. Toothbrush, check. Vibrator, without a doubt, check.
“You all set to go?” Amelia pops her head out of her bedroom, leaning on the frame of her door. I rummage through my purse to make sure my license, wallet, and phone are in there. I don’t know what it is, but every single time I travel, I feel like I’m forgetting something. I know I’m not. I have a checklist on my phone that I run through every time I go out. My type A personality would never let me just raw dog it.
“I think so!” I push my bag onto my shoulder, suddenly hit with a ripple of déjà vu as I think about the flight out here when I was forced to sit next to Parker after years of no contact. Little did I know that my life was about to completely change in more ways than I could’ve ever imagined.
Amelia prances over and wraps her arms around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. “Have fun. Be safe. Be sure to wear a condom!” She pulls away with a knowing sneer on her face.
“I’m not going to be sleeping with him, Mia,” I protest, although I’m not even sure I’m convinced that’s true.
“Whatever you say. I expect a full report when you get back! Tally up the orgasms, and leave no detail untouched, please, and thank you.”
I don’t dignify that with a response. Instead, I give her one last squeeze and call a car to take me to the airport.
As I’m in line for TSA with Parker, my phone vibrates with a call. It’s an unknown number, and although I don’t typically answer those, an unknown part of me feels like this could be important, so I pick it up anyway.
I eye the line for security, feeling confident that I can get this call over with before I have to put all of my electronics in a bin. Yes, I know. It’s the twenty-first century, and I don’t have TSA precheck. I really need to pony up and get it, especially now that I’m traveling from time to time for work. I want to be as efficient as possible. Parker, being the saint he is, waits with me in the treacherously long lines despite having it himself.
“Hello?” I pick up.
“Hi, is Miss Jenkins there?” The voice on the other end of the line is sugary sweet, as if it belongs to a teenage girl.
“This is she. How can I help you?” I hold the phone to my ear with my shoulder while I unpack my laptop from my backpack.
“Hello, this is Sophia from Love and Lit.”
Love and Lit, a small family-owned bookstore in Charleston, is our first stop on this second leg of the tour. I’ve never seen it in person, but the minute I saw photos on Instagram, I knew I wanted to see if I could make it happen for this tour. The shop’s facade is baby pink, and the interior is filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves full of romance books. There’s even an attached cafe that features coffee drinks named after famous books and characters.
It’s my paradise, and if I wasn’t working, I’d be spending too much time and money there.
“Hi Sophia, what can I do for you?”
“I’m calling because there seems to be some kind of mix-up. We received the stock from Blue Bird, and it appears we’re short on books. We only have about half of what we ordered.” Her voice is timid, like she’s afraid to break the bad news to me.
I pull the phone away from my ear so she can’t hear me mutter “fuck” a little too loudly. At any other airport, this slip-up would earn me stares from other airport goers, but in New York City, everyone is so wrapped up in their own world that no one bats an eye, which I’m very grateful for at this moment .
“Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention,” I say calmly, commanding my voice to stay as steady as possible. I don’t want to alarm this poor girl. “Do you mind if I talk with her publishers and call you back once I’ve got this sorted?”
“Of course! I’ll talk with you soon.”
I hang up and look over to Parker, who’s been quizzically staring at me with an arched brow since my outburst.
“Everything okay?”
“No. We don’t have enough stock for the signing tomorrow. They only have about half of the books that were promised, and the tickets to the event are already sold out.” Panic claws at my throat, and I struggle to keep it at bay. I knew this tour had been too good to be true. It was only a matter of time before something went wrong.
“Shit, okay. Don’t panic. We can fix this.”
“How are we going to fix this? As soon as Katherine finds out, my head is going to be on the chopping block! And the worst part is it’s not even my fault.” My vision grows blurry around the edges, and the lump in my throat makes breathing normally a challenging task. I rush out of line and find the nearest bench to sit down to get my bearings together.
I lean forward and place my hands on my knees, my head in between my legs, trying to get control of my breathing. I haven’t had an anxiety attack in years, and the oncoming fit does little to soothe my mind.
Once started, it feels impossible to slow my brain down from thinking about the worst-case scenarios. Katherine’s been waiting for a reason to fire me. All it takes is one fuck up, and I’m out of a job.
Without looking up from between my legs, I feel a whisper of a touch on my lower back. The heat of Parker sitting next to me has me on high alert, and it does wonders to distract me from the anxiety that’s tearing through me like a serrated knife.
I focus on his towering form, paying extra close attention to his sneakers–counting each one of his laces over and over, giving my brain something else to focus on other than the impending doom of Katherine’s wrath. I close my eyes, leaning into Parker’s hands, which are tracing doodles on my back. As my breathing steadies, his touch remains, and I stay down for a beat longer than needed, cherishing the contact as much as possible.
“That’s it. It’s all going to be okay. Take one more deep breath for me, Lucky.” His voice is compassionate, but it’s the nickname he lets slip that stops me in my tracks, sidetracking me entirely. I come up for air, brushing a damp piece of hair off my sweaty face. He’s looking at me so earnestly that my breath catches in my throat for an entirely different reason.
He doesn’t give me time to question him about the blunder before he carries on, “I think we have some extra copies at the office. I can swing by and pick them up. Nobody has to know.”
I check my watch for the time. Our flight boards in forty minutes.
As someone who’s typically at the airport at least two hours early–yet another trait of my type A personality–I was already nervous about being here this late in the first place. Parker was the one who insisted it was no big deal. Look at where that got us.
“We don’t have time to go get them. We board soon. You’ll miss your flight.” I look at him disbelievingly. My minor anxiety attack set us back fifteen minutes, and we have no time to spare, contrary to his indifference.
He nonchalantly shrugs, and despite my growing concern that we’re absolutely screwed, I admire the way he can stay calm under pressure. I, on the other hand, feel like I’m seconds away from losing my fucking mind….again.
“I can get a rental car and meet you there. I’ll just drive through the night. ”
“I’m not letting you do a twelve-hour drive by yourself. That sounds like my own personal nightmare.”
“You know how much I love road trips. I’ll be fine. But I appreciate the concern.” He winks at me and stands. He reaches his hand out to me to help me up, and I reluctantly take it. I grab my backpack that I tossed onto the floor mid-panic and throw it back over my shoulder, the weight dulling the loss of Parker’s hand.
“I don’t care how much you love it. It’s dangerous. At this rate, you won’t get there until at least 2 AM.” I reply frankly.
“Is this your way of saying you care about me and my safety?” he dares.
The haughtiness of his question drives me crazy, but unfortunately, he’s not wrong. I do care, and I’ll do anything to get some uninterrupted time with him. Not that he needs to know that.
“Don’t read into it too much. I just don’t want you to be alone. Besides, you’re saving my ass by doing this.” I grab my suitcase and roll it closer to me. “Even though this is your fault in the first place,” I mutter under my breath.
He holds a hand up to his ear as if he didn’t hear what I said. “What was that?”
“Nothing. Let’s just go get this rental car,” I concede.
He’s beaming as he takes my suitcase from me and pushes it alongside his. Why does he have to be so damn considerate? I brush aside the way it makes me weak in the knees. I’ll deal with that when I’m at the hotel and can access the toys I brought.
“If you say so. Dibs on the music choice!” Parker calls out as he skips down the airport hallway.