Emancipating Andie (9 page)

The corner of Chase’s mouth lifted in a tired smile. “Well, next time you plan on propositioning me, you could at least buy me dinner first.”

Andie looked down, fighting a smile as she shook her head, and the doors opened. Once again, he gestured for her to go before him, and they walked down the hall, both stopping in front of Andie’s room.

“Well, good night,” she said.

“Yep,” he said through a yawn, turning toward his door.

Just as Andie slid her card into the slot, she heard him say, “Hey, Andie?”

“Hmm?” She lifted her head to look over at him.

He stared at her for a second before he said, “When did you want to leave tomorrow?”

“Oh. Well, right now we’re about six hours from Tampa, give or take. So, like nine? Is that okay?”

“Whatever the itinerary says,” he said with a salute before he opened his door and disappeared inside.

She smiled softly, opening her door and dropping her bags near the bed. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been this tired. It took every bit of energy she had just to brush her teeth and undress. She put on one of Colin’s T-shirts and crawled into bed, leaning over the side and taking her laptop and phone out of her bag. She fished through her bag again, pulling out the DVD she brought with her. It was one of her favorites, something she knew would make her feel at home while trying to sleep in a strange bed.

She put the DVD into her laptop and laid back against the pillows, grabbing her phone and dialing Colin.

“Hey babe!” he answered, shouting over the voices and music in the background.

“Hi,” she said, smiling to herself.

“Sorry, it’s loud in here! Hold on, let me go outside!”

“No, it’s okay, stay with your friends,” she said, knowing he was at Justin’s bachelor party. “I just wanted to call and tell you we’re stopping for the night. We’re in South Carolina.”

“Alright. What time do you think you’ll be here tomorrow?” he said, still raising his voice over the background noise.

“Probably around four if all goes according to plan.”

“I can’t wait.”

She closed her eyes. “I know. I miss you.”

“Miss you too, babe. How’s it going with Chase?”

“It’s been fine. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

“See, I knew you’d have a good time. He’s funny, isn’t he?”

She smiled. “Yeah, he is.”

Just then a bout of laughter exploded in the background, and Andie brought her mouth closer to the phone. “Okay, I won’t keep you from the debauchery,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have fun.”

“Good night, babe.”

“Good night,” she said before ending the call. She stared at the phone for a second, twirling it between her fingers before she finally placed it on the nightstand, and then she clicked off the light before she rolled onto her side to face her laptop.

She was just on the verge of sleep when her phone beeped, signaling that she had a text message.

She rolled over and grabbed the phone, checking the screen. The sender was a number she wasn’t familiar with.

“Who the hell is this?” she mumbled to herself, pressing the button to open the message.

I can see you.

She sat up in bed, brushing her hair out of her eyes and glancing around the room before she lunged to turn the light back on. The shades were drawn, the closet was open, and she had been in the bathroom. There was no one in there.

She gave the room one last scan before she looked down, her fingers moving over the keypad.

Who is this?

She hit send, realizing that if someone was messing with her, she had just made a stupid move by playing into it. She should have just ignored it. Her phone beeped again and she glanced down, opening it quickly.

You’ll know soon enough. I’m almost to room 225.

Her heart rate increased slightly as she slid off the bed, walking over to the door that adjoined her room with room 227. She knocked on it softly. “Chase?”

“Yeah?” came his muffled reply.

“It better be you texting me, or we are packing up and getting the
hell
out of Dodge.”

She heard him burst out laughing and her shoulders relaxed a little.

“Was it you?” she asked.

There was some shuffling before the sounds of him unlocking his door, and she followed suit, sliding the deadbolt aside. They opened the doors at the same time, and she didn’t need to hear his answer. The look on his face said it all.

“You’re an ass,” she said, and he laughed again. “How did you even get my number?”

“Colin gave it to me when we made these plans,” he said, his eyes dropping to take in what she was wearing.

She could feel the immediate blush burning on her cheeks as she remembered she was only wearing a T-shirt, and she brought her hands down to her sides, gripping the hem with her fingers and tugging it down.

He brought his eyes back up to hers. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No, I was watching a movie.”

“What movie?
Gone With the Wind
?” he asked with a smirk.

She tugged the shirt down a little further.
What the hell
, she thought,
not like this moment could get any more embarrassing
. “No.
Dumb and Dumber
.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Now
that’s
more like it. What channel?”

“It’s not on television. I brought it with me,” she said, gesturing with her head to the laptop that was on her bed.

His face fell slightly. “Oh. Damn.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could even think about what she was saying.

“You can come watch for a little while,” she said. “I mean, if you want,” she added softly, looking away from him and tugging her shirt down a little further, surprised that the seams on the shoulders weren’t ripping.

His expression straightened until it was unreadable, and Andie watched his throat bob as he swallowed. “Um…yeah, okay,” he said, “maybe for a few minutes.”

She turned, her fingertips still gripping the hem of Colin’s shirt as she scurried over to the bed, hopping in and quickly pulling the covers up around her waist. She slid the laptop down to the foot of the bed and scooted all the way over to the right, giving him ample space.

He walked over to the bed, one hand rubbing the back of his neck, and Andie kept her eyes on the computer screen as Chase climbed on, staying above the covers. He propped a pillow up against the headboard and leaned back against it, crossing his arms over his chest.

There was enough room between them to fit another person, which eased some of the tension Andie felt in her body since the moment the invitation had slipped from her mouth without permission. She settled back into the pillows just as Harry said to Lloyd, “What’s in the briefcase?”

“Man,” Lloyd said, “I would have to be a lowlife to go rooting around in somebody else’s private property.”

“What, is it locked?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, really well.”

A giggle escaped Andie’s lips just as a throaty chuckle fell from Chase’s, and they both looked over at each other, smiling.

She turned onto her side, snuggling into the comforter and attempting to keep her eyes on the screen, but her blinking became more and more lethargic until finally, she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore.

The last thing she remembered was hearing Chase’s quiet laughter before she finally succumbed to sleep.

.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

C
hase lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had come back to his own room at around two in the morning, and at that point he was so exhausted he was pretty sure he fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. But now that he was awake, now that he was coherent, all he could think about was the night before.

He couldn’t reconcile the girl from yesterday morning with the one who had been lying in bed next to him last night. She had fallen asleep almost immediately after they started watching the movie, and when he no longer heard her laughter mingling with his, he turned to look at her.

And he was instantly and completely disarmed by what he saw.

She was all innocence and vulnerability in that moment; her blonde hair fanned out on the pillow, her lips slightly parted, her fingers curled loosely around the comforter she had pulled into her chest.

Throughout the day before, she had given him little glimpses of the girl behind the tough exterior, but to see her so totally unshielded did something to him that he hadn’t been prepared for.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

That should have been the signal for him to pull back again, but for some inexplicable reason, he felt like he needed to stay with her, to protect her while she was in such a defenseless state. It was completely unnecessary and ridiculous, he knew that, but he managed to convince himself it was the right thing to do. So he stayed there in her room until the movie was over, until he no longer had any viable excuse to be there. And then he pulled her laptop onto his thighs, closing out the programs on her computer one by one. After he had powered down her laptop, he gently eased out of her bed, careful not to jostle her, and turned out the lights before making his way back to his own room.

He had left the adjoining doors ajar, and now he could hear her getting out of bed and turning on the shower.

He shouldn’t have done what he did last night. It was messing with his head. And he didn’t like the feeling he had right now, almost like he couldn’t wait for the day to begin so he could get back in that car with her.

Chase exhaled heavily as he dragged his hands down his face.
Snap the fuck out of it
, he thought, pushing himself off the bed and walking into the bathroom.

He showered quickly, got dressed, and packed his things, keeping himself busy. By the time he was ready to go, he could still hear her moving around in the bathroom. It was already eight-thirty, and he knew she wanted to be back on the road by nine.

Chase grabbed his key card and slipped it into his back pocket as he exited the room and took the elevator downstairs, making his way through the lobby and over to the conference area where they had set up a large buffet breakfast.

“Good morning, sir,” one of the hotel workers said as he approached the food, and he nodded his greeting before sliding a plate off the large stack in front of him. He piled it high with two bagels, two muffins, and a handful of French toast sticks. At the end of the line, he slid the overflowing plate onto the table and filled two travel cups with coffee, leaving one black and putting cream and sugar in the other. After securing the lids, he scooped them both up in one hand, balancing the plate in the other as he walked carefully toward the elevators.

Chase stopped in front of Andie’s door, taking a deep breath. The one sip of coffee he had managed cleared his head significantly. He was fine. This was fine.

He used his knee to knock, quickly righting the plate as it started to teeter. A moment later the door swung open, and she smiled as she looked down at his hands.

“Complimentary room service?” she asked, taking one of the cups from him.

“Complimentary? I should at least get a tip for lugging this shit up here by myself.” Before she could react, he added, “Sorry, I meant for lugging this poop up here.”

Andie pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile as she stepped aside to let him into the room.

“That one has cream and sugar in it,” he said, nodding toward the cup in her hand. “That’s how you take it, right?”

“Yeah,” she said, somewhat surprised. “How did you know that?”

“That’s how you drank it yesterday morning. In your apartment,” he clarified.

She raised her eyebrows. “Impressive,” she said, taking the plate from his hand and putting it down on the small table in the corner of the room.

“There’s other stuff down there if you don’t like any of that,” Chase said. “Eggs, bacon, home fries.”

“No, this is perfect, thank you,” she said, taking one of the French toast sticks off the plate and pulling a piece off with her fingers before popping it in her mouth. “I’m running a little late. I’ll be ready in like five minutes.”

“Take your time.”

She smiled softly, pulling another piece off the French toast. “Did you sleep okay?”

He nodded. “You?”

“Surprisingly. I don’t usually sleep well in strange places. Sorry I wasn’t much company last night.”

He waved her off.

“And thank you, by the way. For closing everything down.”

He nodded, running his hand through his hair and looking away from her.
You’re fine
, he reminded himself.
This is fine
. “Alright, I’m gonna go pack my things. I’ll meet you outside in like five minutes?”

“Okay,” she said, and he grabbed one of the bagels from the plate before walking into his room through the adjoining doors.

And since he had already packed his things before he went down to get them breakfast, he sat on his bed for the next five minutes, picking the bagel apart while trying to pull himself back together.