He shrugs as his hands explore my body, pulling me tightly against his muscled chest. “We can be their first success story. We’ll let Bastian take all the credit for reforming us so that we can love again.”
“Sounds good to me,” I say, yawning. I close my eyes and snuggle into him, reveling in the feel of his arms around me. I take a deep breath, breathing him in and soaking up all of his affection, and then I fall asleep.
In the morning, I wake to Emory’s arms still around me. Sunlight filters into the room, a narrow, wintery slice of light through the curtains. We brush our teeth with cheap hotel toothbrushes and head down to the lobby, loading our plates up with every type of breakfast food available.
“I feel like a cowboy in this place,” Emory says as he lifts a Texas-shaped waffle out of the iron at the Make Your Own Waffle station. He puts it on my plate and makes himself another one. I cover mine in syrup and whipped cream, and we sneak our food up to the hotel room and chow down like we haven’t eaten in forever.
“I love continental breakfast,” I say, stabbing my fork into a grape. My other hand holds a piece of bacon, and I alternate which hand I eat out of.
Emory nods. “I’m going to stay at hotels with free breakfast everywhere I go.”
“Where all do you plan on going?”
He shrugs. “The whole world.”
“That sounds exciting,” I say, staring at my bacon.
“Don’t make that face, you’re coming with me.”
“Oh yeah?” I say, getting up and walking over to the balcony window. I pull back the curtains, preparing to make some kind of joke, but my words catch in my throat. “Oh my God,” I whisper as I stare out at the city of Dallas, all covered in snow.
Emory pads across the carpet. He stands behind me, one hand on my lower back. “It’s beautiful,” he says, gazing out at the view. “Even better than last night.”
“I’ve finally seen snow,” I say, putting a hand on my hip. “I feel accomplished. Thank you for bringing me here.”
He spins me around and grabs my chin, tilting my head up to his. “This is just the start,” he says, his eyes blazing with the hint of adventure. “Winter break, I’m taking you to the Pacific Ocean. And this summer … we’re going everywhere.”