“Hello,” I answer on the third ring even though I thought about not answering. I’m going through these feelings, and I’m not sure what it is.
“Hey, where are you?” he asks quietly, so I’m assuming he’s with his parents or even Cassie.
“I’m in my room,” I answer and look out the window, seeing the building in front of us. “I’m going to work a bit,” I tell him, hoping he just lets me be.
“What room number are you in?” I hear him moving, so I know he is walking. I could not tell him, but then he would just find out anyway and it would just prolong the discussion.
“Why don’t you spend time with your parents, and we can see each other tonight or tomorrow?” I close my eyes and put my head back. “You barely see them.” I wait a second to see if he is going to answer me and then notice nothing. I look down at the phone to see if maybe we got disconnected, but the time still ticks on. “Hello?” I say into the dead silence and then I hear a knock on my door. I toss the phone on the bed and get up, going over to the door. Opening it, I’m not surprised to find Tyler. I am surprised about the face he is giving me as he walks past me into the room, and I close the door. I follow him into the room, and he stands looking out of the window. “So you found me.”
He stands with his hands on his hips, still looking out, then he turns around, and his anger is still there. “What is going on?” he asks, and to be honest, I have no intention of telling him what is going on with me. Because I don’t even get it. “You just ran off.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t just run off; you guys were making plans.” It’s the truth; the four of them were making plans, and well, I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to feel left out. “I didn’t want to intrude.” That is a nicer way of saying it.
“Intrude.” He repeats the nice word I said, and the anger builds a bit, and I let some of it go.
“Yeah, intrude on your plans,” I finally say. “You guys were making plans, and it was awkward for me to just be there listening. It was also none of my business, so I left.”
“Those plans were for us,” he finally says. “I told Cassie I would make my own plans without her so that you could have time with my parents.”
“Well, I don’t think she got the memo,” I say, sounding jealous even though I’m not. Shaking my head, I say, “Listen, I don’t know what is going on.” I cross my arms. “I was in a place that wasn’t my place, so I left in order to make other people feel comfortable.”
“What do you want me to say here, Jessica?” He asks the question, but I’m not even sure I have an answer. “Do you want me to tell everyone we are going to have dinner with my parents? Do you want me to hold your hand when we are out together?”
“No,” I say. “Don’t make me sound like a needy teenager.” My hands fall to my sides. “Listen, I have no idea what is going on right now. All I know is that I’m here for work and so are you.” Pointing at him, I say, “So let’s do this work thing, and then when we get back to our normal lives, we can deal with this.”
“We are having dinner with my parents tonight,” he tells me—not asks, I might add—“in my suite.” I roll my eyes. “It’ll be just the four of us.” Standing in front of me, he bends and softly kisses my exposed shoulder. “I want you to officially meet my parents, and I want my parents to get to know you.” He kisses me again, this time moving up toward my neck. “Cassie is not in this; she doesn’t get this.” He kisses again as I breathe out deeply. “I want this only for me right now. Just you, me, and my parents.”
“Okay,” I finally whisper. “Fine.”
“Good,” he says. His lips come down on mine, and I finally kiss him. “It’s been too long,” he says, then turns his head to the other side, taking the kiss deeper. His hands go to my hips, then move to my back and my ass, and he grabs me, bringing me closer. “I can’t get enough,” he admits, and I know the feeling. Every single time feels like the first time, every single kiss leaves me more breathless than the last one, and every single touch makes me crave the next one. “Jess,” he whispers, picking me up, and my legs wrap around his hips, my arms around his neck. “Jess.” He says my name again and again between kisses. He lays me on my bed, and for the next hour, all he says is my name.