The pretend answer, the answer I fed to Josephine and kept repeating to myself, was that the night was fun, simple, “nothing serious”.
The real answer, the answer that I would never utter aloud, was that it had been life-changing. I’d laid on Dean’s bed, staring up at the ceiling with his head between my legs, and I’d begged the universe to freeze. I’d gripped his hand in mine and pleaded for one more second, one more hour, one more night.
But then I’d woken with a start a few hours later, sad to find that the universe didn’t pause…not even for me.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lily
The suitcase I’d borrowed from Jo had a wheel that rattled nonstop. I would have checked it at the entrance had Dean not explicitly forbidden us from doing so. “We don’t have time to wait for bags when we get to Vegas. Pack light.” I cursed him in my head as the wheel got stuck for the fifth time since entering the airport. I kicked it back into alignment and then locked eyes with the girl standing in front of me in line at the airport Starbucks.
She was wearing Uggs and jean shorts, and rolled her eyes at the audacity of my squeaky wheel. She turned back to her friend and leaned in. “Soo ratchet.”
Did she think she was whispering? I could hear every word she said and I desperately wanted to tell her that “ratchet” wasn’t a real word—not unless she was working from the Kardashian-Webster Dictionary.
“Oh my god, she’s so basic,” her friend said, angling back to get a good look at me. I tilted my head and smirked. I knew these girls. They were the type to sit behind their iPhones and tweet mean shit out into the world.
When they made it to the front of the line, I listened as they ordered two caramel macchiatos with skim milk and warned the barista behind the counter, “Don’t be stingy with the caramel sauce.”
He nodded and accepted their cash, all the while probably cursing them to hell alongside me. When it was my turn to order, I got a coffee and then leaned closer. “If I pay you five bucks, will you make their macchiatos with whole milk instead of skim?”
He smirked. “Lady, you don’t even have to pay me. I already did it.”
I laughed, left five dollars in his tip jar, and felt much better about the world as I walked away, squeaky wheel and all.
When I arrived at our gate—five minutes behind schedule—the rest of the team was already seated with their laptops and iPads on their laps. Hunter and Zoe were on one side of the aisle and Julian and Dean sat across from them. Hunter shot me a narrowed glance when he caught sight of me, but I didn’t care. Narrowed eyes beats flirty comments any day. Julian was busy on his phone, so I just smiled and rolled past.
When I registered Dean’s outfit, I knew I’d made a mistake. I’d slipped on a sundress and Converse before heading to the airport. Dean was wearing a navy suit, shined shoes, and an expression that warned me away.
The only evidence that he was less prepared than normal was the short stubble across his jaw. I liked it.
“Good of you to join us,” he said. His deep voice reminded me of what he’d sounded like the night before, when he’d pulled my hair back and whispered dirty thoughts in my ear.
Zoe patted the leather seat beside her and I jumped slightly. “Lily, come sit and tell me if you like these shoes. I’ve been eyeing them for the last few weeks.”
I glanced back at Dean to see if maybe he’d rather I sit by him, but he was focused on his laptop. I’d been in his bed less than twelve hours before and he was already ignoring me. I wheeled my suitcase toward Zoe and sat. The leather was cold on the backs of my thighs and I couldn’t concentrate on anything she said. She was talking about shoes and pointing out different color combinations. The entire time, I was acutely aware of Dean. Every time he moved, my gaze flicked over to him. When he took a phone call, I listened with attentive ears. When he tilted his head from side to side, stretching out his neck, I wondered if he was sore from our night.
When we boarded the plane, Zoe slid into the vacant seat beside mine, and Dean and Julian took the seats diagonally across the aisle from us. I couldn’t see him without sitting on my heels.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
I flicked my gaze away from the sliver of his head that I could see and sat lower in my seat.
“Nothing,” I said, reaching into my purse for…what? Grab something, you idiot.
I pulled out my wallet, pretended like I was counting my bills, and then shoved it back inside my purse. The entire time, Zoe stared at me like I was a crazy person. “Got everything you need?”
I laughed nervously. “Good to go.”
She arched a brow. “I think you need to relax.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but she was already turning toward the aisle in pursuit of the flight attendant. Too bad for her, the attendant—a pretty brunette with a cute little pair of wings positioned directly beside her cleavage—was already leaning down and flirting with Dean.
“Nah, I’m good. I think I’ll go with a water,” he said, smiling up at her.
He never smiled at me.
“Are you sure?” She winked. “You are headed to Vegas after all.”
He shook his head.
“How about I bring you a water and something else?” she insisted. “On me?”
What, like your vagina in a cup? Jesus.
“Yoohoo,” Zoe said, waving her hand in the air and cutting off the flight attendant’s flirting. She turned toward us and I saw the nametag pinned to her top: Beatrice. “Yes, hi Beatrice. Sorry to interrupt, but I think Dean is good with water, and my friend and I would really love vodka cranberries.”
I sank lower in my seat and tried to hide my blush.
“Zoe, behave. This is a work trip,” Dean said, condemning her drink choice. I rolled my eyes, though he couldn’t see behind the headrest.
“I don’t have any meetings today. I can drink one vodka cranberry.”
“You may not have any meetings, but Lily and I have one as soon as we land.”
I jumped out of my chair. “What?”
The last itinerary I’d seen listed events starting the following day.
Dean’s gaze sliced up to me. That jaw was set and his piercing brown eyes had no room for love in them when they were so filled with hate.
“I would have told you had you given me the chance.”
I swallowed and glanced away. We could have easily been referencing a different topic all together, but with Dean, I could never tell.
“Just email me the new itinerary so we’re all on the same page.”
“Already did,” he said, turning around in his seat and effectively dismissing me. “Check your inbox.”
I turned to my phone and pulled up my inbox, curious to see what he’d written.
From: Zoe Davis
To: Lily Black
Subject: FWD: LVRW Itinerary Update
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dean Harper
To: Zoe Davis
Subject: LVRW Itinerary Update
I’ve attached an updated Itinerary for Lily. Make sure she gets it.