I chuckle, and neither of us move as we sit here and people watch. “Do you ever look at people and make up a story about them in your head?” she asks me, and I look down at her. “Like that boat over there.” She points over at a boat where the girl and guy are almost in the same position as we are. “First date. He likes her more than she likes him.”
I smile. “Or she’s cheating on her husband, and he has no idea.”
She looks over at me. “Oh, that’s a good one.” She laughs, and for the next little while, we make up stories about the people around us. Neither of us moving, my arm still hanging on her shoulder. “Should we head back?” she asks, and I want to say no. “It’s almost four,” she says, and I don’t know how the time passed so fast. “I’m getting hungry.”
I nod. “Do you want to sit on this side with me?”
“Only if you turn the boat around so we can see out.” I laugh, then lean over her and unlock the oar. After I turn us around, we make our way back to the boathouse. We pull up to the dock, and she takes the guy’s hand to get off the boat, this time much steadier. We walk back to get our helmets. “So where are you taking me for food?” she asks me when we get to the bike, and she expertly puts on her helmet.
“Who said I’m taking you to get food?” I joke with her, putting on my own and getting on the bike. She climbs on behind me as if she’s been doing this forever. I start the bike and take her to one of my favorite restaurants a local took me to three years ago. I make my way through the streets, parking in the middle of an alley where fifteen other bikes are parked. I grab her hand, and we walk out of the alley onto the narrow street that you can’t really drive on unless it’s a little moped. Since the sun is setting, the glowing neon lights show you where you are walking. The doors to the restaurant are propped open, and sandwich boards on the sidewalk display pictures of the food available. “Do you eat sushi?” I ask, hoping to fuck she says yes.
“Love it.” She smiles, and I finally see the yellow door I was looking for. I walk in and duck my head down. With only five tables in this restaurant, my hotel bathroom is bigger than this place, but it’s honestly so damn good that the details don’t really matter. The little old woman comes out from the back, smiling. She pours us water, and I order us the food I hope she will like. She more than likes it, and we spend two hours talking about all the sushi shops she’s been to around the world. We talk about our favorite meals, and when she gets up and pays for the meal without me knowing, she earns her first glare. “Hey, friends treat other friends.” She holds my hand when we walk back to the bike. I climb on and hold the helmet in my lap as she steps up to me. “Thank you for giving me one of the best days I’ve ever had.” She leans down, and I’m waiting for her lips to find mine. I hold my breath, and when I feel them on my cheek, she tells me, “You really aren’t the asshole I thought.” As she gets on the bike, my mind is still frazzled from a simple kiss on the cheek.
Chapter Fourteen
Jessica
Looks like this country star is going on the road! New concert dates have been announced. Sold out in a record twenty-nine minutes.
“Good morning, everyone.” I pull my suitcase behind me with my Louis sitting on top of it. It feels like we just got to China, and we are already taking off. “I don’t know why, but I’m so tired,” I say, and they all nod. I guess one week in was okay, but now we are going on almost two weeks, and it’s about gotten to be enough with everyone, even the triplets. Those three are wearing sunglasses on this cloudy day.
“How do you look so fresh?” Ella asks me, sitting on a chair as we wait for the bus to pick us up. I’m wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a big knitted sweater tucked into the front just a touch, and it falls off my shoulder. My Tiffany necklace hangs down, and I have my white Adidas sneakers on my feet. Today is all about fashionable comfort while we head to our next stop.
“I’ve been up since six,” I tell them, and they all look at me shocked. “Every day, I’m on the treadmill by six fifteen.” That earns me a gasp from all three.
“It’s almost like a farmer,” Evelyn says. “How do you function?” I ignore her as she flops down on the couch in the lobby.
“The bus should be here in ten minutes,” Yolanda says, walking in a circle to make sure everyone heard her.
“I’m going to get a coffee,” I say to Autumn, who is on her phone. “Will you watch my luggage?” She nods. “Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.” She smiles, and I turn to walk toward the coffee stand they have in the lobby. I see Tyler getting off the elevator with Cassie beside him. He is dressed in jeans and a gray sweater with a red plaid shirt sticking out from under it, a scarf around his neck, and a beanie on his head.
“Hey.” He smiles when he sees me, his eyes crinkling at the corner. Ever since we took that day away, things between us have been nice . . . weird but nice. We spend every morning together running. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we don’t—it all depends on the mood—and then we usually have breakfast together. When we aren’t together, he sends me one-liner texts about the joys of his day. I have no idea what this thing is we are doing. I guess we are friends. Can you classify it as a friendship when all you can think about is dry humping him? When he got on the bike and I went to kiss him, I almost got his lips, but I pulled away when I heard his breath stop and went for the cheek instead. Jesus, I thought I would die I was so embarrassed. I’ve convinced myself he so doesn’t want me the same way I want him. “Where are you going?”
“The bus is going to be another ten minutes, so I was going to grab a coffee. Would you like anything?” I ask him.
“I’ll come with you.” Turning to Cassie, he says, “Meet you at the front.” We walk to the coffee stand. “Aren’t you cold?” he asks me, and I look at him. “Your whole shoulder is out,” he says, reaching forward and trying to cover my shoulder with my sweater, but the way it’s cut, there is no covering my shoulder. “Here,” he says, taking the scarf off his neck and wrapping it around mine, “that should work.” The smell of him all around me stumps me for a minute; a euphoria I’ve never known envelops me, and I have no idea where I am when the lady behind the register asks me for my order. I look at her, blinking, my thoughts all hazy. “She wants a latte, non-fat milk, no foam.”
“What just happened?” I ask him when we step to the side and wait for my coffee order. “Did you just cover my shoulder up with a scarf?” He twists open the bottle of Pellegrino that he just bought and takes a long pull.
“You looked cold,” he says, smiling but hiding it with the bottle at his lips. “You’re welcome.” He grabs the coffee when they call his name and hands it to me.
“Thank you.” I look at the coffee. “For the drink, not the scarf.” He laughs at me, and we walk back to the lobby and see that the bus has arrived, and everyone is getting in line and getting on the bus. I walk to Autumn. “Sorry, there was a line,” I tell her, and she just flicks her wrist, not caring. I roll the bag out, leaving it with the valet person who tosses it under the bus.