My eyes widen and my mouth pops open, but Ryan doesn’t say anything further as he steps up to the counter.
“Good afternoon and welcome to the JW. Do you have reservations with us?”
“We do,” Ryan speaks for us because I’m still in a bit of shock over what he just told me. I have no idea what Ryan does for work. All I know is that it has something to do with computers, but guessing by what he just told me, I’d say he’s very good at whatever it is. “One is under Katie Taylor and the other is under Ryan Grant.”
I’m relieved we’re not sharing a room. I didn’t want to ask since this is free and all, but still.
“Excellent.” The guy types away for a moment. “Ah, yes, I have you in our large concierge-level king rooms, both with excellent views of Pennsylvania Avenue.” The guy continues with his whole speech about the benefits of the concierge room and what our suites—yes, I said suites—have for amenities, and that anything we should require has already been taken care of, and blah, blah, blah. I’m overwhelmed. It’s a nice way to start the trip, don’t get me wrong, but it all feels like too much.
The guy directs us toward the elevators, and we ride up in silence. Our rooms are next to each other, but Ryan walks me into mine since he’s rolling my suitcase for me, despite my protests.
“Wow,” I exclaim as we enter. The room is large and very nice with white linens and gray floors, but the best part is the large wraparound windows that show Pennsylvania Avenue all the way up to the Capitol. “This place is awesome. Thanks so much to your friend.” I spin around to look at him. “Or should I say you?”
“I’m going next door to settle in,” he ignores my comment. “We’re meeting him out for dinner and drinks around eight. That work for you?”
“Sounds great. Thanks, Ryan.” I smile huge, and it feels a little foreign on my face, but I go with it.
He nods once. His eyes remain focused on me for a moment, and then he turns and heads for the door. “Oh, Katie?” he calls out over his shoulder. “You should smile like that more. It looks really good on you.” And then the door clicks behind him, leaving me alone with his words lingering in the air.
Of course, my smile slips, leaving me with the inevitable feelings of guilt and pain that sweep through me. I take a deep breath and do my best to push them aside before walking over to my purse that I had set down on the desk. I text my mother to let her know that I’m in DC with Ryan and that everything is going well thus far. She doesn’t respond and I’m glad about that because I’m not in the mood to chat with her.
Opening up my suitcase, I set out what I want to wear that night when we go out, use the massive bathroom, and then walk over to the window. It’s only a little after one in the afternoon, and I haven’t had anything to eat, so I’m hungry. Plus, I have the whole day and I don’t want to waste it sitting in a hotel room.
I debate texting Ryan to see if he wants to go on an adventure around the city with me. He didn’t indicate that he wanted to hang out anymore until tonight, but I feel sort of weird about going off and not letting him know. I stand here, holding my phone two minutes longer than I should before I shoot off a quick text that says I’m going in search of lunch and sites, and if he wants to join me, that would be cool.
I quickly change into a pair of shorts and a loose pink tee before grabbing my purse and room key and heading toward the door. The heavy door swings open, and I nearly jump two feet in the air when I see Ryan standing on the other side with his hand raised about to knock.
“Shit,” I pant out, grabbing my chest. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry. I just figured I’d come by instead of texting back.” His mouth quirks up into a playful grin, his eyes flittering down my body in a quick sweep before returning to mine. My heart begins to shift its rhythm as we stand here, staring at each other, something unfamiliar and tight strangles my stomach. I clear my throat and shift my gaze, unable to maintain his.
“It’s fine,” I laugh lightly, trying to calm my heart rate back to its regular beat. “You want to come with?”
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
We step into the waiting elevator. “I’m hungry, so I’d like to eat something, but after that, are you opposed to taking in some of the sites?”
“That’s fine. Are you thinking a museum, or walking, or one of those bus things?”
I laugh, nudging his arm with my shoulder and marveling at how…normal it feels to do so. To touch him like that. “Hadn’t given it that much thought yet, Ryan. I thought you weren’t a planner?” I tease.
He smiles crookedly down at me. “Fine. You got me. Lead on then, little Katie. I’m at your disposal today.”
We end up finding a place to eat, where we can sit outside, and after scarfing down an entire salad filled with yummy things, we start to walk toward the White House, which is only a few blocks down.
“It’s such a pretty city,” I say, holding my arms out wide. “I mean, I always knew it was designed and built like this on purpose, but you just don’t expect this sort of cleanliness and charm in such a large city, ya know?”
“Yeah,” he agrees. “I come down here with some frequency for work, but I rarely walk around or take in the architecture.”
“Do you think you’ll miss the East Coast?” I ask, genuinely curious for my own reasons as much as his. I’ve lived in the Boston area my entire life. I even went to college there, so the idea of leaving is hard, since it’s all I’ve known.
But I’m looking forward to the change just as much.
“Maybe some parts of it,” he says, giving my question some genuine thought.
That’s actually a nice thing I’ve noticed about Ryan. He listens to you when you speak. Not only that, he makes it seem like everything you’re saying or asking is important. That’s such a rare thing. I feel like people are always talking over each other, interjecting their thoughts and opinions without really taking in what the other person is saying. I didn’t think it would be this easy to talk to Ryan. That I’d like it as much I do. He’s… different than I expected him to be.
“Not enough to stay, though.”
“Must be a good job for you to move so far away from your family. Especially when you don’t fly.” We’re walking toward the Capitol Building now, away from The White House. The wide berth of Pennsylvania Avenue flanked by the eighteenth-century whitewash buildings provides the perfect amount of eye candy to keep me enthralled.
“The flying thing is relatively new, not that I enjoyed it so much before. My family will come visit me if they want. Kyle has already promised to come skiing in December.”
I smile. “It’s nice that you’re so close. Where did you go to school?”
“MIT.”
I look up at him in surprise. “Really? How did I never meet you again if you were in Boston when I was?”
He shrugs, looking down at me quickly before turning his eyes back up to the buildings.
“You weren’t available.”
“Huh?” I have no idea what that means.
“I’m four years older than you, Katie, so when I was in college, you were still in high school.”