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PYT:
More like unlucky.
Jesus Christ.He’d almost given me a goddamn heart attack, but I’d be sure to pay him back later.
I’ll text you soon.
PYT:
I’ll be waiting.
TWENTY-ONE
preston
WAS ARCHER KIDDING? Spending a couple nights with him alone anywhere was a dream, let alone at the Plaza Hotel. No need to twist my arm. I’d come willingly…and hopefully more than a few times.
I’d started packing a bag as soon as he texted, trying to keep myself busy as I anxiously awaited his next message.
“Going somewhere?” Travis leaned against the door to my room, watching me fold a pair of pants and set them neatly in my bag.
“Maybe.”
I grabbed another pair of pants off a hanger, even though I didn’t plan on wearing a damn thing if I could help it.
Travis’s eyes narrowed as he watched me add the second pair to my bag.“Don’t you have class tomorrow?”
“Aren’t you the one always telling me to live a little?”
Travis smirked, looking somewhat pleased with himself. “Glad to see you’re finally taking my advice.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t happen often, so you should enjoy this moment.”
“Oh, I am.” He seemed content to stand there observing as he crossed his arms. “You gonna tell me where you’re going?”
My mind raced as I tried to think up a good alibi. My thoughts automatically went to Serena, but I knew exactly where she was right then, and that wasn’t going to work. “Just a quick trip upstate with the family.”
When Travis snorted I realized what a shitty excuse that was. Like I’devergone on weekend trips with my family, especially one that encompassed a school day.
“You’re a terrible liar, Preston.”
“And you’re incredibly nosy. Don’t you have anywhere else to be?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” He pushed off the door. “Have fun, man.”
With a wink, he was gone, and I finished packing in silence, waiting for my next instruction.
FILTH:
Meet me in the Plaza lobby, 6 p.m.
I STOOD AT the Pulitzer Fountain across the street to the iconic hotel a few minutes before six, my bag over my shoulder and feeling out of my body with anticipation. Even though the Plaza was a less than twenty-minute walk from my place, it felt like I was about to enter another world. A world I didn’t want the others to know about, to keep us in a private bubble while we were here.
Which was exactly why I’d walked instead of using Scotty. I had no doubt Travis would’ve badgered our poor driver to death to get the details of where he’d taken me.
After checking my phone again, I shoved it deep in my coat pocket and crossed the street. The sidewalk under the entrance awning was packed with people both arriving and departingin cars, and I slipped by them all and hoped I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew. It was unlikely they’d be staying, but the Plaza boasted stunning holiday décor and the champagne bar I knew my mom liked to frequent after shopping all day on Fifth Avenue.
I made my way through the crowd gathering to look at the Christmas trees, keeping my eye out for Archer. It took me more than a minute to spot him, his back to me as he stood at the check-in desk. He was still wearing his wool trench coat, but I would’ve recognized that head full of dark blond hair anywhere.
