We have the elevator to ourselves. Everyone else is probably getting ready to go out on the town, especially since it’s New York. But after the long car ride and a full day of classes, I’m exhausted. I really hope the guys aren’t going to want to drop our bags in the room and also go out.
Sebastian’s hand hovers over the buttons. “Tenth floor,” says Lukas.
I wonder if they feel the subtle tension filling the elevator with each floor we go up, or if it’s just me. Felix went over the schedule for the competition in the car, but beyond that I have no idea what the guys have planned for this weekend.
Passenger princess all the way on this trip. And whatever is going to happen between us is probably already planned out on their shared calendar. I received the email to join it, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to actually open it and look over the details yet. It feels like it toes the line of dating too much to allow myself to be a part of their group calendar.
As soon as the door to the room swings open, there’s no ignoring the way the two queen beds dominate the room, with only a single desk and chair tucked into the far corner and a small table under the TV. I’m obviously going to be sharing a bed with two of them. The question is, which two?
I move to enter the room, but Elliot lays a hand on my arm, stopping me.
“Actually, would you mind?” He leans down to unzip the top part of a suitcase.
“Elliot has a routine,” Lukas explains when he sees my confused look.
“You have no idea how many germs can be in these rooms.” Elliot begins pulling cleaning supplies out of the suitcase. Had I misjudged when I thought they were sharing two suitcases? Maybe they’re only sharing one, and the second is for Elliot’s disinfecting wipes and sprays. I can’t decide if the idea is funny or concerning.
“I’m sure they cleaned the room before we checked in,” I tell him.
“Sure, they cleaned it,” agrees Elliot easily as he begins wiping things down, “but did they did they sanitize it?”
“I, uh, I don’t know.” I’ve never given much consideration to the steps housekeeping takes when turning over rooms for guests.
“Exactly,” he says, moving into the bathroom. “And why should we live with uncertainty when we can ensure the outcome we want?”
“If we want it sanitized, we should sanitize it,” clarifies Sebastian. “That way we know it’s been done.”
“Makes sense to me.” I’ve been taking care of things for almost as long as I can remember because if I want it done correctly, I should just do it myself. I’ve seen what happens when my mom depends on my dad or I depend on either of them, and no thanks.
“Okay, that’s the best I can do. I can’t clean the carpet, so we’ll just have to use our room slippers,” says Elliot, setting his cleaning supplies down on the credenza beneath the TV.
“Uh, I didn’t bring any room slippers.” How was I supposed to know to pack something like that? I don’t even know whatroom slippers are. Are they like shower sandals, but for wearing in the room?
“Don’t worry, we packed some for you,” says Felix, swinging one of the suitcases up onto the unfolded suitcase rack. He unzips it fully and drops a pair of fuzzy pink slippers onto the floor. “They’re washable.”
“Thank you.” It’s both very sweet and very weird that they bought me slippers, not so that I would be cozy and comfortable, but to keep my feet clean.
I grab my own suitcase and am about to lay it on the foot of the bed when Elliot practically dive-bombs me, his eyes wide and slightly panicked.
“You never want to set your suitcase on the bed,” he tells me. “You’ll transfer all of the germs from the wheels onto the bed.”
“Okaaaay.” I draw out the word and look around the room for a place to put the suitcase. “I can just keep it on the floor.”
“That could be a tripping hazard,” Sebastian points out. “And you’d have to bend over all the time to get things out of it. Horribly inconvenient.”
“Why don’t you put yours on the credenza,” suggests Elliot, moving his cleaning supplies over so there’s enough space.
“I can call down to the front desk and have them bring up another suitcase rack,” suggests Lukas, moving toward the phone.
“No, no, this is fine. There’s plenty of space here, see?” I tell him, swinging my bag up to sit next to Elliot’s supplies. I didn’t think where my suitcase went would be such a big deal.
On the upside, all the tension I’d felt in the elevator has disappeared in the wake of all the room prep.
“I’ll make a note of it at least for next time,” says Sebastian, pulling out his phone. I wonder if they have a special app for these types of notes, or if he’s putting it into their calendar app somehow, or what.
“Thanks?” I’m not sure that we will ever go on another trip together, so his making a note is probably pointless, but if it makes him happy then I guess there’s no harm.
“It’s not a problem,” he assures me, clearly not understanding my tone. Just as well. I don’t feel like having to have a discussion tonight about whether or not this will be a repeat occurrence.
