The food looked and smelled great, but my stomach had turned against me. The night wasn’t going at all how I had planned. I hadn’t expected things to be quite this awkward. It was eating me up inside, and I was sure by the time we went home the next morning, I’d have an ulcer.
I took my time cutting up my steak. Never in my life, had I used so much energy concentrating on cutting food. But I was desperate to do anything to bypass this awkwardness or try to ignore it. But it was driving me crazy.
No,Trentwas driving me crazy. Every time I looked up, he had this wounded, kicked puppy look and was shuffling in his seat. I was pretty sure I was the cause of both, but had no idea what I’d done to cause it or how I could fix it.
“So, uhh,” Trent started, staring at his own barely eaten chicken pasta dish he had ordered, “how do you like working on the show? I mean, I know we haven’t really done much.” The blush coloring his cheeks was absolutely adorable.
Despite not feeling like I had much of an appetite, I forced myself to chew and swallow a bite of my steak, contemplating Trent’s question.
“It’s good. I really like it. Much better than modeling,” I admitted with a chuckle.
“Really?” Trent looked surprised. “I’d think you’d like that better. Plus, you probably get paid better and for less work.” He let out an uncomfortable chuckle.
I’d been living pretty comfortably the last few years on my modeling jobs, but this opportunity with Trent, to work onHaunted Vegas, it was life changing.
“Honestly, doing the show is going double my normal annual salary. I don’t plan on quitting modeling completely, because there are some things that I like. But now I’ll be able to afford to only take the jobs that I want to take.” I made a face as I played with the potatoes on my plate. It was sad, really. I did some lucrative ads, but I still had only been able to just live comfortably. At that point in my life, and career, I should have been much more successful. Admitting my lack of success out loud stung. Especially when it was Trent.
“Oh,” was the only soft reply I received as we fell back into the deafening silence.
I thought about biting the bullet, changing the subject and mentioning the kiss, but Trent was finally starting to look like he was relaxing. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin it. But I was dying to know if we were on a date. It felt like a date. And that had been my intention when I had suggested it, but I had worried Trent hadn’t taken it that way.
Then he showed up at my doorstep with a fresh haircut and a new suit.
When things had gotten quiet on the way to the elevator, I thought it was just jitters. But then there we were, our barely eaten food getting cold, and the conversation was stilted at best.
“Why did you kiss me?” I asked, putting my fork down and finally looking at Trent straight on. I couldn’t take it anymore. Someone needed to grab the bull by the horn, and apparently that someone was me.
Trent’s head snapped up and his eyes were wide, his fork halfway to his mouth, and a piece of pasta slipped off the fork. Not that Trent noticed. For a several long seconds, we just stared at each other. Then Trent blinked, as if he were coming out of a trance.
“I… Because I wanted to.” He made it sound so simple. “And I thought maybe you wanted me to. But it’s become increasingly obvious that wasn’t the case. So, I apologize if I did or said anything to make you uncomfortable.” Trent let out a sigh and put his fork down, the bite still uneaten.
“You didn’t. I mean, you didn’t make me uncomfortable. Or do anything I didn’t want you to,” I admitted as I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. “I did want to kiss you, Trent. But we’d both been drinking and then, well, then it happened, and I guess I panicked.” I gave him a wry smile. “I was trying to not make it weird.”
“Mission failed.” Trent tossed me a teasing grin and I let out a breath of relief.
“So… is this a date?” It was my turn for my cheeks to turn pink with embarrassment. My eyes tracked Trent’s nimble fingers as they ran up and down his wine glass as he considered my question.
“It feels like one, doesn’t it?”
“That’s what I thought. So, if I walk you back to your door when we’re done here, are you going to kiss me again?”
“I don’t know. Are you going to make it weird again?” Trent teased, but there was a flash of desire in his eyes that I couldn’t deny.
“Absolutely,” I said with a grin.
“Excuse me,” Trent said to a passing waiter, “could you get our waiter to bring our check? We just realized we need to get going.”
I raised my eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Not that I needed to, as I was sure the smile on both our faces said enough.
Less than two minutes later, I’d signed for the food to be billed to my room, and we were rushing off toward the elevator, hand in hand and giggling like schoolgirls.
The elevator took forever to come and even longer to get us back to our floor. Unfortunately, once again we weren’t alone, so we had to behave. But it was okay. The anticipation of another kiss coiled hot desire throughout my entire body. I’d never felt like this before, and I doubted I ever would again.
Trent
Ididn’t pause once the entire time we walked from the elevator to my suite. As soon as we got to the door, I swiped the card and tugged Gage’s hand, urging him to follow me inside.
While I couldn’t wait to get my lips, and hands, on him, I wanted to do it right and not out in the hall for anyone to see.
