“I don’t understand.”
“Get your ass up. Let’s go to Reykjavík.”
I can’t fucking believe it. No way. Is she really throwing down this gauntlet? She stands in her kitchen, and now things come into focus. The couch I’m sitting on is custom by the same designer who did mine. The throw blanket is cashmere, and her bookshelf is lined with first and special editions. Oh… we are in the same tax bracket. This is a totally different game we’re playing now.
“Fine. Try to woo me, King.”
CHAPTER 13
Alana
Day 1
Ohh I love an instant plan, and especially one that proves I’m right. I take out my phone and shoot off a text.
“Reykjavík is, in fact, the best city. First, it’s only a five-hour flight. I’ve already texted the private pilots the Olympians use. Wheels up in forty-five minutes.”
“But I don’t have clothes,” he stammers.
“We’ll get whatever we need when we get there.” There’s panic in his expression. Oh shit. That’s right. He only has a thousand dollars. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. My city, my treat. Let’s go.”
Half an hour later, we’re standing on the tarmac. I’m giving our valet the list of everything we're going to need when we get to Reykjavík. Winter clothes. Waterproof layers. Bathing suits for both of us. A hotel room, ideally something nice. And critically: a car. I expect one at the airport when we land.
“Reykjavík,” the valet confirms that what I’m requesting is correct.
“Yes. Reykjavík. Jesus Christ.”
We board the private plane. I give a quick smile and greeting to Amber, the flight attendant. She’s been working with the Olympians forever. The best part about her is that she knows how to be discreet.
“So,” I say. “Before you get all snooty and judgy, have you ever been to Reykjavík?” Grae sits in the seat next to me. We have the whole plane to ourselves, but he chooses to sit right beside me, which is pretty cute.
“Well, I’ve been to the airport.”
“Oh no, you haven’t. You’ve been to that other piece-of-shit airport that everyone goes through on the way into Europe. The layout doesn’t make sense. The food is in a weird ass spot, and who the fuck puts a giant bathroom on the bottom floor?” My unholy rage for that place builds. “And there’s no shuttle to the car rental place. Iceland is known for shitty and random weather. You’re not going to prepare your guests in the first five minutes in your country? Seems like a bad plan.”
“You seem to have some intense feelings about this.” He smirks at me.
My skin is crawling just thinking about it. “The only thing decent about it, is that it’s near one of the spas. And even that isn’t great.” That’s not the way to make an impression or to win the best city on earth game. “No, we’re flying into actual Reykjavík. It’s a much smaller airport and gets us exactly where we need to be.” I glance over at him. “Listen. Go to sleep. I’m not going to deal with a jet-lagged baby at three-thirty when you’re completely overwhelmed.”
“How do I know you’re not going to murder me in my sleep?”
“If I wanted you dead, you’d already be.” He does not know how close to accurate that sentence is.
DAY 2
We take off. We get champagne. Then, true to form, he wraps his arms around me and snuggles in. By the time we land, we’ve each gotten a nice four-and-a-half-hour power nap. “That’s the best part about Reykjavík,” I say as we land. “It’s five hours away. It’s easy. It’s reasonable. It’s not like Kyoto, which is what, eighteen hours? You lose a whole day traveling.”
A car waits for us, and I hop in the driver's seat for the ten-minute ride from the airport to our hotel. There’s nothing overly lavish about the hotel, while checking in I point to the shop cat, because that’s one of the best features of Reykjavík. Grae immediately runs over and starts petting it. The receptionist smiles and tells us our room is ready. That’s one of the perks of being super rich. She also shares that our clothes are upstairs.
“Fantastic,” I say. “Let’s go.”
But he turns back at the cat and then up at me. “Why are we leaving? There’s a cat in the lobby,” he says.
“I’m telling you,” I say, “greatest city on the planet. Let’s go.”
It’s still early October, and it’s the perfect time. Reykjavík’s weather is random at best, one day can have all four seasons and a typhoon. You really don’t know what you’re going to get, it makes you prepare for everything, and my little planner brain loves it.
He laces his fingers with mine and presses his chest to my back as I open the hotel door. As soon as we’re in the room, he pins me to the wall and kisses me. His body presses against mine, and I didn't realize how much I craved his mouth until I got this taste. Breaking the no- kissing rule was a huge lapse in judgement. I push him away.
