Page 70 of Never Till Now

Adam

I can’t fight my smile watching Lauren board the company jet. Finally, she shows some astonishment walking past the cream leather seats. Her eyes light up as her cheeks beam with excitement. We make our way to the back of the jet and fall into the chairs. Joe, another colleague, boards after us and I internally groan. I guess making Lauren a part of the mile-high club is on hold this time around. The door seals as our pilot prepares for takeoff.

“I’ve never been on a plane before.” Lauren bites her lip, unable to contain her smile.

“Well, this is going to be one hell of an initiation.” Her hand laces through mine and I lift the back of her soft hand to my lips. “Are you nervous?”

“Not at all.” The plane ascends as she looks out the window. “I’m glad I said yes.”

I picked her up from her last work shift when I found out I was needed in Aspen for a meeting this afternoon. Our five hotels across the country keep us busy and it’s becoming clear that my generation isn’t as passionate as our grandparents or parents. Kelsie is finally putting more hours in, but our cousins in Las Vegas and Miami have been struggling to show interest in the business side. By their social media and our brief conversations during business meetings, they’d rather reap the money benefits than put in hard work. Our New York location, on the other hand, loves this world. With a family business relying on the next generation, it’s not that simple to leave them high and dry.

Lauren’s head rests on my shoulder as her breathing becomes even. I lean forward and realize she’s passed out before we hit thirty thousand feet. I’m dumbfounded with how much things have changed in the past two months of her moving here. How much she’s changed me without trying to. I never wanted a relationship until I met a woman who is still not sure she’ll be able to give me her heart.

Go fucking figure, universe.

We land and Lauren walks into the hotel half-asleep. Her messy bun and oversized sweater are definitely out of place at our luxury hotel, but her authenticity warms my heart. I’ve seen her done up and dressed for lux, but her natural, true self is the most breathtaking.

I preordered room service to be delivered for our arrival. Our large room overlooks the mountains and for the first time since the plane, Lauren speaks.

“Wow, this is really nice.” Her voice cracks as she looks out at the large trees surrounding us. “I need coffee.”

“I have a meeting after lunch.” I kiss her forehead because if my lips touch any other part of her skin, I’ll miss my meeting. “Why don’t we eat, shower and then you can grab another couple hours of sleep?”

“I’m really exhausted. Usually I’m fine working constantly.”

“Your therapy and emotional traumas probably haven’t surfaced this high in a while though.”

“Emotionally drained is a real thing, I guess.” She gives me a half-hearted smile. “It seems I am human after all.”

“I’ll give you a nice massage in the shower.” I wink and only then remember I forgot fucking condoms. But does that matter anymore?

Three hours later, I’m back in our room and Lauren is passed out with her arms wrapped around a pillow. She looks like a peaceful angel that shouldn’t be disturbed. It’s late afternoon and my meeting was brutal. Going over accounts, merges and meeting with the mayor has fried my brain. I strip out of my suit and crawl up beside Lauren’s soft, bare frame. Turning on my side, I wrap my arm around her and the pillow. Her normal scent is replaced with hotel shampoo and I’m thankful to find someone so low maintenance that she doesn’t need a large suitcase for an overnight trip. I glance at the clock and tell myself to wake her in twenty minutes, if I can hold off that long.

Tonight, I have a date night planned out for us. I figure since we agreed to see where this was going, she deserves a proper night out with a label on it. One date isn’t too scary to start with. It has been a long time since I’ve felt giddy about taking a woman out. Lauren and I have been on mimic dates, but it isn’t the same as knowing a person is letting their guard down and putting their heart on the line.

My fingers dance on her bare skin and I lower them down her body slowly. My hand slips beneath her panties, brushing lightly over her pussy and I feel my dick start to perk up. Screw waiting twenty minutes. I bring her out of dreamland in my favorite way.

“That restaurant was amazing!” Lauren’s hand laces with mine as she wears a content smile. “I’d say that was a perfect start to a first date.” She playfully bumps my shoulder as we walk. “Minus my orgasmic wake-up call. Your fingers are magical.”

“I had to start off on a good note because I wasn’t completely sure you’d be on board with a date.”

“I feel our previous outings were dates too. My birthday segment in the limo constantly plays through my head.” She looks ahead but her cheeks hold a tinge of pink.

We follow the sound of instruments and find a group of music students practicing their compositions. Music buskers are quite common in this area with the university. Lauren and I stop as the melody changes to a familiar artist I have heard too much growing up through the years.

“No way!” Lauren grins, dropping my hand to move closer to the mini orchestra. “This is even cooler than a piano cover.”

“He’s so tall, and handsome as hell,” I start to sing along. “He’s so bad, but he does it so well.” Her jaw drops, but I know it’s not from being impressed by my off-key voice. “I think they chose this song on purpose.”

“Are you a closet Taylor fan?” Lauren raises her eyebrows as her mouth parts in surprise.

“Kelsie is a Taylor fan. I had to hear that damn music from the other side of her door every day as a teenager.”

“You really love your sister.” The yellow glow of the streetlights brings out the softness in her features. “You act annoyed, but I know you’d break down and sing along with her if you knew it would make her smile.”

Damn, Blondie is right again.

“Maybe.” I smirk. “Come on.” We walk with our hands intertwined along the small downtown strip. The chill of mountain air revives my soul and I pull Lauren in against me. A smile spreads across my face as I capture her lips with mine. It’s soft and short and we carry on walking.