Page 56 of What I Like About You

Chapter Nineteen

A sudden waveof panic washed over Zara, and there was a sinking feeling in her stomach as she turned the handle on her hotel room. The door handle that was as naked as could be. A quick glance around her didn’t show a sock anywhere, and if Maeve was to be believed, there was definite reason to expect one. She could only hope that if Antwan was still entertaining a new companion that they’d made it to his bedroom.

But as she walked into the little living room, she found it to be suspiciously quiet. Both bedroom doors were closed, and all the lights were off. The thought occurred to her that maybe Antwan wasn’t even there. Perhaps Maeve had been mistaken and that hadn’t been him that she’d seen out on the beach. Or maybe they’d gone back to the other guy’s room. A thrill ran through her at the thought of not being the only one doing the walk of shame this morning.

Although, no part of her was ashamed of anything that happened last night. In fact, more than anything, thinking back on all of the night’s events filled her with excitement. From their time alone together in his dorm, to hanging out with his friends, and yes, even the skinny-dipping, every moment had just been perfect.

BANG!

The loud noise seemed to rattle the whole suite, followed by a burst of giggles from behind the closed door of Antwan’s room. Well, that answered that.

A moment later, the door swung open and out piled Antwan, still tangled up with a tall, blond guy. From the bit of his profile that Zara could see, he had sharp, angular features, and just enough scruff to look “cool”—making him exactly Antwan’s type. They seemed oblivious to her presence as they stumbled their way through the room toward the front door, still passionately making out. Zara had no idea how they hadn’t seen her, but it was obvious they hadn’t since they would have knocked her over had she not moved out of the way. After another few minutes of kissing, Antwan’s new friend left, letting the door not-so-quietly slam behind him.

“Good night?” Antwan asked her, turning back around, a big, shit-eating grin on his face.

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” she replied coyly.

“I think it’s perfectly obvious that my night, and morning, were fucking fantastic,” he said, sauntering past her and flopping down on the couch. “What I want to know is how yours was.”

“It was good,” she told him, trying to keep it simple. Walking into her bedroom, she pulled her swimsuit out of her tote bag and hung it up on one of the towel racks in the bathroom. It was mostly dry, since it’d never made it back onto her body, but she still wanted to make sure.

“Good? Good! That’s all I get is good?” Antwan raced into her room, his arms flailing. “Zee, you’re killing me! You just spent the night with the guy you spent the vast majority of your life ass over teakettle for. So, start spilling! Was it everything you dreamed of? More? Or does he have a dinky winky?”

Zara sighed and collapsed on the bed. Last night had been everything she’d dreamed of, yet somehow, it seemed wrong to share that. It seemed like it was something that should stay between her and Dalton, yet she also knew that Antwan would badger her until she gave in. She had to give him something. Propping herself up against the pillows on the still perfectly made bed, she patted the spot next to her for Antwan to come sit. He wasted no time in joining her.

“It was perfect. He was perfect,” she told him, feeling the smile creep across her face. Would she ever be able to think of Tripp and all the unbelievably sweet things he said to her without getting giddy? She didn’t think so.

“Okay, I’m gonna need more than perfect.”

“Perfect is all you’re gonna get. I’m not gonna kiss and tell.”

“You mean fuck and tell?”

“That either. But yes, it was everything I’d always imagined it would be. We’re finally both on the same page, and it’s a really good page.”

“Which page would that be? The one at the very end that says ‘and they lived happily ever after’?” he teased. “So, we’re moving Relaxation InSPAration to St. Thomas? Cause I’m totally here for that.”

“What? No…” Zara said, confused by Antwan’s leap. How the hell did he get there?

Just days ago she’d still been pissed off at Dalton. Holy shit, had it really only been that long since they'd talked everything out? It felt like that was a lifetime ago—one very happy lifetime. Truth be told, she hadn’t let herself think past the moment they were in when it came to Dalton. She had no idea what was going to happen when they left at the end of the week. It made her want to throw up even realizing it was that soon.

“Is he coming back to Atlanta then? Or are you two gonna do the distance thing?”

“Whoa, whoa…slow down. We’re not there yet. We only slept together—we’re not planning out the rest of our life!” Although, as she said the words, part of her wished they were planning out their rest of their life. Would he consider coming back to Atlanta? It’s not like she could move to St. Thomas. She could do the blog from here, but not the TV show. And she really, really wanted that show.

“You do realize we leave in two days, yes?”

“Yes, I am fully aware of that.” Her stomach sank again at the reminder of something that was currently running through her mind with flashing lights.

What did all this mean? She’d been so caught up in the warm fuzzies and the L word that she hadn’t let herself be practical about this. She wanted a future with him, that was for sure. Even when she’d been pissed at him all these years she’d wanted him back in her life, and now that he was here, she wasn’t sure she could let him go. Could he be thinking the same thing?

Of course he wasn't thinking the same thing. He was a guy. Guys don’t think like that. He was probably just happy he’d gotten laid. No, that wasn’t true—he’d been the one to drop the L word first. So they were at least on that page together. Maybe. But what did it mean?

“Care to let me know what’s going on in that brain of yours?” Antwan asked her.

“I just…” she paused. “I don’t know.”

“You just said you were on the same page!” He threw his arms up in exasperation, tossing her own words back in her face.