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“No, no, just a little flushed. It’s hot in here,” I insist. It’s not, of course, but Rueben doesn’t call me on my blatant lie.
“You’re staying at the Marriott, right?”
I nod my reply. There are several hotels in the area, but the alumni association offers a group rate deal at the Marriott.
We’re both silent the rest of our trip, and before I know it, we’re pulling up in front of the hotel. It’s busy with guests coming and going, and I instantly start to scour the faces for anyone familiar. Part of me is hoping to connect with someone from school, yet the other part is worried about who that might be. I know Danny is coming this weekend. In fact, he’s the other speaker at the alumni brunch on Sunday. I didn’t, however, know this when I accepted my invitation to speak, and it seemed a little rude to withdrawal after finding out.
Plus, I don’t want him to see me sweat. That means he wins.
Rueben pulls up at the valet and gets out. He comes around to the passenger door as I’m gathering up my things, holding it open for me, which is completely unnecessary, but I don’t say that. I just relish the fact that there are a few polite, good guys with manners left out there. When I’m standing on the sidewalk, he goes to the back of the SUV and starts to retrieve our bags. I join him, reaching for the handle of my suitcase, but he won’t have it. He takes his suitcase in one hand, throws his garment bag over it, and reaches for my suitcase with the other.
“I can get that,” I tell him, adjusting my shoulder bag and ready to grab my handle.
“I got it, Crick. Let’s go,” he maintains, waiting for me to lead the way to the hotel entrance.
The Valet attendant stops and hands him a piece of paper, Rueben slipping him a few bills in the process, before picking back up his handle and meeting me at the door. I once dated this guy, Harris, in San Francisco who refused to tip the bellhop or valet attendant. We took a weekend trip to a vineyard in northern California, and I was shocked by his lack of decorum. I ended up slipping tips to everyone the entire trip, which went completely unnoticed by him. He was too busy checking out the hotel clerk and the restaurant hostess.
“I’ll pay for half the tips,” I tell him as we enter the hotel.
He snorts a reply, not very manly, yet so incredibly cute at the same time. “I got it.”
Rolling my eyes, I glance back at him. He’s pulling all of our luggage, yet doesn’t seem to be affected by the extra weight a bit. In fact, I can see the slightest outline of the muscles in his shoulders as he pulls the suitcases toward the desk. The shirt is pulled tautly against the hard plains of muscle, and I can’t help but want just one little peek…
“Excuse me!” a woman says right before I run into her.
“Oh!” I reply, looking forward to the woman I just bumped into. She’s tall and slender, a picture-perfect image of well put-together. She’s also a harsh reminder of the struggles I had in one of my history classes. “Ellen. Hi.”
Ellen Montgomery rolls her beautifully done-up eyes. “Cricket Hill. Of course you wouldn’t be paying attention to where you were going.”
“I’m sorry,” I stammer, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me whole. “I didn’t mean to bump into you.” And that’s exactly what it was. It wasn’t like I barreled into her at full speed. It was a tap of my torso into her arm, yet she’s making it sound like I just tried to knock her off her feet.
Ellen was my arch nemesis in college. We took many of the same classes together, and while I was a good student, she had always one-upped me. She was better at tests, at public speaking, at reviewing the material on the fly for group discussions. She also always let me know how easy it was for her to be one step ahead of me the entire time.
Lucky for me, she’s the first person I run into when I get to Carbondale.
“And who is this?” she asks, her ocean blue eyes fixed over my shoulder as a gorgeous smile spreads across her face.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see she’s talking about Rueben. She leaves her bags in place in line but moves around me and sticks her manicured hand out for him to shake. “Ellen Montgomery,” she coos, each word dipped in sugar and sex.
“Uh, Rueben Rigsby. We had history together,” he reminds, shaking her offered hand. I watch their interaction, the hairs on the back of my neck standing at full attention but am shocked when he doesn’t seem as affected by her charms. In fact, he kinda just drops her hand and turns to me.
“Oh, yes! I totally remember you,” she adds, stepping into his personal space and touching his forearm. Her nails practically dig into his flesh in a predatory and asserting way.
But when his eyes connect with mine, it’s a hint of panic that I see etched in those dark brown orbs. He’s uncomfortable, as if her touching him makes him a little nervous.
Ellen turns her eyes to me, and I don’t miss the way they narrow just the slightest. “Are you two…” she starts, leaving her question wide open.
I’m just about to go into my “we’re friends” spiel, when Rueben shocks the shit out of me with his own statement. “Yes. We’re together. Isn’t that right, snookums?”
My wide eyes meet his. There’s a plea there, an unwritten desperate cry for help, and I’m pretty sure my brain does a little pop and drop at the idea of “winning” Rueben over Ellen. “Oh, yes. Together. You’re right, sweet pea.” I almost choke on the endearment and have to fight the smile. Rueben smirks at me, as if unable to control his own laughter.
“Together, together, together,” I find myself adding. “We’re definitely…together.”
Now I’m just stammering like an idiot.
“Look at that, Ellen. I think you’re up next in line,” Rueben says, nodding to the hotel clerk.
“Yes, of course. Well, I’m sure I’ll be seeing both of you around,” she says, a little dumbfounded. It’s as if the idea of someone not being interested in her is completely out of the realm of possibility. Or maybe it’s just that it’smehe’s with. I mean, I did date Danny through the second half of college. Everyone wanted him, Ellen included. She was one who publicly stated on many occasions that she couldn’t understand what he saw in me.
