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Holden glanced over his shoulder but not in the direction Greg had motioned. Instead, he was looking toward the entrance to the hotel’s restaurant before turning back to face Greg. “Do you have a place to stay?”
When Greg shook his head and told him that the city was pretty much sold out as well, Holden pulled out his wallet, slid a plastic card from it, and held it out to Greg. “Room 1273. I’m grabbing dinner with a work colleague, so go on up, order room service, and relax.”
Greg stared at the key card. It was tempting, but he didn’t want there to be any chance of misunderstanding, especially since Holden had been interested in him at the club.
“Take it, Greg. I’m just offering a place to stay for the night. I don’t expect anything in return.”
“Okay.” As soon as the key card was in his hand, Greg relaxed. “Thank you.”
Holden seemed about to say something else but then nodded. “I’ll be up in about an hour or so.” He glanced over his shoulder again and muttered, “Less if I can help it.” Focused on Greg once again, Holden smiled. “I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter six
Holden
Anhourandahalf later—dear Lord, did Brody like to hear himself talk—Holden was finally on the twelfth floor, heading for his room. The closer he got, the more his nerves kicked in. He didn’t regret offering Greg a place to stay, but the reality was they didn’t know each other. A couple of hours in a club, shouting at each other over the music, wasn’t enough to even say they were acquaintances, and yet, as soon as Holden had seen Greg’s forlorn expression, he couldn’t walk away.
Holden wasn’t going to deny that he felt a surge of anticipatory energy as he neared the door to his room. He’d been attracted to Greg in the club, but that was nothing compared to the jolt to his heart when he’d recognized the man sitting in the lobby scrolling through his phone. In full light, he could finally appreciate what had been previously hidden: Greg was beautiful. With his lips reddened from being chewed on, a dusting of stubble on his chin, his hair a mess from hands run through it in agitation, and his uniform travel worn and rumpled, he was even more appealing than he’d been perfectly turned out for clubbing. Maybe more so because he looked real.
Even though Holden had offered to share his room with Greg and was thrilled when he’d accepted, Holden had no expectations that this would lead to something more. He might hope, but that wasn’t why he’d done it. He’d simply helped out someone in distress, nothing more. All those rational thoughts went through his head as he took the key card from his wallet. His hand shook as he brushed the card against the door’s reader and felt the heightened edge of awareness as he anticipated seeing Greg again. Maybe they were getting a second chance to meet, a second chance to form a connection. And maybe…
Holden’s thoughts faded as he opened the door and stepped into the hotel room. The only light on was the one in the entranceway; the rest of the room was dark. The air was tinged with the scent of food, which made Holden happy that Greg had ordered room service. If he’d come down to the restaurant, Holden wasn’t sure he’d have been able to fake attention to whatever Brody had been talking about, and the thought that Brody might have made a disparaging comment about Greg made Holden’s blood run cold. He hated those moments at work, the ones where someone made a homophobic remark or joke, and Holden felt himself die a little bit from shame, fear, and self-loathing that he wasn’t brave enough to challenge the status quo or tell them to knock it off.
If those remarks had been directed at Greg, Holden wasn’t sure he could keep a lid on the anger he’d managed to suppress all these years. It surprised him how protective of Greg he felt, even in a hypothetical situation that hadn’t happened.
The sight of Greg sound asleep on the room’s love seat filled Holden with tenderness. He was too tall to stretch out, so his knees were almost at his chest. He’d taken one of the pillows from the bed and found an extra blanket to make himself an impromptu bed, which made Holden wonder if he’d had to bunk in with other flight attendants on overnight layovers. Did seniority dictate who got the beds, or did they draw straws? Holden found himself curious about the parts of Greg’s job he wasn’t privy to as a passenger.
Almost as if he sensed Holden staring at him, Greg stretched and opened his eyes. Holden immediately busied himself with arranging the coffee pods so Greg would think he’d just entered the room and hadn’t been staring like a creeper.
“You could have slept on the bed,” Holden said as Greg sat up and worked a kink out of his neck and back.
“It’s fine,” Greg said, groaning as he stood up. Holden tried not to notice that Greg had changed into a T-shirt and basketball shorts, which meant there was a lot more skin on display, especially as Greg stretched to one side and exposed more of his flat stomach and lightly defined abs. “This is more about being on my feet for the past twelve hours.” He straightened up and winced as he twisted his upper body to the left, then to the right. “I was hoping to be able to relax in my parents’ hot tub tonight.”
“That’s right. You said you were from here at Neon. So why are you in a hotel?”
“I grew up here, but my folks moved up near Aspen several years ago.”
“Ah.” Holden nodded. “Did they retire up there?” He didn’t know how large an age gap there was between him and Greg, but they were definitely at different stages of their lives.
“More of a change of careers. They opened an inn.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“It is. It’s a lot of work, too, but they love it.” Greg rubbed his neck and looked past Holden. “Would you excuse me?” He gestured in the direction of the bathroom. “I need to—”
“Oh, sure. Of course.” Holden scooted out of the way as Greg moved past him. They were doing the dance of two people who didn’t know each other well suddenly placed in intimate proximity, going to elaborate lengths not to come in contact with each other.Even though I’ve kissed him, Holden thought but reminded himself that a kiss in a club didn’t mean anything in the full reality of their lives.You don’t know him, Holden reminded himself, even as another voice was saying,But I’d like to.
It took a while for Greg to come out of the bathroom. At first, Holden was concerned, but then he figured Greg was using it as a way to keep them separated. The room was nice as far as hotel rooms went, but it wasn’t large. One queen-sized bed, two nightstands, a minibar, a dresser, a love seat, and a TV took up the space.
Holden walked over to the window and opened the curtains to reveal a white-shrouded landscape of buildings and roads. The snow had buried any parked cars, and it was still coming down fast enough that the buildings across the street were barely visible.
Behind him, Holden heard the door to the bathroom open.
“I’m booked here through the week,” he said. “So, if you can’t get out tomorrow, you’re welcome to stay.”
Greg came over and stood next to him, resting a hand on the glass. “Shit,” he said softly. “That doesn’t look good for getting into the mountains tomorrow, does it?”
“Like I said…”
