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He begins to laugh. “Ten minutes later—after we finally got you to calm down.”
“When are we going to get there?” I ask, changing the subject.
He chuckles deeply. “Not long. We need to check in at the hotel, then we can go get something to eat. You do realise the signing isn’t until the morning, though, right?”
“Yes,” I say dryly. “I just want to check, one more time, that I have everything ready. We need to be up early so we aren’t waiting around in a queue to get in.”
“That’s fine. We can grab breakfast around seven, then finish getting ready before heading over. It’s only a five-minute drive according to Google, and the doors don’t open until nine.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
*** *** ***
We’re stepping over the threshold of our room and I’m about to dive onto the bed, when CJ snags me around the waist, stopping me.
“What are you doing?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder at CJ.
He smirks, taking his phone out of his back pocket. “Snapping a picture for my mum. She asked me to send her a picture of the room.”
“And you’re stopping me from going in because…?”
“And… I don’t want you messing the bed up and throwing your shit everywhere. At least let herthinkwe’re clean and tidy.”
I roll my eyes but watch as he snaps a few pictures of the room. The second he lets me go, I dive onto the bed, bouncing into the middle with a huge sigh.
“This is so comfy.”
He gives me an amused chuckle. “Looks it. I’m starving; do you want to go eat downstairs or go find somewhere else for food?”
I glance around, not really in the mood for a long trek to find somewhere to eat. I just want to relax. Anything involving any kind of exercise and I stay away from it. It’s why I hate our apartment so badly. The lift is always breaking down, and I swear it hates me because it always does it when I have something to lug up the stairs.
It kills me every time.
“Downstairs. Then we can come up and find a movie to watch. I want an early night.”
“It’s five,” he states, staring at me like I’m an alien.
“And we have to be up at the crack arse of dawn. I’m going to have to get up at six so I have time to wake up properly before getting ready. I need to make sure I have enough time to do my hair and shit because there is no way I’m looking like a slouch in front of a bunch of authors. No way.”
He chuckles, grabbing my hands and pulling me off the bed. “You really do amaze me sometimes. I still don’t know how people confuse you to be this shy, timid girl. You’re batshit crazy.”
“I am not!” I pout but then tilt my head to the side, sagging my shoulders. “Okay, maybe a little, but I’m one of those people who hates meeting new people. It makes me uncomfortable so I stay quiet. If I don’t, I ramble and blurt out stuff I shouldn’t. But the minute I’m your friend, you’re out of luck. I’ll end up telling you my life story.”
“I know. When we first met you wouldn’t even look at me. You’d blush and start stuttering.”
“That’s because you were hot.”
His chest puffs out as his eyes light up. “I knew it. You had the hots for me.” He winks, pulling me against his hard chest. “It doesn’t matter either way. I love all sides to you, and there’s definitely more than one. I’m just lucky I get to see all of them.”
He says the sweetest things.
I did have the hots for him. How could I not? He was everything I normally stayed away from because of how intimidatingly sexy he is. People who are overly confident weren’t who I hung around with at all. In fact, Willow had been my only real friend for a long time, until we arrived at Whithall. It was hard to be heard, being who I was, let alone being around someone who demanded attention without even asking for it.
People always spoke over me at school. I’d be in the middle of saying something and they’d start something up, and everyone would pay attention to them. It hurt, so after so much of it, I learnt to keep quiet. After, it became a habit. It’s only ever Willow who let me be me. She was outgoing, friendly, and sometimes loud, but she always listened, asked for my opinion, and never left me out.
CJ, however, is not who I thought he was when I first met him. I was completely wrong about him from the beginning. Yes, he is confident and has an ego the size of the Titanic, but he is more than a pretty face. He’s incredibly smart, even though he prefers for people to think he’s dumb; he’s good-looking, yes, but he doesn’t exploit it to get attention or what he wants; he listens to people, no matter what they’re talking about; he’s never been selfish, not in the time I’ve known him; and he’s the most selfless person I know; he’d give the shirt off his back, if you needed it.
With a heart full of love, and an empty stomach, I squeeze his hand. “Let’s go get something to eat. Maybe if you’re good, I’ll let you have one of my sweets when we get back.”
