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There'd been a grace to her actions I hadn't expected, but I probably should've. How many times had she been in a similar situation? Some guy giving her shit, some girl calling her names, or anything else she'd had to deal with back home? Of all the people in the world, Cody knew just how much that situation sucked, but her response?
We'd left. She'd gotten our meals. She'd ordered food for J.D. as well. She'd fuckinghandledit, and so smoothly it made it easy for me to follow her lead. Now, as I pulled into the hotel parking lot, I was starting to realize just how far out of my league this woman really was. Oh, I'd always knownIdidn't deserve her, but that little show? It proved no man ever would - at least not in my opinion.
When we headed into the hotel, she was carrying the bag with our meals in it, so I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. I loved how she fit at my side like this. I also really liked the way she looked up at me with a smile.
"You ok?" she asked.
I nodded slowly. "Oddly, yeah."
"Good."
And that was it. Our ride up to the eighteenth floor was relaxed and quiet. Comfortable, even. My mind was busy, but not quite spinning. Her little display made me realize I wasn't being fair to her. She'd told us all about her past, but here I was keeping mine locked away? Even J.D. shared more than I did, and I had a feeling this crazy thing the three of us were doing wasn't really going to work until we stopped trying to hide the messy crap from each other.
When we walked into her suite, the TV was on and a little too loud. There was a faint scent in the air. Bitter. It took me a moment longer to realize that must be J.D.'s vape. The cannabis oil wasn't as musky as a joint, but it still was perceptible.
"J.D.?" Cody asked as she rounded the corner.
Confusion took over his face, only letting up slightly when he saw me follow her into the room. "You two are back early," he pointed out.
"His parents suck," she said, moving to the table to pull our food from the bag. "But we brought back dinner."
He pushed to his feet. "Good. I'm just starting to get the munchies."
"She ordered steak for you," I said as I headed towards the mini-fridge. "Is there anything in here that isn't from Mike's?"
"Soda on the bottom shelf," J.D. said. "Grab me one too?"
"And me?" Cody begged.
So I got three. Their little suite wasn't overly fancy, but it was spaced out nicer than most hotel rooms. The table was just big enough to count as the real thing, so when we sat down to eat, it felt right. It felt almost homey.
"So, a complete crash and burn?" J.D. asked as he cut up his steak.
Cody was busy doing the same. "They think he needs to give up bullfighting and get a job in some mail room."
"Where my mom works," I explained. "She's a professor at a local business college. Teaches technical writing."
"Fun," J.D. grumbled.
"You have no idea," Cody said. "His dad's a total suit, and his mom acts like she wishes she was a trophy wife."
I snorted out a laugh. "Close, yeah."
In truth, I was a little impressed at how quickly she'd figured out my folks. It was like their bullshit didn't blind her at all. Most people who knew them thought they were something aspirational. They made sure of it. But Cody? She'd ignored all the fancy trappings and had judged them for who they were.
That made me think I might just be doing better with her than I'd thought. Come to think of it, the way she'd dumped Ty all but proved it. Having her pull me out of that restaurant like she had, not caring if it was the "done thing," was making me realize this woman had her head on straight. I was pretty sure that was the main reason I couldn't get enough of her. She was strong. Amazing, beautiful, and so many other things, but mostly strong - and I really liked it.
"And," Cody went on, "the first thing his mom wanted to know about was kids!"
"Yeah, they were putting us behind a white picket fence real fast," I agreed. "I'm going to assume that's a sign they approved?"
Cody just rolled her eyes. "Now I see why you wanted the backup. Oh, and J.D.? Tanner was just going to sit there and take it! I mean, they were doing nothing but that passive-aggressive 'you're not good enough' stuff, and he was trying so hard to defend himself."
"So she got me to follow her out," I said. "Cody just excused us and bailed. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen." I jerked my chin at J.D. "So how was your little break?"
He blew that off. "I got high."
I chuckled and dug into my meal. For a moment, there was this comfortable lull in our conversation while we ate. I liked it, but when it continued, I started to get worried. The whole way back, Cody had let me stew in silence. Not once had she asked me about the crap my parents had brought up. If anything, she'd been too cool about all of it. Never mind the bits she'd heard about Madelyn!
