ugh, so the JBF gods really must hate me. lights & sirens froze like three times, and now this one is frozen. skjfhkjsdfhksjfhd.
but the new chapter is finally done! however, i must warn you guys now that i don't know if i'll be able to update in the next couple of days. work's going to be hectic this week, and tomorrow morning i'm testing for the dispatcher position that i applied for last month. :] so hopefully i do well on it ... i want this job!
as always, comments are wonderful.
[CHAPTER FIVE]
Interesting sense of style, ten-million-dollar smile.
His eyes see right to my soul, I surrender self-control.
Kaylen stirred in the bed, the soft hotel sheets wrapped around her body. She sleepily opened her eyes, and looked over at a still-asleep Kasey. She smiled as she softly ran her fingers through his short hair and then down his arm, tracing over his bicep. The tender moments was interrupted by Kaylen’s stomach grumbling loudly, and she jerked her hand away from Kasey.
God, I’m hungry, she thought. Then she widened her eyes as a wave of panic swept over her. She was supposed to have breakfast with Joe. She glanced at her cell phone and saw that she had a missed call from an unfamiliar number which she decided could only have been Joe‘s. Everyone else knew not to disturb her before noon on a Saturday. Looking at the current time on the clock, she breathed a small sigh of relief as she saw that he had only called fifteen minutes ago.
“Hello?” A deep voice answered. Definitely Joe’s.
“Hey, Joe,” Kaylen said with a smile.
“Kaylen, hey! I was beginning to think that you were going to blow me off.”
“Nah,” Kaylen replied. “Not yet anyway.” Joe laughed, a deep rumble.
“So you’re still up for breakfast?”
“Absolutely,” Kaylen said as she reached the elevator and pressed the button. “I’m just running late.”
“So am I,” Joe replied. “I’m just about to leave the hotel.”
“Take your time,” Kaylen said as the elevator reached her floor and the doors opened. Her jaw dropped as she saw Joe standing inside, his cell phone held up to his ear. He was smiling and looking at the floor, not seeing her at first. As he stood before her in a tight black shirt and dark blue skinny jeans, one hand shoved into a pocket, Kaylen couldn‘t help but think that he looked incredible. Joe finally tore his gaze away from the floor and saw Kaylen standing in front of him. As the two made eye contact, they each hung up their phones.
“I didn’t realize you were staying here,” Kaylen stated as she joined Joe in the elevator. Talk about coincidences, she thought.
“You are too, apparently,” Joe replied as he noticed her just-got-out-of-bed appearance. But despite her messy hair and slightly smudged makeup that was clearly from the night before, Joe still thought that Kaylen looked absolutely beautiful. Kaylen shrugged as Joe reached around her and pressed the button for the first floor.
“My dad and I got into a fight last night,” she said as she self-consciously ran a hand through her tangled hair. Lie. “So I came here and stayed with my cousin, Kristy.” Another lie. Kaylen felt guilty being dishonest with Joe; he’d been nothing but nice to her and he didn’t deserve to be lied to. But what was she supposed to say? Oh, sorry, but I lied to you last night about going home and instead came and spent the night with my hot, sexy boyfriend who happens to be twenty-eight-year-old Kasey Kahne? Yeah, right.
“That sucks,” Joe said.
Kaylen shrugged. “It happens.” Joe’s eyes stared deeply into Kaylen’s as he inched closer to her body in the small elevator. Their torsos lightly touched, and Kaylen inhaled sharply. The chemistry between them was undeniable, and impossible to ignore. It took every ounce of self-control that Kaylen possessed not to twist her fingers through Joe’s hair and kiss him heatedly. She started to panic slightly as Joe’s face slowly got closer to hers.
Oh my God, she thought. She wanted so desperately to kiss Joe, but she knew that she couldn’t do that to Kasey. While she wasn’t in love with him, she really did care for him and the last thing she wanted to do was cheat on him. Kaylen was just about to tell Joe this when the elevator stopped. The bell dinged and the doors slid open as Kaylen and Joe stepped away from each other.
Saved by the bell, Kaylen thought. She didn’t realize that she had been holding her breath until she exhaled. “Ummm,” she began, not really sure of what to say. What did a person say after that kind of encounter?
“So I think it‘s a actually a little late for breakfast,” Joe said as they stepped out of the elevator into the hotel lobby, as if the last couple of minutes hadn‘t fazed him at all. “But you promised that you’d watch the race with me. So how about a quick lunch and then we can play spectators for the afternoon?”
Kaylen thought it over for a few moments before replying. Her brain was telling her to tell him no, that it could only lead to a bad situation. But her heart ended up winning over her head.
“Yeah,” Kaylen said with a smile. “That sounds good. Just let me shower and change first, okay?”
“Please do,” Joe joked, his eyes dancing. “You need one.” Kaylen laughed and playfully smacked Joe on the arm as they walked toward the front doors.
“That‘s not it at all,” Kaylen said with a grin. “I just can’t be seen in public with a guy who is more primped and has prettier hair than me.” Joe stopped in his tracks and his hand flew to his chest.
“That hurts,” Joe said, his face twisting into a pout. He pointed to his heart. “That hurts right here.” Kaylen rolled her eyes and laughed as she grabbed his wrist and gently tugged him out the door.
“C’mon, rocker boy,” she said. “I can hear my shower calling my name. Let’s not keep it waiting.” Kaylen tensed up as Joe casually slung his arm over her shoulders as they walked toward the awaiting SUV.
She didn’t want it to, but being with Joe felt completely right.
Almost too right.
