“Do you mind if I use the bathroom?” she asked before I had a chance to say anything.
“Of course, it’s through there,” I said, pointing toward the only other door in the room. As she shut the door behind her, I turned on the television and flicked through the channels until I found something worth watching. I shrugged off my coat and toed off my boots before carting all of the food to the bed and opening up the pizza boxes.
“You look very cozy there,” she remarked as she walked back in.
“Hurry up and join me. You’re missing the best part,” I replied, nodding toward the television.
Distractedly, she dumped her shoes and jacket next to mine as she became engrossed in the film.
“I love Home Alone,” she said, and I grinned, happy that she liked my choice. She settled precariously against the pillows, and I handed her a napkin with a huge slice of pizza, determined to put her at ease.
“Thank you,” she said, and accepted the offering without protest, which was a huge win.
Half an hour later, I lifted the nearly empty pizza boxes and dumped them back on the coffee table, the two of us having nearly demolished our feast. She was still completely absorbed in the movie when I climbed back onto the bed next to her, and I knew that it was without conscious thought that she sat up slightly to make room for my arm, but I slid it under her neck anyway. She snuggled in next to me, and it felt so right. Like we’d done it a hundred times before. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. I thought back to all the amazing parties I’d attended, all the rich and famous people I’d mingled with, and all the podium wins I’d enjoyed, and yet not a moment of it compared to the pure joy of having her in my arms.
The movie ended, and another started, but by the slight rise and fall of her chest, I knew she’d fallen asleep. Warm and comfortable and with the intoxicating scent of her filling my lungs with every breath, I drifted off beside her. My last thought was to wonder what it would feel like to have this every night.
Chapter Thirteen
Lauren
Waking up warm and safe in Jensen’s arms this morning had been absolute bliss. He’d even ordered a breakfast tray up to the room that we’d devoured before he walked me back to the motel so I could change for work.
I was supremely confident that nothing could sour my good mood, least of all the smelly drunkard passed out on the sofa bed in our motel room. Since the night I’d slept rough, Dad and I had successfully managed to avoid one another. As far as I was concerned, it would be the merriest holiday I’d ever had if we managed to make it all the way to Christmas without speaking. This morning when I arrived at work, my pay had been waiting. I was so paranoid about having it lost or stolen, that I’d kept it inside my bra all day. I, more than anyone else, knew how easy it was to lift a wallet or purse.
So far, Jensen’s generosity, leftovers from work, and tips had allowed me to eat all week, but I needed to ration my money carefully if I was going to make it last. Especially if I wanted to try and save something out of it toward getting my own place. When I finally made it, I was going to start saving all over again for an oak bed, as beautiful as the one I’d slept in at the inn. It was the best night’s sleep I’d ever had. Of course, the fact that Jensen had been my pillow all night probably had something to do with it.
There was one indulgence I’d allowed myself to make, and that was to take Jensen out on a proper date. It was the very least I
could do after everything he’d done for me. Besides, one more week and he’d be gone, and I’d have the rest of my life to be careful with my money and put something aside for the future.
Before coming here, I’d been a realist. I knew what it was like to walk in the darkness behind the scenes while everyone else enjoyed the show under the spotlights. But meeting Jensen had changed my perspective. Now I saw hope where before there was only despair. Now I wanted more than just my next hot meal and somewhere safe to sleep. I wanted a future. I wasn’t foolish enough to even contemplate that it would include someone as amazing as Jensen, but I did know that I wanted security. A permanent home to call my own. A job where I was liked and respected by my colleagues. And one day maybe even the chance to finish school.
I stood before the mirror and smoothed down the skirt of my red dress. The fact that Dad had bought it for me in a thrift store once as part of a con should have put a dampener on my mood, but there was nothing that could do that tonight. I said a silent prayer of thanks that I had at least one item of clothing in my wardrobe suitable for a date, and I hoped Jensen wouldn’t find me too shabby. It was so easy to doubt myself when I thought about all the glamorous women he must have wined and dined on the Formula One circuit, but the fact of the matter was that he could have spent his Saturday night with any number of girls and he’d chosen to spend it with me. It was that thought that put a smile on my face and a little bit of extra color in my cheeks. I didn’t have much in the way of makeup, but I swiped on a little mascara and a hint of lip gloss anyway, just as the room’s doorbell rang. Dad snorted and turned over but thankfully remained asleep.
“You’re beautiful,” Jensen said, his mouth ajar in shock as he looked me up and down while I joined him outside.
“Thank you. You look pretty amazing yourself,” I replied. He smelled so incredibly good, too, that I really was fighting the urge to just close my eyes and inhale him.
“Let me get that,” he said. Taking the jacket from my hand, he held it open for me to put on before offering me his arm.
“It doesn’t really go with my dress, but at least it’s warm,” I said, embarrassed that my coat, another thrift store bargain, was the same one I always wore. The same one I’d slept rough in only a week ago.
He stopped and turned me to face him. “Stop. It doesn’t matter to me how expensive your dress is or how many clothes you have in your wardrobe. You’re beautiful. Inside and out.”
“Life is so unfair. To let me meet someone so kind and charming and wonderful and then have them live so far away,” I whispered, brushing aside a stray tear.
He lifted his hands to cup my face and gently brushed away another tear with his thumb.
“What are you doing?” I asked as we walked along.
“It’s tradition,” he said, nodding his head toward the porch roof at the motel’s entrance, where a bright green sprig of fresh mistletoe hung from a beautifully tied red ribbon.
“I swear that wasn’t there when I got home,” I said.
“Maybe life isn’t so cruel after all,” he replied, and stepping forward, he pressed his lips against mine. It was everything. Magic. Explosions. Fireworks. All my Christmas wishes rolled into one. It was pure and chaste but touched with a tinge of desperation. As though, through one kiss, we could imprint the memory on each other’s souls. Forevermore I would remember the feel of the soft fullness of his lips, the way he held me as though he never wanted the kiss to end. And when it was over, he rested his forehead against mine, each of us as breathless as the other.
“Best. Kiss. Ever,” he said.