completely dumbfounded and amazed at the same time.
I don’t notice Zack and a couple other men standing around outside the bus until Mia parks her car. But I do notice his smile explode when Mia pops the trunk to her car. I watch nervously as he hurries over to us, calling for Chase to help him out. I don’t know what he’s thinking – maybe that since I’m a girl, he’ll need more manpower to unload my luggage. The thought makes me laugh and I’m finally able to feel my legs enough to reach for the door handle.
“Yeah….he doesn’t look interested in you at all.” Mia deadpans from the driver seat. I choose to ignore her.
Zack reaches the car as soon as I step out and doesn’t take his eyes off of me for a second. He looks relieved, but at the same time like this is exactly what he expected.
I snort a bit. His confidence that I would – and am – following through on this whole crazy idea is too charming to be completely irritating.
“I’m still thinking about saying no.” I warn him as soon as I step aside. I try to be serious, but the smallest of smiles escapes my lips and widens when Zack realizes I’m only joking.
From the corner of my eye, I see Chase and Mia talking while they unload my suitcases.
“I tried to pack light.” I nod my heads toward the two bags. “I didn’t know how much room there would be.” I look back to the monstrosity that is going to be my home for the next few weeks and realize it may have been ridiculous to be concerned about space.
“There’s plenty of room. We moved all our stuff around today so you could have a bit of privacy.”
“You were that confident?” I ask, mimicking what he said earlier.
He smiles. The way his eyebrows raise and his lips turn upwards, just slightly; instantly knots my stomach into a dozen different directions. This man affects me. I catch my breath when he leans in and whispers, “I was that hopeful.”
Without even giving me a chance to respond, and really, what response is there after that, he simply walks away and grabs my large duffle bag from Chase and throws it over his shoulder.
I follow him to the bus and stop at the front door, turning toward Mia.
She’s bouncing around in complete excitement. “I might take some time off work and meet you in Boston in a couple weeks.” She’s smiling and I don’t miss the fact that her eyes briefly flicker toward Chase. I return a knowing smile. I thought maybe she liked him after the night of the concert, but Mia is pretty fickle when it comes to guys so I thought it was just a one night thing. Maybe not.
Regardless, knowing I’ll be seeing her in a couple of weeks comforts me. I reach out and pull her into one of the strongest hugs I’ve ever given her, which is saying a lot.
“I’m so scared,” I whisper into her ear and her arms tighten around me.
“I know. But take lots of pictures. And have as much fun as you possibly can.” She pulls away from me, slightly and looks me dead in the eyes. “That’s all anyone wants for you.”
I let go and wipe a quick tear from my cheeks because I know exactly who she means by anyone. She turns and walks away with a wave and I’m thankful because had she stayed any longer I probably would have ended up a puddle of mush. I suck at good-byes.
When I turn around, Zack is standing there patiently waiting. A small part of me still wants to flee. But I don’t.
I jump slightly when the door to the massive moving structure slams and Jake walks out. He slaps what looks like a stack of bills into the palm of Zack’s hand. Then he smacks him on the shoulder, hard. It’s hard enough for Zack to lurch forward just a bit. They’re both grinning like they just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
I raise one eyebrow in question, a little bit too uncertain to ask what’s going on because there’s apparently some joke or something I’m not a part of.
Jake just grins at me. It’s a huge grin, full of complete and utter mischief. “I bet him one note you wouldn’t show.”
My jaw drops and my eyes almost bug out of my head. I almost want to be slightly