but I don't see Jordan’s car anywhere. He must be running late too. Grabbing my phone, I turn off my navigation and decide to call him. It rings a few times before his voicemail picks up and a bit of panic starts to rise in my chest. I check the address against his text message and confirm that I'm in the right place, then I put my phone down and take a breath.
“Okay. Relax,” I say, giving myself another pep talk.
A few more minutes go by and I start to get a little anxious as cars pulling alongside me and people walk into the building. None of them are Jordan. I try and call him again and get no answer. So weird. To occupy my mind, I pull up Facebook, noting that it’s only a quarter after five. But still, it's not like him to be late. I scroll through my news feed and look at all the pictures of my friends celebrating the end of another semester. I stop on one of Shana, who's smiling while holding a cup of coffee. Her caption reads: “3 hour road trip, here I come.” I notice a notification that I missed from Jordan. I tap it and see that he hearted a picture. It’s the one Shana tagged me and Lucas in from our date the other day. My stomach drops, but I don't know why. This is exactly what I want. I want things to be easy, but something about him liking the picture of me and another guy just hurts and proves that I was right. None of this is real and we need to have this conversation to get all the awkwardness out of the air. My eyes glaze over as I get lost in thought but the sound of my phone ringing brings me back.
“Hey,” I say, relief washing over me.
“Sorry I’m late,” Jordan says, “but I have the best fucking news.”
“What's going on?”
“I got the call. Sachi officially offered me the position.”
"Seriously?" I don’t stop the smile that grows on my face. It’s a nice break from the dread I’ve been experiencing for the last hour. “I knew you’d get it.”
"I was going crazy waiting. Then my phone died as I was running into the meeting. I had intended to charge on my way there. Sorry I didn't text you ahead of time. I'm about fifteen minutes away. Did you make it to the hotel okay?"
"Hotel? Yeah." I look up at the building in front of me.
“The Smith's Hotel. You got the address, right?”
"Yeah, I'm sitting in front of a Smith's Lounge,” I say, then remember the hotel over in the corner. "Jordan…" I pause. “Why are we going to a hotel?”
“Relax. I'm not going to get you drunk so I can fuck you again. Well, unless that's what you choose." He laughs.
“I choose?” Heat warms my cheeks as I lose the battle fighting my blush. I can't tell if he's serious, but right now the idea of spending the night with him in a hotel feels like a cruel joke. “Okay?” I say. “There's a lounge right in front of the hotel. I parked there, assuming that’s where we were going. I’ll head over to the hotel and meet you in the parking lot.”
My heart is beating out of my chest. Going into a hotel with Jordan is just giving me mixed emotions. I don't know what to think. I shouldn't think anything of it. But this is odd, even for Jordan. He’s always been an adventurous, spur-of-the-moment type of guy. It’s one of the things I love about him, but with all that’s happened between us I’m having a hard time following this. Besides the multi-family trips we’ve taken over the years, Jordan and I have never been in a hotel together. I lay my head back on the seat and wait until his car pulls up next to mine.
My stomach is in knots. I'm trying to relax but the idea of sharing a room with him is both exciting and terrifying me.
Plastering a smile on my face, I watch as Jordan pushes his door open and steps out his car. God. He looks so good. He's wearing a collared shirt and jean shorts. The shirt hugs him just enough to show the outline of his pecs and toned arms. I melt, allowing myself one final moment to swoon over him before I snap out of it and step out of the car.
"So, a hotel,