“Excellent.” Ben bobbed his head. “Can we make eight happen? A quick breakfast then we get going?”
“Definitely. We’ll be set and ready to go at seven forty-five,” Neil answered. “Then we can pack up the second flights open up again.”
“Aw,” Hailey stuck out her bottom lip. “What a jump cut. I can’t believe we’ll be done tomorrow. This was a super fun trip.”
She shot a look at Neil, and I felt like I could take a little credit for the new love match.
A wave of exhaustion washed over me out of nowhere, so intense that I wondered if there was tryptophan in mozzarella cheese. But then again, the weariness made sense given our nonstop, emotionally draining day.
“Guys, I’m out.” I tried to stifle a yawn that just kept getting bigger. “Thanks for everything today.”
It was still hard to believe how much we’d crammed into it. Had I really been sitting between my parents just a few hours before?
“Yeah, same. I’ll walk up with you,” Ben said. He turned back to the laptop and punched a few keys then high-fived Neil. “Be done for tonight, okay? Get some rest.”
“Oh don’t worry, I’m ready for bed,” Neil agreed.
“Same,” Hailey added, although she sounded more amped than exhausted.
Ben and I walked out together and headed up the narrow staircase to our rooms one floor up.
“You feel okay? About the footage?”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Totally. It’s not what I expected.”
“In a good way?”
“In the best way,” I answered as I pushed through the door to our floor. “It’s like a movie. I was thinking it would look more like a local news feature.”
He caught up to me in the hallway. “Give us some credit. This show is one of the channel’s crown jewels, they’re not going to cheap out. And I’ve got too much on the line to deliver anything less than perfection.” We paused when we got to my door. “Which you’re helping to make happen.” His voice dropped. “I know agreeing to do it wasn’t easy for you.”
It felt like the end of a date. This was the part of the evening where the obvious next step usually hovered in the air until someone bold and horny decided to make a move. It wasn’t going to be me, but there was no question of what I’d do ifhepitched it.
The air was thick with everything that was still unsaid between us.
I slapped the pocket on my hoodie looking for my room key, then my sweats. “Damnit. I left my key in Neil’s room.” I heaved a sigh and started walking back to the steps.
“Wait here, I’ll go,” Ben said, jogging in front of me.
There was no point trying to fight him so I slid down the wall and sat on the floor to wait. “Thank you,” I called after him.
I closed my eyes, but all I could see was Ben’s face watching me. A few minutes later I heard him jogging back upstairs.
“Mission accomplished?” I asked as I stood up.
Then I noticed his pained expression.
“Uhhh, not exactly,” he grimaced. “I was about to knock on the door and then I heard...sounds.”
I frowned at him. “They’re still editing?”
“Oh, they’re hard at work, just not on the show.”
He widened his eyes at me and my jaw dropped.
“So theyare...”
“Yup.”
