“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Prescott replies.
I touch Fallon’s arm. “Thank you, Fallon.”
“Don’t start that shit with me again. All it’s going to do is tick me off. This is your home now.”
He leads me and JD up the ornate staircase and down a long hallway. Portraits and paintings line the walls and are showcased inside gold-leaf frames. There are vases of fresh flowers and fragrant bouquets positioned artfully on white marble pedestals. A statue of some naked Greek guy at the end of the hallway stands in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror I’m dying to make a Harry Potter reference about.
“The four bedrooms at the end are available. Take a look and see which one you like. I’ll have someone get your things from the apartment tomorrow morning. You can borrow some of my or Trevor’s gym clothes to sleep in tonight.”
Fallon pulls out a stick of gum and thumbs it into his mouth.
“What’s with all the gum?” I ask because I’m curious.
“Used to smoke a lot of weed. Gum helps with the cravings.”
“Gotcha.” I say no more.
Fallon cocks his head to the side at me. “Alright. See you downstairs.”
I nudge JD’s arm. “So, want to help me choose a room?”
“I didn’t want to say anything downstairs, but how are you doing?”
I open one of the doors to the right. The room is decorated in a dark burgundy. It reminds me of a funeral home. Ugh. Pass. I go to the next room.
“Don’t know how to answer that question right now. Ask me tomorrow.”
His mouth curves in a semi-smile. “It’ll be tomorrow in an hour.”
“Touché.” I open the second door. This one’s bright yellow. Nope. Moving on.
I open the third door. Bingo. It’s a nice light gray with dusty blue accents. The colors are peaceful, tranquil. Two things that have been sorely missing in my life.
“What do you think?” I say, walking in. The light’s automatically come on. “How do you think I turn these things off?”
JD walks over to the bedside table and picks up a remote. He presses a button, and the lights dim.
“How did you do that?” I snatch the remote from him and start pressing the buttons.
The lights flicker on and off, music turns on, the curtains open. A television rises up from the entertainment center against the wall opposite a very large California king-sized bed.
“This is actually fun.” I start pressing the buttons like I’m dialing a touch phone.
“You’re like a two-year-old.” JD laughs, trying to wrestle the remote from my hands and I one arm him to hold him back, hitting a button that causes the sound of rushing water to filter into the bedroom.
I run over to the open bathroom doorway and gawk as a cascade of water comes down like a waterfall from the ceiling and into a large oval bathtub.
“That is so fucking cool.” I hit a few more buttons on the remote until the falling water shuts off.
“You did not just throw a football hold on me,” he says, referring to my one-armed block.
The next thing I know, I’m emitting a high-pitched yelp as he shoves his shoulder under my ribcage and lifts me high, then flings me down onto the bed. I flail my arms and grab onto his wide shoulders for purchase, my hold on him bringing him down on top of me. My hair spreads out all around my head like a golden curtain across the dusty gray duvet. I’m laughing and staring up into JD’s navy-blue eyes, and just like that, everything gets real.
“Jesus, Aurora. You are so beautiful.”
My laughter fades into shallow pants as desire settles low in my belly. Every part of me feels like it’s on fire, and JD is the accelerant.
“I think I really like this room.” I reach up and touch his bottom lip with my fingers.
