“Lay. Dee. Bugs. A thirteen-year-old came up with the idea of mailing you ladybugs and then implemented that plan. Complete with a punny note. There they were, all flying around.”
The corners of his mouth twitched in a way I was beginning to love a little too much.
“If it really had been Blake, you would’ve thought it was hilarious.”
“Well, I’m not Blake—thank God—so I tell you what—”
“What?”
“I truly detest insects, but bygones will be bygones as long as you do one thing for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Tell Addie that you had me confused with someone else and that I like Taylor Swift ... ‘All Too Well.’”
My mouth opened and closed. Had he just made a joke from a Taylor Swift song title? To get me to do something I didn’t want to do in the least? Was this what payback felt like?
“But why? What does it matter?”
“First of all, you have impugned my honor. Second, I would hate to see what she might do next.”
Make friendship bracelets that shocked? Burn his pictures? Write a song about him? “That’s a fair point. I’ll do it.”
“Today.”
“Today?”
“Yes, today.”
“Fine. But only if you’ll join me in the shower.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Stark.” His eyes twinkled as he scrubbed one hand over his lightly bearded chin in faux deliberation. “I guess I should take a shower to maintain my wholesome image.”
I smacked his arm.
“Or I could be filthy andthenwe could head to the shower.”
We almost got distracted a second time while getting dressed, but we had only ten minutes before checkout. I suggested we revisit my table once we returned to the apartments, and that gave us motivation to hurriedly put our formalwear back on.
“Is it a walk of shame, if we’rebothwearing the same clothes we wore yesterday?” I asked as we entered the elevator together, holding hands once more.
“I’m not ashamed of a damn thing,” Malone said. “I’m gonna walk out of here with my head held high. Yes, I am carrying a bag of condoms, rose petals, and little electric candle thingies. Yes, I did have sex multiple times with this beautiful woman. This is a walk of pride.”
His enthusiasm warmed me from the inside out, although a nasty little voice inside asked,What if this is all he wanted? Now that he’s had sex with you, he’ll leave.
I told that part of me to hush. We already had a date with my dining room table, so those old patterns of thinking were patently false.
The drive back to our apartments was much quicker than the trip to the hotel had been. For one, there was less traffic in the middle of the day. More importantly, however, I’d given Malone incentive to drive faster. At one point he showed irritation at someone driving slowly in front of him. I didn’t say anything, but it gave me joy to see him acting as a mere mortal would.
“Oh, I think I forgot something,” I said as we pulled into the apartment complex.
“What?” he asked, trying so hard to tamp down his annoyance that something else might delay us.
“My panties,” I said with a wicked grin, as I stuffed them in the front pocket of his suit jacket.
“You are going to be the death of—what the hell?”
I looked from him to our building and saw that once again his apartment door was open.
