Peyton stopped dancing and stepped out of my arms.
“What’s wrong?” I moved toward her, but she took another step back.
“Nothing.” She shook her head and her nose twitched. “I’m just tired.”
She was lying. Her nose told me that. I just didn’t know why.
“What’s wrong?” I asked again.
“It’s just…tonight has been a lot.”
Her nose didn’t twitch that time.
“I think I’m just gonna head upstairs. It was great seeing you again. Really great. Bye, Maddox.” She turned to head out of the room.
I stared at her as she walked off the dance floor and part of me said that I should just let her go. She was leaving. Again. Why should I chase after her?
The answer was simple. Because it’s Peyton.
Within three large strides I caught up with her.
She jumped a little when I placed my hand on her lower back. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
Her breath was shaky as she agreed, “Okay.”
The reunion was winding down at that point and as we filed out of the ballroom, we were in a group of about ten people. They all got on the elevator with us.
“What floor?” I asked her.
“Five.”
“I’m on the fifth floor, too. Room five ten.”
She grinned. “I’m five forty.”
The elevator stopped at floors three and four and half of the occupants got off, leaving only Peyton and I and a group of three women who I didn’t recognize but all had nametags on which meant they were at the reunion.
I stared straight ahead but could feel their stares burning into me and heard their whispers because they were drunk, so they weren’t being that quiet and we were all standing a foot away from each other.
They said, “That’s him.”
“He’s even hotter now.”
“I heard he’s a gazzilionare.”
When the doors opened, I was relieved to step off. I turned, heading in the opposite direction of my room to walk Peyton to hers. We were halfway down the corridor when she looked up at me and smiled.
“Do you get that a lot?”
“What?” I asked.
“Unwanted attention from women. I could see how uncomfortable it made you.”
“Not a lot. Mostly on playdates.”
“Playdates?”
“Yeah, for Hannah. The moms are just…”
