I didn’t say a word. But it must’ve been written all over me, because Jordan’s eyes tracked me the moment I sat down. He leaned in, voice low and close.
“Everything okay, babe?”
I nodded too fast. “Mhm,” I chirped, pairing it with a smile I hoped passed as convincing. It wasn’t. My body was as stiff as a rod.
His gaze lingered on mine. Searching, but he didn’t push. He just sat back slowly, his hand slipping onto my shoulder, thumb moving in gentle, steady strokes like he was grounding me. Reminding me he was right there. I didn’t lean into it, but I didn’t pull away, either. He didn’t need to say anything else.
Back at the hotel, I peeled off the heels as I stood by the mirror, fingers lingering at the back of my neck, fiddling with the clasp of one earring, then the other. Jordan emerged from the bathroom, rubbing a handthrough his hair, already down to his boxers and half-smiling at me like I was still the only thing in the room worth noticing.
“You’ve been quiet,” he said, stepping into the space behind me. “You okay?”
I nodded too quickly again. “Mhm.”
He didn’t buy it.
A few seconds passed, then he sat at the edge of the bed, watching me in the mirror. He knew there was something I wasn’t saying and he was giving me space to find the words myself.
My chest ached, because I knew he was waiting. I took a deep breath. Turned around.
“Okay fine…I wasn’t going to say anything,” I admitted. “Didn’t want to make a big deal. But…”
I exhaled, long and slow. “I heard some of the girls talking. At the dinner.”
His posture shifted, his brows furrowed, but he didn’t interrupt.
“They didn’t know I heard. Or…maybe they didn’t care. Said I wasn’t as pretty as your last girlfriend. That I looked like a therapist with benefits.”
I laughed, bitterly. “I mean…psychologist, obviously. So points for effort, I guess.”
I looked down, trying to swallow the burn in my throat. Jordan stood quietly and crossed the room.
He took the earrings from my hands first and he set them down gently on the dresser. Then he reached for my chin and tipped it up so I had to look at him.
“First of all,” he said, “they’re jealous.”
I huffed and tried to look away, but he wouldn’t let me.
“I mean it. You walked into that room tonight and every guy there nearly choked on their drink. I’ve never seen anything like it. You were electric. Elegant. Fucking impossible to look away from.”
My breath caught.
“I had to sit through two hours of small talk pretending I wasn’t thinking about dragging you home and bending you over this bed the whole time.”
I smiled, reluctantly.
His hand slid to my waist. “But more than that…you don’t belong in their world because you’re not pretending. You don’t need to fake it. You don’t need to smile at people you don’t like, or care about someone’s follower count. That’s what makes you different. That’s why I wantyounext to me.”
I blinked hard, my throat tight.
He kissed my cheek. My temple. “You’re real, Katie. You see people. You understand things most of them wouldn’t even think to look for. And you’re so fucking beautiful, it ruins me.” A tear slipped down my cheek, and he caught it with his thumb.
Then he stilled, his touch faltering slightly as something shifted behind his eyes.
“You should’ve told me,” he said quietly.
I looked up.
“Back at the dinner,” he said. “You should’ve said something.”
