The Haunted - Jessica Verday [113]
Are you trying to tell me I’m dull?”
I tried to shake my head, but only my cheek moved on the comforter, and I snuggled deeper into it. “You’re not dull, Casper. You…” I searched my brain for the words he’d used before. “You exhilarate me.”
His green eyes were the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes again, but I heard him lean down and whisper, “Thank you, Astrid. Sweet dreams.” The next time I woke up, I was really awake. No fuzzy-headedness and no disorientation. I blinked once or twice, wondering why it was still dark out, and rolled over to look at the clock.
It was 3:12 a.m. Still nighttime.
My eyes quickly adjusted, and I could see Caspian sitting in the chair.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Hi,” I whispered back. In the darkness the hotel room felt small and intimate.
“I moved over here because you were getting restless,” he said.
“Okay.” My stomach grumbled loudly and completely embarrassed me.
Caspian chuckled. “Hungry?”
“I guess. I didn’t eat much pizza.”
“I saw a vending machine at the end of the hall,” he said. “I’ll go get you some snacks.”
“No, that’s okay,” I tried to protest.
“You need to eat something,” he said as my stomach growled again. “Just let me go get something for you. Please?”
“But what if someone sees you? Well, not you, but you know. The snacks. Moving. On their own.”
“It’s three in the morning. No one’s out there. I’ll be quick.” He stood up and turned on a small lamp by the TV. Then he turned to me. “Do you have any, uh, money? I’m all out.” I dug my wallet out of my pocket and handed him a couple of bucks. Then I remembered the minibar with all the snacks I could eat. I didn’t bring it up, though. I had to pee, and if this was the only way to use the bathroom without him in the room, so be it. I’d just keep sending him out for random snacks.
And when it was time for a shower, I’d send him to the fourth-floor vending machine, with a very long list.
He grabbed the key. “I’ll be back.”
As soon as Caspian left, I hurried to use the bathroom. Then I washed my face and brushed my teeth. My hair was a nightmare, but it refused to be tamed, so I pulled it back into a ponytail. Next, I opened up my suitcase and rummaged through it.
Digging deep through the pile of clothes, I pulled out a set of white pajamas with red cherries printed all over them. They could hardly be called sexy, but they were cute. And the material was kind of clingy.
A soft knock sounded on the door, and I stripped out of my clothes and hurried into the pj’s.
Caspian came in a second later, carrying a bag of pretzels, some chips, a breakfast burrito, and a candy bar. “A main course, two sides, and dessert.” He dumped his haul on the end table, and then turned to me. “Cute. I like the mismatched buttons.” I glanced down. My buttons were all lined up wrong. “Oops.” Turning my back to him, I called out, “Don’t peek,” and I straightened them. “Okay, all fixed.” Caspian’s gaze seemed to linger on my top button as he said, “I liked it better the other way.”
“Well, I can always undo it if you want.” Hearing those words come out of my mouth, sounding very much not like I intended them to sound, I blushed and picked up the burrito.
“I’m just going to heat this up in the microwave, and you can forget I said that, okay?” His lips pulled up into a half smile, and he sat on the bed. I popped the burrito in and nuked it for twenty seconds before joining him. I ate in silence, and I got up to brush my teeth as soon as I was done. I did not want to have guacamole stuck in them.
When I exited the bathroom, he had one leg propped up on the comforter and was looking at a picture hanging on the far wall. I wondered how the rest of the night would go. Was he going to spend it in the chair, or on the floor? Or in the bed… with me?
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said suddenly, turning to face me.
“What I’m thinking? Why?”
“Because I can’t stop thinking. And I want to know if you feel that way too.” He looked frustrated. “Are you thinking about everything that happened?