Page 14 of Cloud Nine Love

We could be anyone she wanted, as long as it meant we could continue spending time together.

“Sure.” I nodded.

“Thanks.” She took in a deep breath. “I just…I feel like this is…I think… this feels special, and that makes it more special.”

“Special,” I repeated in agreement.

“And can we also not do the small talk thing?”

“Small talk thing?”

“I hate small talk. I don’t want to know how old you are, where you live, or what you do for a living. If we’re going to talk, I want it to be real.”

“Real?”

“Yes, real.”

I had never felt more real with anyone, so I didn’t think that was too much to ask.

“Okay.”

When I agreed, her face lit up with surprise and delight, like a kid who’d just asked to go to Disneyland, and their parents said yes. She looked so fucking cute, it made my chest ache.

As I stared down at her, my jeans began to grow tight. It was the first time in my life I’d ever been turned on by someone being adorably endearing. It was refreshing and also terrifying since I didn’t even know her name and she didn’t want to know mine.

Figuring I’d better get out of there before I did something stupid like cross a line by telling her that I could easily spend the rest of my life looking into her eyes and making her smile and be the happiest man in the world, I decided to go get the food.

“I’ll be right back, Ana.”

On my short walk to the Chinese food restaurant, my phone rang, and I saw that it was Misty. Again. She’d called when I’d been at the front desk. She wanted to know if I was okay, and she wanted to apologize again. She also wanted to know if I’d be coming home before the wedding. I’d gotten off the phone with her before answering because I’d seen out of the corner of my eye that Ana had been done checking in, and I didn’t want her to go to her room without saying goodbye to her.

I sent her straight to voicemail as I walked into the restaurant to grab our food. As I waited for my food, I listened to the message, and it just asked if I was coming home. I thought about it, but decided I didn’t see the point. It would make more sense to change my flight from LAX to DFW.

On the way back to the hotel, my phone buzzed again. I pulled it out and saw that Misty had left me a text telling me that if I decided to go straight to Texas, she would overnight my tux to my sister’s house. I needed alterations on it, but I’d planned on getting them done in Wishing Well.

Part of me wondered if this was just a way to find out if I’d be home so that she wasn’t there with Jagger, but that was probably just paranoia. She’d always been considerate and wasn’t manipulative. This was just her way of trying to take care of me after the news she’d dropped. On the elevator ride up to the fourth floor, I shot her back a text.

Me: That would be great. Thanks.

As I walked back down the hallway toward the room, I had a strange feeling that Ana wouldn’t be there when I opened the door. Maybe she was a ghost, who was stuck in the afterlife, and somehow, our interaction had sent her to the other side. Or I’d had a psychotic mental split after hearing the news about Misty, and she was a figment of my imagination.

Honestly, those explanations were still more viable in my mind than the off chance I’d just met the woman I had. She was perfect in every single way, and I didn’t even know her name. Which, I sort of agreed with her, made whatever was happening here that much more special.

When I got back to the room, I realized I didn’t have the key, so I knocked. The door opened, and Ana smiled widely. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I walked past her and saw the table set up with two hotel glasses filled with ice, cans of soda from the vending machine, a candle that I had no clue where it came from, and soft music was playing from her computer, which was on the tiny couch.

A wide smile spread on my face. “What’s all this?”

“You said you’ve never really dated; I thought this could be your practice run.”

Just when I thought she couldn’t get more perfect; and more adorable, she did this.

I walked over and set the bags on the table. “This is…”

“Too much?” She lifted her hands up in a questioning gesture.

“No, it’s not. It’s perfect. I love it. I’m just going to go wash up.”

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