Page 21 of Chasing You

“It’s the goddamn cherry trees,” Adele growled.

Kash hadn’t thought about that, but he’d seen a few lone trees along the drive blooming with their pale pink blossoms. They were pretty, but not put up with this kind of bullshit pretty. “I could probably walk to the hotel faster than this.”

“Don’t even think about it. You’re not leaving me here to suffer.”

Not that he’d even considered it. Eventually, traffic did start moving again, and luckily, the hotel wasn’t too near the National Mall, so the line of cars began to thin until they were moving at a steady five miles an hour instead of one.

The hotel was nestled in a quaint little neighborhood where all the buildings were covered in street art and all the restaurants looked sort of indie-boho—like he’d have trouble finding food that wasn’t vegan.

He didn’t mind though. He was a steak and potatoes kind of guy, but he loved the vibe.

Adele dropped him off on the curb before pulling into the long valet line, and Kash leaned heavily on his cane as he tried to wake his legs up. They weren’t tingling, but they were stiff, and it felt like trying to run through wet quicksand.

Hewasgoing to need a wheelchair. That was inevitable. Unless there was a quick fix—like a steroid shot in his ass—he had to accept it. He swallowed down his frustration as he made his way through the lobby doors and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized there was no line.

A tired-looking woman at the front desk beckoned him over and cracked her jaw with a massive yawn, then shot him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, honey. I was up with the sun.”

“You’re fine. The first thing I’m going to do when I get into my room is pass out,” he told her with a smile. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet for his ID and credit card. The check-in was simple, and she handed him his room key and hotel map, then rattled off the restaurant hours, which he was in no way going to remember.

There was no room service, but he had a firefighter roommate who he was willing to bet would jog ten blocks to get him food if he asked. Not that he’d ever take advantage of Adele that way, but it made him feel good he’d be taken care of on this trip.

He felt foolish now for trying to do this alone.

“You call down if you need anything, okay?”

He nodded and made his way over to strangely shaped sofas with tight leather coverings. They squeaked embarrassingly loud as he sat, but no one looked over, so he settled back to relieve the pressure on his legs.

He tapped his cane, drummed his fingers, and tried not to panic that Adele had somehow changed his mind and decided to leave him there.

“I found burgers,” came a booming voice.

Kash turned his head to find his smiling best friend holding both their suitcases. “Are you hungry?”

“I could eat a damn rhino. Wait, those are endangered. Hippo? Lion?”

“Let’s stick with burgers,” Kash offered.

Adele grinned wider and offered him a hand up. “Can you eat?”

“I’ll manage something, but I need to get prone, like, yesterday.”

Adele stuck close as they made their way to the elevators. They were on the seventh floor, which made his head spin a little as they finally stepped out, and he led the way down the maze of hallways until they found their room. It was a corner suite, and it opened up to a massive room with two queen beds, a desk, a sofa, and a minibar.

“Do I want to know how much you paid for this?” Adele asked, glancing around.

Kash flushed. “No. Everything in this city cost a fucking mortgage payment because of the flower festival thing, so I chose something nice. Besides, I live with this guy who refuses to charge me rent, so I’m doing pretty well right now.”

Adele’s cheeks were dusted a light pink, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Sounds like a great guy.”

“He is. You have a lot to live up to,” Kash teased.

Adele licked his lips and took a step forward before freezing. His face went all strange, like he was feeling guilty, and he cleared his throat. “So. Burgers.”

Kash groaned and flopped over on the bed. Hewanted out of his orthotics, but he didn’t have the strength to peel them off. “You know what I like.”

Warm hands touched his shins, and he fought back the very real urge to groan. “You know I do.” Then Adele’s fingers went for the zipper and button on his jeans.

His throat went dry. “Adele?” he rasped.

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