Page 90 of Chasing Dreams
He glanced over. “You afraid I’ll get out of shape?”
“Hardly. I think you need to keep up as much of your routine as you can. It’s been hard on you being away from your home.”
“I’m a big boy,” he said. His hands tensed on the steering wheel. “I take trips. I’m not agoraphobic, you know.”
“I know you take trips, but you don’t expose yourself to all this other stuff. You hadn’t used your ability for years until you met me. And now I know why.”
“Yeah, well now I have, and I’m handling it.”
“I don’t want to argue with you, I just care about you.”
The words hung uncomfortably in the air between them, and Shaine wished she could snatch them back.
He switched lanes and signaled for a turn. Pulling smoothly into a parking slot, he got out and retrieved her bag from the trunk.
She followed him into the building and down a hall. He unlocked the door to his room and held open the door for her.
Two queen-size beds, a desk and a television cabinet made up the ordinary-looking room. Shaine forced her gaze away from the beds with the teal spreads.
“Did you bring a bathing suit?”
She always left one in her suitcase. She nodded.
He lifted her bag to the luggage rack. “Let’s go for a swim, then we’ll clean up and grab a meal somewhere.”
And avoid being here in this room with the two beds until as late as possible. Suddenly she resented the fact that he was putting this awkward distance between them. She unzipped her suitcase and went through the motions of getting ready.
They were the only swimmers in the pool. It extended outdoors beneath a Plexiglas divider, which they swam under, and they enjoyed the cooling air outside as the sun set. Shaine could tell the exercise had invigorated Austin by the way he seemed to relax.
“I have an idea,” she said, as they towel-dried their hair on the way to the room. “Why don’t we have a pizza delivered and watch a movie?”
“Really?”
“I wouldn’t have to do more than wash my hair, and I’m pretty tired from all the flights.”
He agreed and made the call while she showered.
The pizza came while he took his turn showering. He’d thought to order drinks and plenty of napkins, so they had a picnic on the bed closest to the television.
The only movies the on-demand channel had were old titles, so they chose Young Frankenstein and laughed at the same ridiculous antics they had seen before.
“I love this part,” he said as he leaned back against the headboard and crossed his ankles.
She lay on her stomach and plumped a pillow beneath her. Shaine’s attention wavered from the screen to his legs beside her, up to the loose sweatshirt and finally to his relaxed face.
A minute later he caught her staring, and turned the volume down. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Offering to stay in.”
“I was tired.”
He lifted a skeptical brow. “Okay. But you suggested it for my benefit.”
She shrugged and traced the pattern on the spread with one finger.
“And I appreciate it.”
