Page 42 of Honey Undone
“Do you understand now?” He asked me as we shared a single breath. “Answer me, Adeline,” he whispered with a smirk. I was going to die in the booth of a chicken wing bar in the arms of a fuckboy baseball player and I’d never been more ready for my last moments.
“I understand,” I finally forced off my lips.
“Good,” he said, turning back in the booth like he hadn’t just completely violated every resolve I had left about fucking him.
We continued to eat and drink, the conversation lulling into something softer and more connected than it had been before. I was starting to understand what he meant when he said he could be both. Sweet and attentive when he wanted to be but in those quick moments he was a completely different animal.
“You’re going to protest and before you say no, I have a plan,” Jensen said, finishing another beer. “I’m not driving back to Harbor, and neither are you,” he laughed, leaning closer and pointing to the four empty gin glasses.
“You want to stay here? In town?” I said, my voice clearly a little nervous.
“Hey, just to sleep it off. I’ll even get us two beds,” he said, “scout's honor,” he said tapping his chest again.
"That's suspicious," I scowled.
“If I’m going to be inside you, I’m going to remember every goddamn second of it,” he added without flinching and hailed down the waitress for the bill.
“Let me,” I asked, reaching for it.
“Pretty sure,feed you, was on that list,” he said, plucking the bill away before I could take it.
JENSEN
Igrabbed my gym bag from the trunk of the car and we walked three blocks to the closest hotel. Adeline was giddy, her laugh infectious as we walked and I was alright, definitely a little tipsy, and I wasn’t chancing putting her in a car and driving the two hours home. It was nice to be away from everything in Harbor. There wasn’t anything on my mind, it was just Adeline and me having fun in a random town where no one knew who we were and we could laugh as loud as we wanted.
“Two beds,” I said to the receptionist, handing him my card and ID as we entered the hotel and walked up to the main desk. I didn’t mention to Adeline that it fell under the umbrella of my mother’s company, but that wasn’t something she really needed to know.
“Sure,” he said, he couldn’t have been more than eighteen and he stared at me for a second, checking my ID and then checking my credit card against it. “Mr. Jensen,” he handed me the card back.
“You know I never asked what your first name was,” Adeline said, her arm pressed into the crook of my elbow as I took the keycard from the kid.
“You didn’t tell me yours when I asked,” I scoffed, leading her to the elevator, “why should I tell you mine?”
“Aren’t we past that little game?” She narrowed her glossy eyes on me and I leaned close, scrunching up my nose at her.
“About as over it as you are compliant,” I teased and she rolled her eyes at me.
“Well it’s not on the roster card,” she said as the elevator took us to the fifth floor.
“Yeah it is, my first initial is there," I reminded her.
I found amusement in how unsteady she became in her footsteps with a little booze in her system. It wasn’t that she was drunk by any means, but she had started to relax a little and she was so focused on asking me questions that she wasn’t paying attention to how she was leaning into me for support, or how her smile turned wide and playful on her rosy cheeks.
“This one,” I laughed and stopped her from walking.
“Well, what's your first initial?” She let go of me and leaned against the wall beside the door.
“Check next game,” I said, flicking her chin with the card before swiping it and popping the lock open.
“You’re cheating,” she gasped in disbelief, sliding into the room before me. She stopped in the small entryway before looking back at me. “If you wanted to cuddle, you could have just asked.”
“What did I do?” I dropped my duffle and locked the bolt behind me. I moved through the room around her, flicking on the light to illuminate the one king-size bed. “You were standing right there when I asked for two,” I said, trying not to laugh at the delicious misfortune. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” I offered.
She stayed quiet for a moment before inhaling and exhaling one big breath, “You have to keep your hands to yourself…” she said, “mostly.”
“Mostly?” I surged forward like she had called me like a dog, “what does mostly mean?” I asked, dipping my head to meet her gaze and reaching my hands out to her sides but not touching her as she backed toward the bed.
Her giggle only made controlling myself harder, when her thighs hit the bed she fell back on it and stared up at me with a smile.
