Page 40 of A Christmas Road Trip

He chuckles and promises to ensure the appropriate amount. He grabs his phone and wallet and leaves the room.

I sigh and stare up at the ceiling.

I really need to get myself in order. I’m still a bit fuzzy about what happened last night, but I know for sure I drank too much wine.

I was silly and giggly on the way home. Chase had to take my shoes off and coax me into getting my pajamas on.

Embarrassing. That’s what I was.

Currently I’m not in a fit state to lose my inhibitions. I’m far too interested in Chase’s body, too excited about kissing and touching him, too mentally distracted by the idea of having sex with him.

We agreed to be smart and take care of our friendship, and getting tipsy is a sure way to throw that resolve into the garbage.

It’s a miracle I didn’t make a humiliating move on him last night.

No more than two drinks a night for the rest of the trip.

With that clear in my mind and a slightly sinking feeling in my gut, I make myself get out of bed because I really need to use the bathroom.

After I go, I wash up and notice the huge, gorgeous, jetted tub. It would be a shame to let that go to waste.

We’ve got an easy morning today. We don’t need to leave until elevenish. There’s plenty of time before breakfast for me to take a bath.

I’ve just turned the water on and am checking the temperature when Chase texts that he’s on his way back. The timing is perfect. By the time he’s here with my mocha, the bath should be ready for me.

It takes a minute for me to adjust the water to the appropriate level of warmth without being too overpoweringly hot. Then I add some of the fancy bath salts they’ve provided.

They smell like vanilla and ginger. Delicious.

“I’m here with coffee and a lot of whipped cream,” Chase announces as he arrives.

I turn off the water since the tub is full. Then I go out to greet him, reaching for my mocha. “Thank you so much! This is perfect.”

He sniffs the air and glances into the bathroom through the open door.

“I’m going to take a bath,” I tell him. “If you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind. We’ve got plenty of time. I’ve got to call Grandma anyway since I didn’t yesterday.”

“Good idea. Tell her I say hi.” I take my hot drink into the bathroom and close the door.

The tub is every bit as good as I was hoping. It’s big enough that the water can cover my shoulders and all of my legs. I sit in the still, scented water as I drink half my mocha, hearing the faint sound of Chase talking to his grandmother.

He’s such a sweetie. And never makes a big deal about how great he really is.

There’s no one like him.

When it sounds like he’s ended the call, I turn on the jets to try them out. But they’re loud and the churning water isn’t as nice and soothing as I want. So I turn them off again. Close my eyes and soak in peace until my drink is gone.

When I’ve relaxed so much I’ve gotten a bit restless, I decide I might as well shave my legs since I’m in the bath. I take my time, enjoying how smooth they feel afterward.

I try to sort through everything that happened last night—mostly to reassure myself I didn’t do anything too mortifying.

I was really clingy walking home. I remember Chase gently removing me from his body. That’s not great but also not the end of the world. I didn’t grope him or anything too inappropriate.

And I was kind of pitiful when I got back to the room, but I didn’t undress in front of him. I just said a lot of silly things.

I have a sudden memory of his voice as we walked home, telling me I can let go a little because he’s going to be there to catch me.

---