Chapter 382

Alanis
I know the direction of the place we are supposedly having our nightcap. I am excited because being away from the community with Beau is a vacation. No matter where that is. “I know where this is,’’ I mutter, not wanting to sound too excited.
He turns to me slowly with a mischievous smile on his face “Are you sure?’’ he questions me, even though his mind is screaming out the answer right now.
“You want us to spend the night here?’’ I ask him because this doesn’t seem like the most romantic idea for a nightcap. I don’t want to be a nagging nelly but I expected more?
I don’t know.
He parks the car and turns to me fully “You look disappointed. Why?’’ he looks at me with worry-filled eyes. I don’t want to seem proud or maybe unappreciative but this motel is not the idea I had for a nightcap. I am rich enough to get us a place at a fancy hotel. Somewhere that we could relax.
“Why are we here?’’ I ask him confused. I get the sentiments behind this. I took him here when his father kept him in the cave. It was the first time that I felt something for him. “This place is crap. Remember? You even wanted to leave when I brought you here.’’
His face falls immediately and I hate myself for being this way. I don’t even know who I am acting like right now. I don’t care about the place. the only thing that matters is being with him and I am acting like some rich spoiled brat.
“Forget what I said, let’s go inside,’’ I try to switch things around. He raises a brow because I am pretty sure he can tell that I am all over the place. I don’t even know what is going on in my head and why I am acting this way.
“Are you sure? We can leave if you want to. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
I shake my head immediately and grab both of his hands in mine “I love this. I like that you do things thinking about our origin. I like that you even remember that small detail.’’
He smiles faintly, he doesn’t look convinced and maybe I am doing a bad job at that but I just want to have a good night with him. I want this to be perfect. “I wish I could rewind to a couple of minutes. I didn’t mean to sound so ungrateful,’’ I add. I want him to see that it doesn’t matter.
Nothing matters but him.
I kiss his knuckles softly and his smile widens. The uncertainty is gone from his face “I heard they make the best food here. Have you tried their eggs? They are to die for,’’ I use the same line I used the first time I brought him here. That day was important to me because my heart was finally beating for someone else. I thought I was going to end up alone and he came into my life like a storm and turned it upside down—in a good way.
He laughs as he remembers “You were so weird. I didn’t even know what you wanted from me. I hadn’t felt the pull yet. Remember?’’
I nod.
Going down memory lane is something that I will always like. The memories I have with him are all good. From meeting him to being with him. even though we had a lot of challenges along the way, we were happy in each other’s embrace.
We get down from the car and he leads me up the stairs completely avoiding the reception. I grab his hands in mine “You already have a room?’’ I ask him.
He looks up and then nods “Yeah, I got one yesterday with Bells. I didn’t get to use it, because I came to you.’’ he reminds me.
That adds up but it also seems suspicious “Come on. You have been so curious and suspicious all day. Just live in the moment.’’ He adds. The fact that I keep asking him all these questions in doubt must be getting to him. he said that this was a nightcap but he also told bells that he would be wherever she is—soon. This just means that this is not the surprise. There is more and he is right. I am worrying and overthinking everything.
He stops in front of one of the rooms in the motel. I look around. The walls are old and dainty. There is nothing romantic about this place. it is gross and I am pretty sure the inside is going to be worse.
He opens the door with his free hand and I walk into the room with him. just as I expected. There is just a bed in this room and the door to the bathroom. The paint on the wall is just as dirty as the one outside. A stuffy smell hits my nose immediately.
Fuck, I want to be okay with this. I want to smile and act like this is the most romantic thing he has ever done for me but I can’t. I don’t want to lie to him. I don’t want to pretend with him. shit.
“You look grossed out.” he points out.
I take a deep breath because I don’t really know how to handle this. I don’t like this place and I am trying to act like I can spend the night here. I turn to the bed and the sheets are a crème color. In my eyes, they look dirty. This is a fucking low-budget place that I brought him to when I didn’t know where to take him to. I brought him here because it was the closest place to the community. I had done something so stupid and this place was the closest place I could think of.
“You hate it,’’ he cries running his hands through his messy hair. I notice the stain on his white shirt. He looked so good earlier, now he looks all wrinkled and sad.
“I love it,’’ I decide to go with the lie.
He raises a brow in disbelief. I walk over to him and grab his hands in mine, pressing my lips to his “I love it. I promise,’’ I pull away from him.
Beau, what do you have planned?