Exposed (#wattys2016)

chapter thirty-one

That night I felt beyond grateful we were all still under this roof. Sure, this house sucks, but there's probably nowhere else I'd rather be. If we had to put this house up for sale tomorrow, my life would probably be ruined.

I tossed in bed all night, anticipated and scared and nervous for my vacation with Casp. I had a newfound appreciation for my family and everything we stood for, making it triple as hard to leave.

I packed my bags and slowly waited for Caspian to ring the doorbell, everybody else still asleep since it was so early in the morning.

I trudged downstairs and sat in the living room with my suitcase, looking around like this was the last time things would be this way. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, taking a bite into a bagel I grabbed from the kitchen counter.

I heard a soft knock on the door and jumped in my seat, getting up and looking through the peephole before opening the wooden door.

"Ready?" Caspian smiled and held his cigarette between his lips. I smiled at the sight of him, grabbing my bag as I closed my front door for good.

I widened my eyes once I was out on the porch, the morning haze spreading across the city streets, revealing a Mercedes parked in front of my house.
"Is this ours?" I asked, my breath being sucked in from excitement. Caspian nodded and threw his cigarette on the ground.

"No smoking in it though, just a rental for the week," Casp explained while opening my door for me. I forgot about everything for a moment while I sat down in the passenger seat of this expensive rental car. Caspian really cared about me.

The engine started smoother than any other car I've ever been in, and the ride was even better. The whole time we sang, laughed, talked, and tried to get the radio up as loud as possible without blowing out the speakers.

Our hotel was four stars, the best you could probably get within a two hour radius of our city. By the time Caspian pulled into the valet, I was tired and sore from sitting. Getting out of the car was the best thing ever, and Casp and I didn't even have to do anything to our luggage.

An oriental man transported our suitcases into the lobby of the hotel where Caspian and I stood in line to check in. The line was pretty backed up and we were sandwiched between a mom with two kids and an elderly couple from 1955.

"I can't wait to just relax," Caspian huffed impatiently. His eyes darted around the lobby and his foot tapped against the floor.

"Be patient," I reminded him, my hand sneaking down his forearm to reach his wrist. I carefully grabbed his hand and let my fingers intertwine with his. I was surprised when there wasn't any resistance on his part. "We're not home, we can do this," I smiled and squeezed his palm with mine.

"It feels nice," Caspian reassured me and we advanced in line a few more places. I felt content being with him in this place far away from my home.

Once we reached the counter, Casp broke our fingers to grab his wallet. I expected him to pull out a credit card, but he pulled out a wad of cash bigger than I've ever seen before. The bills were crisp and wrinkle free, sticking to eachother as he counted out the money owed for our little vacation.

I thought about how lucky I'd be to have that cash just for one month, my thoughts halting as Caspian placed a cold, bronze key in my hand and tugged me along to the bellboy with our luggage. "Wow, you seem to know what you're doing," I joked as Caspian tugged me from place to place in the lobby, until we were on an elevator with the bellboy.

"Just doing what everyone else is. You know me, I observe sometimes," Casp proudly told me while nudging my arm. I smiled at the feeling of his skin against mine, lips silent as the bellboy awkwardly watched us with a squinty grin.

The elevator stopped and we all got out, the bellboy reading the key to lead us to our room on the seventh floor. I was holding Caspian's hand again, craving the feeling for some reason I wasn't sure of.

"Here your room," the bellboy said softly in an accent that was definitely not native English. Casp slipped him some money and then positioned his attention on me, "Go ahead, unlock the door and tell me what you think."

Caspian stood back and crossed his arms, eagerly waiting for me to unlock the door and push it open. I did, and I was greeted with a cool breeze of clean air, a huge suite awaiting us. I looked around at the living room with a flat screen tv hung on the wall, shiny white floors with matching furniture. A fireplace was in the corner, sun beaming in through the  two story windows. It was something straight out of a movie.

I caught Caspian smiling again while he grabbed my hand and pulled me farther inside of the suite. It was then I noticed the full sized kitchen, a spiral staircase leading up to a loft with our bed. I turned to face Casp who was smiling more than I ever saw him smile in my life. "You did this all for me?"

He nodded and slipped his arms around my waist, effortlessly pulling me against his chest. His lips brushed over my temple while he mumbled, "It's because I love you, okay? I always wanna be with you."

My heart starting pumping faster than I ever felt it pump, my whole body melting like goo in his embrace. Up until now, I thought this sort of stuff only happened in fairytales and overly optimistic romance movies.

A/N
I've been finding it hard to spend time on wattpad recently. I apologize if the quality of the next few chapters aren't as good as normal.