Page 13 of On the Way to You
“My turn,” I said quickly. “Why did you ask me to come with you?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” he said with a smirk. “You’re a girl. And you’re hot.”
My entire face burned like I’d opened an oven door and stuck my head inside. “I… um…”
“What?” he probed. “You don’t think you’re hot?”
I laughed, splitting another end off the tail of my braid.
“You really don’t,” he mused, watching me curiously. I couldn’t look at him now. “I was just kidding, Cooper. Not about you being hot, because you are, but about why I asked you to come.”
I still didn’t turn to him, lip pinned between my teeth. “So, why then?”
It was silent, only the hum of his car and the oddly comforting sounds of traffic filling the space between us. He stalled long enough for me to glance over at him again, and when I did, he was watching the road, his jaw tight.
“Because I know what death from the inside looks like,” he said.
I watched him, waiting for more.And… what? You didn’t want me to die? You wanted to save me? You thought I was too young to die?But he didn’t continue, so I pulled my leg from under the other, feet planted on the floorboard.
“You asked me in the diner what makes me happy,” I said. “What about you? What makes you happy?”
Emery full-on smiled, and the brightness of that smile was enough to make me forget how to breathe. The wrinkles at the corners of his lips, his teeth in a straight white line, his sunglasses lifted on his cheeks — it was beautiful. “I know I said five questions, but you’ll have to settle for two. We’re here.”
Kalo popped up in the back, tongue hanging out of her mouth as I took in the skyline in the distance, complete with the Saints football stadium. “New Orleans?”
Emery pulled his sunglasses off, dropping them into the center console. “Hope you like gumbo.”
The hotel was nice.
Reallynice.
I sank down into the mattress of the bed closest to the door, stretching my legs out and rubbing Kalo’s head as I looked around. We were right in the middle of the French Quarter, and the rich golds and deep reds of the bedding and curtains in our room made me feel like I’d stepped back in time. It was a small room, and the architecture was straight out of the twenties, the tall arches and intricate windows, but it was regal. And expensive, that I knew without asking.
Emery dropped his bag onto the opposite bed, eyes on his hands as he unzipped it and shifted through, pulling items out and plopping them onto the comforter. I was still looking around, stomach dropping at the thought of how much it cost to be in the center of the city, where everything was happening, in a hotel this beautiful.
“I can help pay for the room,” I finally said, though my throat was dry with the offer. I had money saved, but I’d still planned on saving for a few more months. I needed to make what I had last, and that wasn’t going to happen if we kept staying in places like this.
“Not necessary,” Emery said, fishing out a small black toiletry bag. “I’m going to take a quick shower, if you want to do the same after I’m done. Then we can go grab dinner and explore a bit?”
My stomach flipped, and I hated it. “Sure.”
I smiled, tucking my hands under my thighs, legs hanging off the edge of the bed. He eyed my feet, and in a second all the blood in my face washed away.
Here it comes.
I waited for him to ask, to point it out, to look at me with pity and sorrow.
But he didn’t do any of that.
“You’re short,” he said, matter of factly. “Like,reallyshort.”
“I’m five foot,” I defended with a chuckle. “It’s notthatshort.”
Emery quirked a brow. “I’ve seen taller fifth graders.”
“Weren’t you going to take a shower?”
He smirked, heading for the bathroom without another word. When the door clicked closed behind him, I breathed a sigh of relief, popping up from the bed to retrieve Kalo’s food from my bag. The little food and water bowl I’d picked up from the gas station popped up like a kid’s toy, making bowls from flat plates, and I poured the pebbles in before reaching for my water bottle and emptying the remaining contents into the opposite bowl.