Vegas Knot (✔️) | Love Travels #1

Twenty-One

The darkness hides my worries and fears. The stars bringing little flickers of light just bright enough to carry us back to the van, fingers intertwined exactly as they had been all day. Except we've kissed.

Nothing has changed.

But everything has changed.

Everyone sleeps in the van and I let my head rest on Enrique's shoulders as he hums a low tune into my ear and strokes my hair. When we get back to the hotel it is nearly midnight and Enrique wakes me with a kiss to my temple.

My eyes refuse to fully open as our guide opens the door and Enrique takes my seatbelt off, pulling me out of the van. Somehow, we make it all the way into the elevator before I wake up enough to figure out what's going on.

"See you tomorrow for the big day!" Carla calls out before she and Lorena duck out of the lobby. Divya is practically being carried by Raj down the hallway. And that leaves me and Enrique at the edge of the lobby, staring down the prospect of dealing with check in while exhausted.

"I don't want you to get the wrong idea here," I begin. But his eyes pop out of his head, so I quickly add. "I just don't want to deal with reception right now and my room has an exceptionally large king bed."

He raises an eyebrow.

"See? That's exactly what I meant by not getting the wrong idea!" I poke my finger into the center of his chest. "No funny business for you. If you can handle that, you can share my bed tonight. If you can't, you can sleep in the shower or the hallway or the lobby. Or maybe beg Carla for a spot on her loveseat. Because I cannot bring myself to walk any further than necessary right now and my bed beckons."

By the time I'm done, I'm draped over his arm like he's a crutch, pushing the up button on the elevator and giving him my biggest puppy dog eyes.

"I'm a gentleman, ma'am," he mocks tipping his hat at me. "I would never dream of anything untoward."

"Good, because I'm exhausted." I laugh, gripping his arm to hold me up as the elevator thuds to a halt. Finally, I stumble my way to my room and slide the room key into my door.

"Me, too," he sighs, following me into the room. "I love a good hike, but this one was tiring. I hurt. I hurt everywhere. I want to sit down but I know once I do I won't be able to stand up again."

"That makes me feel a lot better, actually. If a hiker such as yourself is in pain, maybe I'm not as out of shape as I thought."

He stops me before I reach the couch. "Don't sit down until you're ready to sleep," he says. "Trust me."

I heed his warning and take a quick shower before running to my bed to braid my hair and struggle into my comfiest pair of pyjamas while Enrique took a turn in the bathroom. It's weirdly intimate having a boy in my shower, but I'm way too tired to care. I snuggle down into the warmth of my bed and let the mattress cradle my sore, tired muscles.

The light from one lamp keeps the room lit up enough to see but not enough to keep me awake, so I'm almost asleep when Enrique knocks on the bathroom door from the inside. "Um, Bianca? Can I come out now?"

"Are you decent?" I call, shaking myself awake.

By way of answering, Enrique flings the door open to reveal his literal squirrel pyjamas with a nice lumberjack pattern. "Really embracing the Canadian," he says, hopping up onto the far side of the bed and placing a decorative pillow in the middle.

"Now that it's safe," I say, rolling over to face him. "What say you to whatever comedy is on the television?"

"I thought you were tired?"

"I was, but if I just lay here in bed with nothing to distract me, I'll never fall asleep. Today has been..."

He rolls to face me. "Today has been extremely exhausting and somehow beautiful," he says, resting his hand palm up across the pillow serving as our protective wall. "You ready for Divya's wedding tomorrow?"

"Are any of us ever ready to be bridesmaids?" I ask, fiddling with my fingers along his hand. "Probably not. It's an elopement with a huge budget and a wedding coordinator, though, so hopefully nothing too crazy will happen."

"Okay, turn on the movie," he says, fluffing up the pillows and leaning back into the headboard. "I'm in the mood for a little chick flick or romance or comedy."

"You are a constant surprise Enrique... wait! What is your last name? I forgot."

"My last name?" He turns back to face me, brows drawn together. "Calderón."

"Calderón." I roll the name around on my tongue, trying to pronounce the accent just the way he did. "You are a constant surprise, Enrique Calderón."

"As are you, Bianca Daleman."

The electricity of a single lamp should not be sending shockwaves through the entire room, crackling the lights and flickering the television as Enrique lazily twists his fingers in my hair. But somehow it does.

I could stay like this forever, but the television interrupts me, blasting at full volume. A business woman is being forced to travel to a small town over the holidays. We all know where this is going.

I settle in to my own pillow pile to laugh as she gets her high heels stuck in mud and doesn't know how small town inns work. I finally turn out the light once Enrique is comfortable.

I'm engrossed in the movie, laughing alongside Enrique at all the best parts.

"Bianca?" Enrique asks. "I know you said no funny business, but does holding your hand or... umm... you count as funny business?" His eyes are firmly trained on the television, as though he is scared to watch me give my answer.

I'm already laying right next to the decorative pillow, so I reach my head up and lay it on his chest. His lips press into my temple and he strokes my hair.

"I think this might be the most perfect day I've ever had," he whispers into my hair.

I can't think of a response, so I close my eyes, letting his fingers play with the ends of my hair and his lips tease the edge of my temples. I can't bring myself to admit it might be the most perfect day I've ever had, too.