Moving Forward (Moving Neutral, Book Three) (11 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

“So, where to?” Tanner asked, when we were past the photographers and settled into the backseat of a town car.  It was snowing again, but valets with umbrellas stood over us as we walked out onto the sidewalk.

One of the many perks
of wearing a four-thousand dollar dress.

I leaned my head back on the car seat.  “I have no idea.”
  The champagne was still making my head fuzzy, as I tried to push the image of Blake’s face out of my mind. 

“Hudson hotel,” Tanner said, giving the driver the address. 

I looked at him, biting back a smile.  “That’s awfully presumptuous, isn’t it?”

“Is it?  You suggested it.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You love it,” Tanner grinned.  I tried to give him a stern look, but if I were being totally honest, he was right.  Tanner was just… easy.  Being with him felt
uncomplicated.  I turned my head to the side, taking in the smooth angle of his jaw, the satin edge of his tuxedo lapel. 

“I don’t want to ruin this dress in an hour trying to get a cab in the snow.”

“Fine, you convinced me.  You can stay overnight.”

I giggled.  “There’s really no good option here, is there?”

The car made a sharp turn around a corner, sending me sliding towards Tanner’s lap.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, making an effort to move back into my own seat. 

“Don’t be,” he said, running his hand down my arm.  “I paid the driver twenty bucks for that.” 

I snorted.  “Ok, one drink,”
I said, trying to sound firm.  “And be warned, mine’s probably going to be water.”

Tanner’s fingers danced along my shoulder, pulling me closer.  “What happened to fun?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.

Fun went out the window the second I saw Blake,
I thought to myself.  “Stop peer pressuring me,” I said out loud, with a hint of a smile.

The car turned onto fifty-eighth street, and I watched as it pulled up to a stark façade, barely noticeable from the buildings around it.  It slid to a halt in front of a bellhop dressed all in b
lack, who pulled the door open for me.  I was closer to the door than Tanner, so I got out first, holding my dress in both hands to keep it off the wet sidewalk.  I barely registered Tanner climbing out of the car and appearing at my side, his arm around my waist to steady me on the slippery street.

The street was pretty packed for a snowy night, full of tourists coming back from dinner
and girls in tiny dresses and big coats trying to get taxis.  I glanced up and down the street, but I couldn’t see much through the snow and the traffic.

“Come on,” Tanner whispered, as the door opened in front of us, pulled out by an attendant inside.  “You must be freezing.”

“A coat didn’t go with my outfit,” I said, feeling myself shiver as I walked in front of Tanner, up an escalator and into the lobby.  He reached out to rub my arms, trying to warm me up.

“Really?”  He grinned, glancing down at my gown.  “Couldn’t you just borrow your roommate’s
again?”

I thought about Darby’s coat, abandoned at Blake’s the night before.  And how he’d brought it back this morning.

“She took it home,” I said, banishing the thought.  “Which way?”

The lobby was crowded, with people waiting to check in and a giant chandelier over our heads.  In front of us, an outdoor bar was abandoned, covered with a thin layer of white snow.

“Left,” Tanner said, leading me to an elevator bank.  “Penthouse.”

I gave him a sideways glance.  “Naturally,” I said, smiling.

“See?  You’re learning,” Tanner grinned as I hit the button marked PH and the elevator started to rise. 

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Yeah, I could get used to this,” I said, nearly falling onto the couch in Tanner’s suite.  I kicked off my heels and curled my legs up under the dress, feeling the soft chiffon on my skin. 

“Here,” Tanner slid a glass into my hand, something clear and fizzy. 

“What happened to water?”

“
Nothing
happened
to water, Snow.  It still exists in the universe.  I just poured you something more… fun.”

I took a tentative sip as Tanner sat down next to me, taking a big gulp of the drink he’d poured and then letting his fingers play with the hem of my dress.

“So,” he said, looking at me seriously for a moment.  “Are you going to tell me what really happened tonight?”

“Nooo,” I moaned, throwing my head back
against the sofa and closing my eyes.  The soft fabric was like a pillow, and I felt my body start to relax, all the tension from the night starting to fade away.  “Not you too,” I groaned halfheartedly.  “Come on, Tanner, please.”

He looked at me like
there was more he wanted to say, but to my immense relief, he seemed to change his mind. 

“
So, New Year’s, huh?”

I smiled at him, relieved.  “Maybe.  It’d beat my current plans, which are an oh-so-exciting zilch.”

“Eh,” he shrugged his shoulders.  “So are mine, right now.  Nobody good decides where to go until the night of, unless it’s about the money.”

I thought about explaining to Tanner that my plans were non-
existent because up until tonight, I’d assumed I’d either be in someone’s basement or at home with my parents.  But instead, I changed the topic.

“The money?”

“You’ve got to be at twenty-five, now, right?”

I looked at him, confused.  “Twenty
-five?”

Tanner’s eyes widened.  “Fifty?  Holy shit, don’t tell April.  She might hire a hitman.”

I bit my lip.  “Tanner, slow down.  Twenty-five… what?”

Now it was his turn to look confused.  “Thousand,” he said to me, like it was obvious.  “I mean, you know, not for tonight, but for something big like New Year’s?  In Vegas?”

I felt the shock wash over my face.  “Twenty-five thousand… dollars?” I whispered, choking out the words.

Tanner shot me a funny look.  “Do you usually negotiate in yen?”

I opened my mouth and then closed it, struggling for words.  “You get paid that much, just to show up at a party?”

It was practically a year of tuition.  It was more money than I’d ever seen in my life.

“Now,” he said, smiling sheepishly.  “With the show, and… you know, all of it.  Lately, Justin tells me that’s my rate.”  He paused.  “Do you really not know what yours is?”

I looked at him, wide-eyed.  “
Tanner, I’ve never seen that much money in my life.”

Tanner looked at me incredulously.  “You know, for someone who’s supposed to be so smart, you’re like, a total rube on this stuff.  Snow, people will take advantage of you if you let them.  If you’re not going to handle this stuff yourself, you’ve got to find someone who will.”

“I know,” I sighed.  “I will.  It just feels like every day, there’s some new thing that I realize I haven’t done.  It’s hard to even keep it all straight at this point.”

“Listen,” Tanner smiled, his fingers tracing a lazy pattern on my knee.  “For New Year’s, just tell Lauren you want whatever I’m getting.  My agent’s a bulldog—whatever it is, it’ll be fair.”

I looked at him gratefully, feeling the tension start to leave my shoulders.  “Thanks,” I smiled, not bothering to move Tanner’s hand away.

“Don’t mention it,” Tanner’s grin turned sly.  “Besides, if someone’s going to be taking advantage of you,” his voice was low and warm.  “I’d rather it be me.”

I felt my stomach flutter, and for a second, I wondered if a little part of me didn’t agree with him.

But I pulled my knees back.   If this was going to happen, it wasn’t going to be tonight, not after seeing Blake and all the unfinished emotions that came with it.

I yawned, stretching my arms behind the couch.  “You’re looking for blood from a stone,” I smiled, resting my head on the back of the couch.  “I’m too tired to be seduced tonight,” I smiled.  “I could seriously fall asleep right here.”

Tanner
looked torn for a moment, and then he finished his drink in one gulp and set the glass on the coffee table. 

“Fine,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet.  “Take the bedroom
— I can sleep out here.”

I blinked. 
“Are you sure?”

“
Yeah,” he smiled.  “Just don’t tell anyone.  Wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation.”

I smiled back.  “Your secret’s safe with me.”

It took all the energy I had left to walk fifteen feet into the bedroom, and I practically fell into the freshly-made bed, exhausted.  I pulled the covers over me, not even bothering to take off my dress. 

Dim morning light had already filled the room by the time I woke up. 
Glancing down at my phone, I realized it was already eight a.m.  I had two hours before I had to meet Madison at the train station, and I had to get all the way up to Columbia in between.  Rubbing my eyes and standing up, I brushed the wrinkles out of my dress, and opened the door to the rest of the suite.

Tanner was sprawled out on
one of the couches, his leg hanging off the end in a way that didn’t look comfortable in the slightest.

“Hey,” I said, shaking his shoulder.  “I’
ve got to go, okay?”

He opened his eyes slowly, smiling when I came into focus.  “Don’t even try to kiss me,” he said sleepily.  “Your morning breath is awful.”

I punched his arm.  “Is not.”

“Ok,” Tanner gave an exaggerated sigh.   “Then I guess you can try to kiss me, if you insist.”

“I’m leaving,” I said, straightening up and walking over to the door.  “And, um,” I smiled at him awkwardly.  “Thanks.  For everything last night.”

He grinned.  “Yeah, you totally owe me.” 

I shook my head, exasperated.  “Fine.  I owe you.  Anytime you need a fake date to save yourself from public humiliation, I’m there.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

I had my hand on the doorknob when he stopped me.  “You do realize you’re still wearing a ballgown and no jacket, right?”

“I do,” I said, a hint of sarcasm in my voice.  “But since I don’t
regularly keep a change of clothes in
your
hotel room, I figured I could get myself home wearing this.”

H
e grinned.  “Come on, Snow, at least wear a coat.”

“You sound like my mom.”

“Again, this stays between us.  You can use mine from last night — it’s on the chair.”

I hesitated, looking at Tanner’s tuxedo jacket from the night before. 
On one hand, he was right — it was better than braving a New York December in a ball gown.  I picked it up and slipped my arms though the sleeves.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.  See you in Vegas,” Tanner grinned.

I took the elevator downstairs by myself, grateful that the hotel seemed mostly empty this early in the morning.
  The lobby was still dimly lit, and it was largely deserted as I made my way down the escalator and out onto the street, pulling Tanner’s coat around me for warmth.

“Do you need a taxi?”  A bellhop asked the second I got to the ground floor, before I could even walk onto the sidewalk.

“Yeah,” I looked at him gratefully.  “Is it ok if I wait in here?”  I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get a cab at this time of the morning, and I wanted to stay inside where it was heated as long as possible. 

“Of course,” he said, walking briskly outside.  I watched through the double doors as he hailed a cab within thirty seconds.  Maybe I could have waited outside after all.

I braced myself for the cold, and stepped outside.

“Casey
—”

I froze, feeling panic wash over
my body.  Startled, I looked to my left — and straight into the lens of three cameras, pointed at me.

“Are you and Tanner dating?”

“Is it just a fling?”

“Is it serious?”

“Isn’t Tanner dating Emma Harris?”

“Is it over with Blake?”

I felt a pit in my stomach, and looked from the cameras to the cab desperately.  But there was nothing I could do — they’d already gotten the shot they wanted.

Me
.

S
neaking out of Tanner’s hotel. 

D
ressed in my clothes from the night before.

If a picture was worth a thousand words, this one made the story very clear.

I didn’t answer any of their questions.  Trying to wipe my face of any emotion, I walked as quickly as I could to the taxi and climbed inside.  “I’m going to 127
th
,” I said softly, and fastened my seatbelt as the cab took off down the street.