What You Do To Me (Unexpected Love) (10 page)

             
We all stood together with our backs to the field, having the field and the city of Detroit as our backdrop. Getting set for the
picture,
Alex snaked his hand around my lower back and pulled me in close to him. Not realizing what I was doing, I looked up at
him. He met my eyes,
and then the flash went
off
. The man in the jacket asked if we would like another
picture, this time
with everyone looking at the camera
. F
eeling
blushed,
and not kn
owing where my voice
was,
I
nodded
my head yes. A
fter the final
picture,
we
exited
the suite and mad
e our way back to the car.

             
Once
we were
all in the
limo,
everyone
seemed
quiet, but it was a peaceful quiet, not awkward. Derek was the first to break the silence. “
So,
Abbs, what time am I grabbing you to shake your thing?”

             
“
What?
I thought we would do
dinner and catch up at the bar, no shaking anything.
”

             
“Nope, it’s been a while
since we went out dancing. D
owntown Pittsbur
gh
was
the last time we hit a club together. When was the last time you went out and danced?”

             
Think
ing to myself, I realized that was the last time I set foot in a club
. Wow, I haven’t been in a club in almost
five
years. It was easier
just
to not
go, than
listen to David bitch at me for acting like a whore or
flirt,
or whatever he was thinking of me at the time. Christ, the last time I went
clubbing,
David didn’t talk to me for two weeks.

             
“Earth to Abby, I was talking to you. Has it been
so
long
that
you can’t remember?”

             
“No, I remember
,
and I belie
ve
you w
ere there
the last time I went to a club
.”

             
I could
see the smile
wipe off Derek’s face and I kne
w he reme
mbered
that night too. David had accused Derek of trying to sleep with
me. He
told me
that
all I needed was a
pole,
because I was clearly acting like a cheap stripper.
David ended up shoving Derek, but being the guy Derek
is,
he simply walked away from the confrontation.
I was
surprised he didn’t walk away from the friendship all together.

             
“Clubbing? I’m in, if you guys don’t mind me tagging
along?
” Sam asked with a gleam in her
eyes.
She
must love dancing as much as me.

             
“It’s way too early to hit a
club. After all
, it’s only after six. I don’t even think
they’re
open
yet,
” I
said
,
knowing
that
I really want
ed
to go, but
also
knowing
that
memories
might
surface
just by
entering one.

             
“That is why we nap first. I got up at five am to be here by ten. I need a
nap,
especially if I’m going to keep
up with you
tonight,
” Derek
said,
knowing how I
was
if I
got
lost in the scene of a club.

             
“Oh, a nap sounds good. Let’s meet in the lobby at
ten,
” Sam
chimed
in with a little too much excitement in her voice.

             
“If I
nap,
I’m not going out.”
I really hoped
I
could
get out of
it, since
they
were
both tired.

             
“Abbs
,
I drove all this way and you are
not
going to be
a bore.”

             
Looking at
Derek, I
felt annoyed, but knew he was
right. I
had
turned into a bore over the last couple of years.  “Fine, while you all sleep,
I’ll
catch up on my book. I seemed to have neglected it last night.”
On saying that,
I looked
at Alex.

             
“Well, I’m not tired. I had plenty of sleep last night, so why do
n’t we get some dinner?” Alex was
smiling at me and I
knew
he didn’t get much sleep last night
either.
The hotel couch could not have been comfortable.

             
Before I could
respond, we pull
ed
into the valet area of the hotel and we all
climbed
out.  We agree
d
to meet back
t
here at ten to hit the clubs.
Quietly,
we walk
ed
to the elevators and
climbed
on. Alex was staring at me, but I was
not about to go to dinner with him. Derek’s floor was first and then mine. I left Sam and Alex in the elevator.

             
Entering my room, I
fell into
my bed and realize
d
I
was
way more tired than I thought. I decide
d
reading would put me to sleep and clubbing would be
out,
so I turn
ed
on the
TV
.
I settle
d
in with
a
lighthearted
Lifetime
Movie.
A
few minutes
later,
there was
a knock at the door of my room. Not
thinking,
I open
ed it and there was
Alex. “I thought if I asked you face to face instead of calling
,
it would be harder to say no to dinner.”

             
“Well,
i
t’s not.
I’m too tired to go out to dinner. I think I’ll just hang here until it’
s time to go to the club
, but thanks for the offer.”

             
“I thought that’
s what you would say.” Walking p
ast me into the
room,
Alex smirked and continued
, “So I ordered room service to be delivered here.”

             
“What? Why would you do that?”

             
“
Well,
everyone
but us
seems tired, and I figured if you were going to shake it
tonight,
you needed energy.”

             
“Thanks, but there will be no shaking it tonight, so no food is
necessary. So
you can leave now and how in the hell did you know my room number.
”
I knew
damn well I
didn
’t want him to go any
where.

             
“
Oh, I have my
ways.
I’m very persuasive.”
He smiled
at me, but I shot him a dirty look in exchange. “
Okay
, I’ll leave, but only if you answer something for me.”

             
“Shoot, anything so you will leave.”

             
“What is your number one?”

             
“I’m not answering that.” I felt
my tone getting a li
ttle pissy. I’m not sure if it wa
s the fact I
was
tired or the smirk on his face knowing there was no way I was answering that question.

             
“Then it looks like we will be dining in tonight.”

             
Alex found a spot on the bed and bunched up half the pillows so he wa
s i
n a sitting position. He crossed
his ankles at
the feet.  Looking at
me,
he
patted
the bed next to him as a gesture for me to join him. He
had
no clue how I want
ed
to join him
, but sitting
was
not what I had
in mind.

             
Sighing
,
I walk
ed over to the bed and thre
w myself down like a defeated child. Alex le
ft
my Lifetime show on and
didn’t
reach for the remote.
David
would never have
allowed
that
. David always thought Lifetime te
levision was garbage and consisted of the
worst actors
on the planet
.

             
Thirty minutes
later,
there was a knock at the door and Alex jumped to answer it. Holding the
door,
a waiter entered with a cart
with silver trays containing dinner. I couldn’t wait to look under the silver tops to see what Alex ordered. Alex tipped the
waiter, who
shyly asked for an autograph
,
which
Alex willingly gave
him
. Once the door was
shut,
he turned to me smiling.

             
“I wasn’t sure what you liked
,
so I ordered a
variety of
things.”

             
“Well, I’m not a picky eater so whatever you ordered should be
okay
.”

             
“I didn’t order
wine
, but
I did order champagne and beer.”

             
“Sounds good, let’s see what you ordered.”

             
Lifting the silver tops to the
trays,
I was amazed at all the options that Alex ordered. There was pasta, chicken, asparagus, shrimp, rice, potatoes, and desserts too die for. There was cheesecake, chocolate mousse, tiramisu and cho
colate covered strawberries.  T
here wasn’t
one thing on the cart
that I didn’t love to eat.  
Alex poured a glass of champagne
for me
and we started eating.

             
The conversation through dinner remained light. We talked
about the game and
about
how Alex had
n’t done anything like that
in
a long time. He asked about Lexi and the phone
call,
and I explained our love
-
hate relatio
nship. Which Alex felt resembled
a sister’s relations
hip. Looking at it, we truly were
sisters
, maybe not by blood, but definitely by heart.

             
After stuffing myself to the brim, I laid back on the bed.
Alex, lying
on the opposite
end,
looked
up at me. Alex reached and grabbed my foot to start
rubbing.
Not
thinking,
I immediately pulled my
foot back out of
reflex
. Alex reached and
took
it back into his hands. “Relax, it’s just a foot
rub
.”