Cate

Since I was still under eighteen, not yet an adult, I asked Andrea to book me a room in the Beekman Hotel for the week.

In traffic, the drive from JFK took Zac and me a little over an hour. The Beekman was located in lower Manhattan. The hotel itself was known to be something of a historical landmark in the city. It boasted exquisite, vintage-styled interiors and a nine-story atrium framed by white wrought-iron Victorian railings, all of which drew one's gaze up, up, up to a stunning pyramidal skylight.

As we pulled up to the Beekman, Zac handed the keys of his Audi over to the valet. He exited from the driver's side and scurried over to open my car door. Zac grinned and held out his hand to me, palm side up, as though I was royalty. "After you, my queen."

Unable to help myself, I placed my hand into his, smirking, as I stepped out of the car. "I didn't know that you were such a gentleman."

He blushed again, and I bit back another smile. Ever since I reunited with Zac in the past hour, I couldn't seem to stop smiling.

Zac had been nothing but charming and attentive since I landed in New York City. I could tell that my man was trying really hard to impress me, and that shit was melting my heart like a sweet puddle of ooey, gooey ice cream on a hot summer's day.

After the valet unloaded my luggage from the trunk, Zac grabbed everything and started following me into the hotel lobby. I checked in with the receptionist. She handed me the keycards to my room.

Zac and I headed towards the elevator that would lead up to my floor.

I glanced at him expectantly. "So... are you planning to come up?"

He glanced down and shuffled his feet. "Well, somebody's gotta help you carry these bags to your hotel room, right?"

Zac met my gaze with a sheepish expression. We both knew that I could very well transport a backpack and rolling suitcase on my own. I eyed him with amusement. "I guess you're volunteering as tribute, then?"

Zac coughed and started rambling, "Only if it's okay with you, of course. I mean, I'm not planning to stay the night or anything. I'm just gonna drop off your shit and head out. We can catch up tomorrow. I know you're probably tired from your flight and all—"

I interjected, "I wouldn't mind, you know, if you stayed. We have a lot of catching up to do."

If possible, the pink on his cheeks grew rosier. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He gulped. "Okay, um, maybe I'll stick around for a little while. Just to talk."

Zac's nervousness was kind of endearing. It reminded me of how awkwardly wholesome he used to be back in middle school. Before his epic glow up turned him into a fuckable badass.

I couldn't help winking at him. Just to tease him some more. "Right. Uh-huh. Just to talk."

He protested, "I swear, Cate, my intentions are pure!"

I smirked. "What if mine aren't?"

I didn't know how it was possible, but Zac's face flushed an even brighter red.

"Relax." I assured him, "I'm kidding."

"Way to get a guy's hopes up," he grumbled, "you brat."

Laughingly, I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the elevator.

***

Zac

After Cate swiped her keycard against the keypad to Room 222, the door clicked open. I followed Cate into the hotel room. The interior was really nice, but my brain couldn't focus on anything except for the fact that I was currently standing in Cate Donati's motherfucking hotel room, and she had invited me to stay the night.

I think?

Yes?

No?

Maybe?

God, I prayed that I hadn't misread the invitation.

My eyes zoned in on the large king-sized bed in front of us. This was the only bed in the whole fucking room. There was no couch. No pull-out mattress. If I stayed over, we would have to sleep together in the bed. Right away, Little Zac twitched with approval. I ignored him.

Optimistic bastard.

"I'm going to jump in the shower real quick," Cate declared breezily. "I feel gross from the plane. I'll be out in five. Make yourself comfortable, okay?"

"Okay! Yep! No problem!" I agreed a bit too enthusiastically. "I'll be right here! I won't go anywhere!"

Goddamnit, why was I acting like such a fucking imbecile?

Thankfully, she didn't comment on my total lack of chill. Cate popped open her suitcase to grab a clean change of clothes. I tried to look away, but I might have caught a glimpse of some lacy peach-colored underwear that immediately sent my imagination into overdrive. Unlike me, she looked completely unaffected, but I had no idea how I was going to concentrate on anything else for the rest of the night, knowing what would be hiding under her clothes.

Cate disappeared into the bathroom. The door closed. The water turned on. I plopped down on the edge of the bed. I refused to obsess over the fact that the girl of my dreams was now naked, barely twenty feet away from me, standing under a hot, steady, steamy shower spray. I tried not to visualize the water that was now hitting every inch of her bare skin and sweet, sexy curves. Or imagine a smooth bar of soap gliding over her long, shapely legs. Or her fingers dipping between her thighs to—

Ah, fuck.

I had to stop myself right there. Because Little Zac was legit dying in my pants. And when I said dying, what I really meant was that he was coming alive. Way too alive. Thank God I decided on jeans today and not sweatpants. The constricting denim barrier was doing wonders for Little Zac, containing his excitement by only showing a slight tent near my crotch versus the full-on raging steel pole that would have otherwise popped up.

For the next ten minutes, I sat there and suffered. It was quite possibly the longest ten minutes of my life.

Finally, the shower turned off. When Cate stepped back out to the common area, her face was clean of makeup, her damp hair trailed down her shoulders, and she was wearing a set of silky satin white pajamas with a cropped, short-sleeved button-up top and flirty bottoms that barely covered her ass cheeks. The fabric was slightly see-through. Without even trying, I could make out the peachy undertones of her bra and panties. I swallowed, hard, and averted my gaze. Little Zac was really struggling at this point to contain himself. I needed to get my shit together and stop perving out on my friend.

Cate walked over and sat down on the bed right beside me. Our arms and thighs were practically touching. My breath hitched. Every muscle froze. This girl clearly had no idea about the effect that she had on me, otherwise, I assumed she would've never ventured to sit so close to me.

Jesus Christ.

How was possible to feel so anxious and excited around someone at the same fucking time?

"Hey, you," she murmured.

My gaze settled on her face. God, she was so beautiful. Confidence and sweetness radiated from her entire being. It was attractive as hell.

"Hey... yourself," I replied with an awestruck smile.

"Did you want to watch a movie or..."

I cleared my throat. Clamped down on my pervy urges and pivoted to the reason why Cate had flown all the way out to New York to see me.

"Actually, I was hoping that, maybe, we could talk first?"

Her hazel eyes widened by a fraction. "Oh, sure! Of course."

Awkwardness hung between us as we both mumbled at the same time, "So..."

She released a shaky laugh. "Should I go first? Or did you want to—"

"No, no, you can go first," I insisted, curious to see how much she would open up to me without prompting.

Suddenly, Cate looked almost as nervous as me. "Damn. Where do I even begin?"

"Wherever you want, babygirl."

She blushed. "I'll never get sick of hearing you call me that..."

I blinked. "What?"

"Babygirl."

A happy glow fell over me. I scooted closer to nudge my shoulder against hers. "Yeah?"

She nudged me back. "Yeah, I missed hearing it so much."

"Did I used to call you..."

I trailed off questioningly. She nodded. "You used to always call me 'babygirl.' You only called me 'Cate' when I annoyed you."

My heart began to pound. This meant we were pretty damn close back then. This news was very promising to hear. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind... babygirl."

She smiled wistfully. "Did you know that we were dating?"

Adrenaline coursed through me. I was hanging on her every word at this point. "I-I figured as much. Why didn't you bring this up to me sooner, though?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I guess... I was waiting for the right moment to tell you."

Unable to resist, I asked, "Did we ever break up at some point?"

After a short lull, Cate shook her head and said, "No, we never broke up. From my perspective, you're still very much my boyfriend."

"Oh, shit," I breathed.

"These last few months have already been hard enough on you. I know this must be a lot to process. I didn't mean to keep secrets from you. I-I just didn't want to add anything to your plate after the accident. That's the only reason why I chose to keep my distance. I wanted you to focus on your recovery, and I didn't want to pressure you into being with me. Especially when you couldn't remember anything about our relationship."