The Way You Said Hello ~ Chapter Eight

AJ and I walked arm in arm to his car, chatting like long lost friends - though I knew there was something more. The first time our eyes met, when he realized who I was, I could practically feel the air between us crackle with electricity. It danced like a living thing around us, and I understood what chemistry must be like.

"How did you - I mean - I never -" he stammered while gesturing animatedly with his free hand.

"It wasn't like it was a top secret operation," I laughed up at him. "I wanted to surprise you. I just didn't know you were going to go into cardiac arrest." I playfully leaned into him. Then my eyes fell as I added, "And I needed to take the risk. I didn't know if or when I'd get another chance."

"You are incredible," he said, smiling gently. I looked back up, and once again our eyes met. The intensity in his overwhelmed me, and I had to look away. We reached his car, and he opened my door for me.

"AJ McLean, gentleman to the last," I grinned while sliding into my seat.

"Anything for the lady," he said while making a mock bow.

"Goofball," I chuckled as he walked around to get in the drivers seat. He started up the car and turned to me.

"Where to?" he asked. "I want to do this on your terms." His eyes sought mine, and I indulged in another gaze. I really need to stop doing that before I give myself a heart attack, I told myself. I tore myself away and studied my fingernails.

"I suppose my hotel would be the easiest place," I said slowly. "All my things are there, and it's only about ten minutes down the road."

"You got it," he said, and pulled the car out of the parking lot. During the short drive to the resort, we didn't stop talking for more than thirty seconds. It amazed me; I had never had such easy, effortless conversation with anyone before.

"Last night, after I was talking to you, I couldn't sleep," he told me as we were speeding down the road. "So I went outside to shoot some b-ball. Well, I've been staying at the other guys' apartment this past week instead of at my place. No reason, really, just that sometimes it's fun to camp out there. So there I was, outside at two o'clock in the morning, shooting hoops, when Brian walks outside. And he wasn't just walking, he was sleep walking! He came right up to me and said, 'Bone, I need some toilet paper, man!' But he was totally asleep and didn't remember a thing!" We both broke into hysterical laughter.

"No way!" I said, laughing so hard I was about to cry. "I used to sleepwalk when I was little, all the time. Once I sleep-walked outside in the middle of the night and set off the alarm system. In about five minutes, the police pulled up at our house. It took an hour to convince them everything was all right and it was just a mistake."

We both laughed again softly. I glanced out the window and realized we were at the hotel. AJ pulled the car to a halt in front of the valet parking booth, and we both got out.

"Shit!" I said and put my hand to my mouth.

"What?" A.J. asked worriedly, putting his hand on my arm.

"I just realized, I left my car at Pleasure Island," I declared. "Crap. How am I gonna get it back?"

AJ sighed with relief. "Babe, you scared me there. I thought it was something serious. But don't worry. We'll work it out later. You'll get your car back."

"I'd better get it back," I smiled. "That car cost me an arm and a leg."

We walked inside the lobby and approached the elevator. Stepping inside, I pushed the button for my floor and leaned back against the wall. AJ joined me. As we slowly started to ascend, we fell into a comfortable silence. He looked at me and sighed, almost imperceptibly. I wondered what was going through his head as his hand wandered down my side and gently took my hand.

A million thoughts were spinning out of control in my mind, but I couldn't grab a hold of a single one of them. It was like a million people screaming at me: I knew they were all trying to tell me something, but I couldn't hear because they were all yelling at the same time. All I could do was take his hand in return and give it a slight squeeze.

Ding! We reached our floor. The elevator doors slid open. It broke my heart to do it, but I let his hand go and led the way to my room. We stood in front of the door to the room, and I shuffled through my purse looking for the key. I took a shaky breath and inserted it into the keyhole. AJ shuffled his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor. Bless his heart, I thought to myself, the man is nervous. This new knowledge gave me a burst of confidence. Finally the door swung open, and I quickly walked inside.

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Continue to chapter nine

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