After a quick shower, she dressed in her sleep shorts and a t-shirt. The knock at the door surprised her, and she jumped. When she opened the door, ready to see Graham, it was just the room service guy. Her disappointment must have shown, because he asked nervously, “You ordered room service, right?” She waved him in, and then went to her wallet to get a big tip for the guy.

When she turned back around, she saw Graham at the door, about to knock. He had changed clothes, and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, with converse sneakers and no hat this time. Her whole body felt like it was smiling. “Hey, come on in. Food just got here.”

They sat at the table and chairs by the window that overlooked Lake Michigan. He said, “Wow. You really stay here every time you come into town?”

She had just taken a bite, but she nodded. “Uh-huh.” After she swallowed, she added dreamily, “I love the view.”

He was quiet, so she turned to look at him. He’d been looking at her, and he just smiled, knowing he’d been caught.

Somehow, the interaction had made her feel giddy. She giggled softly, and she tried to think of something else to say.

He beat her to it. “So, I’ve got a really important question.”

He paused and waited for her to nod. Her face felt hot, as she anticipated what he might ask.

He said with a straight face, “When you ride Uber, do you talk to your driver?”

Thinking it was a trick question, she hesitated, raised an eyebrow. “It depends.”

“Well, my Uber driver on my way here was very talkative. In the ten minutes we were in the car, I learned about his mother, his wife, his brother, and that he hates spaghetti.”

“Who ‘hates’ spaghetti?”

“I know! Right?”

They talked about their recent travels overseas. Graham had been to the UK, and Taylor had been to Germany. She liked that he talked about his travels and his experiences in the least pretentious way possible. This was a refreshing attitude, compared to a lot of the people she usually interacted with for work.

When they finished their dinners, she set the tray in the hallway. She thought about trying to be bold again. She walked to the side of the big king size bed, and sat down. “There’s not a couch in here, so this is the comfy-est place to sit.” She leaned back, into a sideways sitting position on the bed. She curled her legs underneath her, and raised an eyebrow at Graham.

He walked over and sat at the foot of the bed, tucking one leg underneath him, but with one leg still standing on the floor. “Well, what’s next on your crazy party agenda tonight?”

She laughed, and burrowed her head into the pillow a little bit. She felt very comfortable, and very relaxed. No more of the fluttery anxious feeling. “I’m up for anything, but I bet you’re used to staying up a lot later than I am.”

He shrugged. “I can stay up late if I need to, but I’m also a really good sleeper. If I have the opportunity, I’ll go to bed at 9 and sleep until 9.”

“Wow. I sleep about 6 hours maximum. Well, at least I’m up by 6, regardless of how late I stay up. I get anxious if I try to lay in bed longer.”

Her fluttery feeling was coming back. She knew now what it was. She wanted him, but didn’t really know what to do about it. Reflecting on the guys she usually hooked up with, she realized that the guy always made the move. She just had to either accept or deflect it. Play along or stop the game.

He must have mistaken her thoughtfulness for boredom.

Graham looked at the clock and stood up. “Well, it’s just past midnight. Sounds like you should get to bed to get your six hours”

Watching him walk around the bed, and approach her side of the bed, she turned her body to face him more comfortably. But she was already pouting on the inside. She wanted to spend more time with him.

As he stood there, he said politely, “I really appreciate the dinner. It was excellent.”

She shrugged. “I appreciate the company.”

He put his hands in his pockets, and asked, “Still wanna come to the show tomorrow night?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely. I can’t wait.” she was staring at him and biting her lip, silently yelling at herself to just ask him to stay.

She found her voice, but all she said was, “What are you going to do when you get back to your place?”

Hands still in his pockets, he rocked back on his heels. “Probably watch something dumb on my phone until I fall asleep.”

Finding her opening, she smiled. “You could do that here.”

She bit her lip, and wanted to say more, to be more specific. She just stared at him instead.

Taking a step toward her, he asked skeptically, but playfully, “You want me to sleep here tonight?”

She licked her lips, making eye contact with him, noticing him take a deep breath.

She nodded.