Again, he was met with silence.
“Gabbie?”
“I did, too.”
He stood from his desk, feeling like he’d just gotten pummeled by a ton of bricks. “Where does this leave us?”
Silence.
“Fuck, Gabriella, why the silence all of the sudden? You’re driving me crazy. Just tell me, should we try this or not?”
“I love you, Logan.”
“I know, I love you too, but you’re killing me.”
“That’s why I can’t sleep with you. As worried about sex as I am, about whether or not I will be able to enjoy it during my lifetime, I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Don’t you agree?”
Should he push? Spout out all the reasons he thought it was a great idea? Should he tell her he had gone past the friendship feeling with her and into the I-like-you-in-a-sexy-way and that he damn well fantasized about her in red lingerie zone? That he would damn well make her forget her fear of getting pregnant when he was having his way with her?
“Are you there?”
“I’m here,” he replied tersely.
“Don’t you agree that we can’t ruin our friendship over this? I was drinking and brought up a stupid idea, I’m sorry. But I love you too much and want you in my life too much, to risk anything more.”
No, I absolutely do not agree with you. “Yeah, sure. I agree.”
“You do?” She sounded surprised…or let down. Most likely the latter was his ego talking.
“Yeah, sure. Are we good now? Because we have a big trip coming up. The trip of your life.”
“The trip of our lives,” she emphasized.
He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something definitely changed between them. It was present between them over the phone lines. It hung thick in the air like wet towels over a clothesline. Any moment he feared it would snap from the gravitational pull. He knew it and he knew she knew it. He didn’t mistake the lust in her voice admitting that she enjoyed kissing him. He damn well didn’t mistake the desire in her eyes when he’d told her to go to bed.
He’d have five days.
Five days in Japan to convince her otherwise.
Chapter Fifteen
Gabriella was amazed by their quick arrival into Tokyo. Having had a full-sized bed on the plane, neither of them felt any jetlag. The air was slightly brisk with the breeze coming off the water, but the sun was shining as they got into a private car that would take them directly to their hotel. It was mostly a quiet ride for the hour it took the driver to get them to Shinagawa where their hotel was located—both of them staring out their windows in awe at all of the buildings, the surrounding farmland, people and the massive amount of signs written in Japanese.
“It’s beautiful,” she remarked.
“It’s different, isn’t it?”
“Did you see all of the rice fields we passed?”
He nodded in agreement as the driver pulled up to their hotel. The cobblestone drive ran underneath part of the hotel and once the car came to a halt, two members of the valet were there to assist them out of the car and collect their luggage.
“These will be delivered to your room.”
“Thank you.”
The hotel lobby was breathtaking, but Gabriella didn’t expect anything less. The expansive space was open, completely surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and the steel beams along the ceiling gave it a lofty feel. The hotel restaurant was situated just inside the front doors where boxes of tea and multi-colored teapots where on display. They walked around the restaurant, following the signs pointing them to the registration desk when she caught Logan’s eye. He was smiling at her.
“Happy to be here?” he asked.
“Of course, it’s beautiful. This is a dream come true. Aren’t you happy, too?”
“Indeed. I’m happy that you’re happy. Are you sure you are okay sharing the same room? Different beds, of course, but close quarters nonetheless.”
“Logan, it’s perfectly fine. We’ve already discussed this, there’s nothing to worry about. We’ve shared rooms before.”
They found the little registration room with two attendants behind the desk, one on the phone, the other beckoned them forward.
“Hello, welcome.” The man’s thick Japanese accent made it difficult to understand his English.
“Hello. Logan Reeves.” He passed the attendant his passport.
“I need hers too, please.” Gabriella reached into her cross-body purse and extracted her passport.
“I will make copies and be back.”
“Great.” Logan looked at Gabriella. “That’s a little unsettling to have copies of our passports out there.”
“Indeed.” She smiled, throwing his word back at him.
The man came back and proceeded with the check-in process while Gabbie stood fidgeting with her purse, her fingernails—anything to calm her nerves. She was excited to be in a new country—especially with Logan. He had always been an easy-going travel companion the handful of times they’d gone on road trips together. This time was no different despite the absolute fool she had made of herself. It was firmly in the past at this point and all she could do was look ahead to the fabulous few days they had together here in Japan.
“What do you mean? I specifically asked for two queens.” Logan’s frustrated voice brought her out of her reverie.
“I am sorry. We do not have another room available.”
Logan let out a sigh and turned to Gabbie. “They have our room, but it’s only a king-sized bed, not a double queen like I reserved.”
Gabbie looked at the attendant who looked genuinely apologetic and immediately felt bad for him. “Look, its no problem, right? Is it okay with you if we have to share a bed? It’s a king, right?” she asked the man.
“Yes.”
“It’ll be fine. It’s big enough for two. Big enough that we won’t even know we are in it together. Are you okay with that?”
He raised his eyebrow at her as if to ask, do you remember the recent issue between us? But he stayed silent, turned to the hotel clerk and assured him it was fine. They collected their passports, the
