Page 99 of Finding New Dreams

But a half hour before checkout, we couldn’t ignore our deadline anymore. Miraculously, Chloe had only sent one reminder to the group about checkout time and the carpool situation.

Gina also texted me, saying she hoped I was having fun with a bunch of winky faces and asking if I wanted her to pack up my stuff for me.

I replied that I’d be down to take care of it in a minute.

Since Flynn and I hadn’t brought any other clothes, we changed back into our costumes. My dress smelled faintly of smoke from the casino and was missing several bead strands. But I just smiled and hunted for my shoes.

Wordlessly, we walked to the elevator and rode down in silence. Flynn’s hand gripped mine until we reached our friends’ rooms.

“Text me,” he whispered, kissing my cheek quickly before disappearing into his room.

That was it?

Stunned, I stood in the hall for a moment. No goodbye? No “thanks for last night, we should do it again sometime”?

Unless there wouldn’t be a next time. We’d never explicitly said what we wanted beyond this morning.

I went into my room and found Gina in a whirlwind of packing.

She took one look at my face and asked, “Are you okay? What’d he do?”

“Nothing bad. It was…amazing, actually. Maybe the best night of my life.”

She grinned slowly, nodding. “Nice. Then why the face?”

“I’m just confused. I don’t know how to handle these types of situations.”

She wadded up her dress and stuffed it in her bag before winking at me. “I think you ‘handled’ it pretty well. But seriously, if some hot dude wanted to keep banging me into bliss”—she waved her hand at my body as if I exuded said bliss—“I’d so be there. With bells on. And nothing else.”

I laughed. “I get your very vivid point. But I don’t know if he wants to keep—”

Gina threw up a hand, her eyebrows at an incredulous height. “Do not even finish that sentence. That man looks at you like you’re the last piece of chocolate cake on the planet. Like you’re made of stars and sunshine and rainbows. Like your lady bits are made of—”

This time, I raised my hand. “Okay, okay, I get it! I just wish he’d said so.”

“Sometimes, Rosie, you have to look at what a man does, not says. My ex swears up and down that he’d love to have Dom for a visit, but he hardly ever does. Why? Because I believe he doesn’t actually want to, as terrible as that sounds. But I have to believe his actions over his words, or I’d forever be hoping for something that isn’t there.”

I nodded. “I understand. And your ex is a douchebag.”

Gina barked out a laugh. “Indeed. Now you’d better pack in five minutes, or our bride will have your ass.”

After changing and packing in record time, I followed Gina out of our room. We checked out and piled into Chloe’s waiting car. Both she and Sarah looked like they hadn’t slept much either, but they smiled and wished us a good morning.

The guys’ cars were already gone.

An hour into our drive, I still hadn’t figured out what to text Flynn. He certainly hadn’t faked having a good time last night. Or this morning. He definitely could’ve left any time. And when he’d thought I’d disappeared, he had seemed…disappointed.

And before that, when I’d asked him if I was his and he’d said, “I wish you could be.” Did he mean he wished I could be his muse? That I could help him more with his art?

Or had he meant something else?

I flipped my phone over and over in my hands, watching the pine trees flash by and occasionally joining in the conversation.

Finally, my phone buzzed.

Flynn: I can’t stop thinking about you.

Rose: I can’t stop thinking about you either :)

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