By the time of the massive signing later that evening, the real reason for the whole event, my teeth were on edge. I had to paste a smile on my face for something that should have been a joy. I handed out Wicked Lovely swag to everyone who came by my table, acting as if everything was okay, but truthfully, I needed a break from people. More to the point, I needed them to stop asking about the incident. I just wanted to interact with readers and book lovers like me, and talk about romance and swoon-worthy male characters. More than two thousand tickets had been sold to the signing alone. It was important that I get swag into the hands of as many readers as I could. That was the point of the trip.
Alec acted as a major buffer during the signing. The many women waiting had no idea of knowing, but I could tell that although charming as always, he seemed to be on edge also. He posed for pictures and tolerated all the groping and touching he had become used to, but beneath the surface, I sensed Alec was functioning on a slow boil.
Eventually, the three-hour signing came to a close. The smile I'd pasted on my face the entire time slipped as I slumped into my chair. Alec immediately began breaking down my banner and I jumped up to help him. Neither of us spoke as we packed away my belongings. Plans for late dinners were being thrown around and several people asked us to join them, but Alec politely declined each one, speaking for the both of us. Our attempt to leave the ballroom was a slow process, as everyone seemed to want to say goodbye or at least offer some type of condolence.
When we finally made it back to my room, we dumped everything in the corner and Alec sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing the room service menu.
"Why don't you take a shower and I'll order us some dinner?"
Ordinarily, I might have bristled at his almost insistent tone. I may have been a shy person, but my mom always said I had been stubbornly independent from the moment I started walking. My biggest fights with my brothers growing up had been when they tried to boss me around.
Maybe this time I was just tired, but nothing about the way Alec seemed to be ordering me around ruffled my feathers. If anything, I liked it. Coming from him, it felt good to be told what to do. I wished he would make up his mind and take command another way.
"Anything in particular you want?" Alec asked without looking up from the menu.
"No. How about you surprise me?" It amazed me how he always managed to ask a question that made it seem as if he were reading my mind.
"Take your time," Alec answered.
Taking his advice, I decided to forget the shower and sit in a hot bubble bath. I used the bottle of vanilla bean body wash I had brought with me to build a mound of suds and dipped my body into the warm water, letting it swaddle me like a cocoon. I lay perfectly still, listening through the door to the sound of the TV Alec had clicked on. After more than thirty minutes of draining the tub slightly when the water cooled off and adding hot water again, I stood up to towel off before I fell asleep. I opened the bathroom door wearing my sweats, inhaling the scent of hot pizza.
Alec sat on the bed, already devouring one of the slices. "I hope pizza is cool?"
"It's perfect," I answered, grabbing my own slice and climbing up on the bed beside him. In between bites, he passed me the remote control and I flipped around the channels, settling on a baseball game on ESPN. "We watch sports when we eat pizza at my house," I said, shrugging my shoulders at his look of surprise. It felt comforting to be doing something so normal and familiar.
"I'm not sure I've ever been with a girl who actually enjoys baseball," he said.
"You have no idea. We could turn down the sound and I could do the play-by-play and you wouldn't know the difference. I was raised watching sports."
"Well, kiss my ass. We're going to be good pals after all," he laughed, patting my thigh. I flinched, trying to control my suddenly erratic pulse.
We managed to polish off the pizza and breadsticks he had ordered, along with an entire two-liter of soda. I leaned back against the headboard, feeling completely full and content.
Alec stood up, grabbed the boxes off the bed and placed them on the small table in the corner. I sat up, slightly panicked at the idea of him leaving. "I'm going to go take a quick shower and then we can watch the rest of the game, if that's okay?"
"Okay," I answered, relieved that he was coming back. "Can you leave the door open between our rooms?" If he thought I was being childish for asking, he didn't say so.
"Sure. I'll only be a few minutes," he said reassuringly before heading out.
I slid under the blanket on my bed, pulling it up to my neck as I waited for Alec to return. I barely paid attention to the game as I practically counted the minutes in my head. Each second dragged as if Father Time wasn't willing to let them go. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand, but only to make sure I hadn't missed any calls from Mom or Olivia. I had no interest in checking on anything else.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity in my head, Alec returned wearing loose-fitting mesh basketball shorts and a muscle shirt, which truly lived up to its name while on him. His towel-dried hair, still slightly wet from the shower, did nothing but add to his sex appeal.
"Sorry that took so long. I trimmed up my stubble a little too," he said, smoothing a hand over his light cover of facial hair. He climbed up on the bed beside me and leaned back against the headboard.
I tried to mimic his relaxed posture, but all I could focus on was how delectable he looked next to me. I'd seen him shirtless, in a tuxedo and even in wet swim trunks, but something about the way he looked fresh out of the shower and ruffled was pleasing on a whole new level for me. His shorts sat low on his hips, held up by a simple elastic band. The thin material kept hidden, but teased at what lie underneath. It was like finding myself in a gourmet chocolate shop, but unable to buy anything. His body screamed to be sampled and I wanted a taste. >Alec must have sensed my reluctance because he grabbed me by the hand and guided me to his left side, so he stood between me and the door of the room that had nearly changed my life forever. As I looked at his face, he smiled and squeezed my hand gently to let me know everything would be okay. We continued forward. Alec's long fingers laced through mine, stroking the back of my hand. Our palms, pressed together, provided the best distraction I could have asked for.
Alec held my hand until we entered the elevator, letting go when we heard the faint sound of a train whistle coming from my purse. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I hope you don't mind, but that's why your phone was on silent mode this morning. That noise wouldn't stop. I felt like we were at a train station," Alec said, pushing the button for the lobby.
I felt bereft, releasing his hand. "Sorry. That's my Facebook notifications." I pulled out my phone and clicked on the app for the first time since waking that morning. For a minute I thought my account had been hacked. I had missed more than a hundred comments and messages since midnight. I'd never been so popular on social media.
"Oh god," I said, clicking on my timeline to see all the well wishes. Obviously, the events from the night before had spread more than I had anticipated. Reading through several of the messages, I saw that not only had the news spread like wildfire, but it had also been embellished to the point that some people were convinced I was on my deathbed.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I read some of the comments. It was a poignant feeling to know so many people cared about my well-being, and clearly I would have to do a status update. So much for not thinking about it.
I clicked out of Facebook for the time being. It would take hours to respond to all the messages that were continuing to post. I decided instead to wait until Alec and I sat down for breakfast and then make my own simple post, reassuring everyone that I was okay and thanking them for their concern. My hope was that everyone's attention would move to other things and that I would be old news by the end of the day.
Walking into the author brunch a minute later, I realized maybe I'd been a tad bit naïve to think it would blow over. Every single person pivoted toward Alec and me when we entered the double doors of the ballroom. It felt like I was the guest of honor of some demented bereavement party, which was ironic considering I wanted to drop dead. I had been hoping to gain some visibility by doing the bigger signing events, but not become infamous. What happened wasn't my fault, but I still felt stupid for putting myself in the position in the first place.