I held Jessi close, feeling her holding me just as tightly.

What am I doing?

The thought kept running through my mind as I realized this wasn’t exactly normal behavior for me. Of all the women I’d had sex with, I didn’t usually end up asleep in the same bed with them, and even in the few cases I did, there was never this… cuddling afterward.

I realized I really loved feeling her soft, smaller body pressed against me.

“Jessi?” I called tentatively.

There was no answer. She squirmed a little and curled further into my chest, and I couldn’t help grinning.

I am never letting you go again, Jessi, I thought to myself with determination.

It felt more like admitting something I’d known for a while than coming to a realization that she was really important to me. Besides, I’d practically bared my soul to her twice now. I wasn’t sure if she knew how important it was that I’d let my walls down around her. After that, I just couldn’t let her go.

My body shivered a little as I ducked my head into her hair and breathed deeply. Jessi was still asleep in my arms. I’d never done this before with my bed partners, but for Jessi, I could allow a lot. I knew, for her, I could let myself start to love again. It was something so foreign to me, but I knew it would come so easily with Jessi by my side.

I wasn’t sure when I fell asleep. I didn’t think I could, feeling so giddy for the first time in a long while. But I did eventually drift off, dreaming of Jessi as I held her close in my arms. My dreams were all about our past, present, and future. I hadn't forgotten how she was the closest person to me before my mom died. I’d pushed everyone away, but Jessi had always stuck around. I hadn't been nice to her back then, but now I could feel the ice around my heart start to melt.

As for our future… I hoped we had one together, anyway. It would be just perfect if that dream could come true.

Then, I woke up, and once again, I was alone.

Really Jessi? I thought with a frown. Why did she keep doing that? I stretched out then moved to where I’d dropped my clothes, searching for my phone through them. It wasn’t that early in the morning, so maybe she was just at work?

That’s right, I thought to myself, feeling placated. There wasn’t anything else that would get her out of bed early, right? She had her obligations to the hotel. She probably got up early to head to work.

I got dressed in yesterday’s clothes, leaving my shirt only partway buttoned and leaving off the tie. I didn’t look around the room as I left, though I couldn’t help but notice the boxes she’d had around were all gone.

“She probably just put the stuff back,” I said to myself in reassurance.

She had a long shift usually, and I couldn’t go down to bother her. Besides, that would only fuel the rumors, and I needed to kill them before they grew even more annoying.

It was early enough that I didn’t worry about anyone catching me coming out of her room. I rushed back to mine to jump into the shower. I hummed as I stood under the warm spray, keeping the shower short. Then I was getting dressed for my day. I left my room and headed for the elevators to take me up to the office.

I was tempted to give Jessi a call. Then I remembered she hadn't officially given me her number yet. It was still there in the records, but I couldn’t bring myself to use that. The elevator doors opened before I could think too much about it, and I stepped outside.

Besides, I would probably only be a bother to her. Jessi had always been the responsible type, and if I tried to butt in while she was working she would be annoyed with me. Besides, it was one of the reasons I admired her so much. She knew what needed to be done and she went and did it. As much as my dad had tried to teach me, I’d learned that sort of attitude from her.

“Good morning, sir.”

I stopped with a blink because I’d almost just walked past the secretary. Usually, I greeted her in the morning. If she hadn't called out to me, I would have forgotten.

I gave her a wide grin as I said, “Good morning to you too. Have some coffee sent up for me before starting anything, all right? Thank you.”

She was left stunned as I walked into the office. And while I knew why, I didn’t care.

I was happy.

The realization was a pretty obvious one, but I couldn’t help grinning at the thought. For the first time in a long time, I could say I was genuinely happy, and it was all because of Jessi. My day was better because I was thinking of when I would get to see her later.

My coffee came in twenty minutes later, and I thanked both the server and the secretary as she’d let him in. I was left to myself, humming as I drank my coffee and logged into my computer. I picked up work where I’d left off yesterday, feeling more excited than I’d felt in a long while to get to work.

After a while, I picked up my phone because I couldn’t help myself. I had Jessi’s number, so why not use it? I sent a quick text.

Hey, Jessi. It’s me, Trent. Let me know if you got into work okay.

I winced because it was the best I could think of, but I felt like I could have done better. I put my phone down, but even as I went back to work I kept eyeing my phone, waiting for a reply. None came for a while, then a knock on the door diverted my attention.

“Come in,” I called, leaning back in my chair.

The secretary walked in, followed by my brothers. I grinned.

“Mason, Kevin! Aren’t you guys up a little early? I figured you both like to sleep in.”

Both my brothers froze, but the secretary crossed the room, picked up the mug, and walked away without a word. She closed the door behind herself, and the noise seemed to jolt my brothers, because they approached the desk again.

“Did something happen to you?” Mason asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

I didn’t want them to know. I didn’t want anyone to know, but it wasn’t exactly easy to hide when I wanted to burst out into song, as ridiculous as it would be. I was happy, but I didn’t need to broadcast it, especially to my suspicious-as-fuck brothers. I checked myself, rearranging my expression into something blank. I had to keep to my usual routine, and the usual me was always serious and polite, not grinning at everyone.

I was happy. Really, truly happy for the first time in a long while.

“Nothing happened,” I said, waving away his suspicions, though I couldn’t help a slight twitch of my lips. “But I would like to hear from you guys. You’ve supposedly been working. Do you have anything to show for it?”

That got them to start fidgeting, and I smirked. It was different from a grin, and I did it often so this one was allowed.

“What about you, Kevin?” I asked.

He frowned. “We have actually been working. If you want anything physical to show for it, you’re going to have to wait. It’s only been a few days.”

I sighed, shaking my head in mock disappointment. “Really, boys. I know I’m the oldest here, but I can't keep supervising you. I will if it’s the only way to get you to do shit, though, so why don’t I have the desks brought back in here, huh?”

Mason immediately shook his head. “Dude, no way! Work is so much more than just sitting behind a desk all day, you know? You can just keep doing that while we take care of everything else.”

I sighed. “That isn’t really fair to me though, is it? I feel like I’m doing all the work.” I pursed my lips. “I guess I have to admit I’m impressed. I haven’t heard any news of you hosting a party yet.”

His eyes drifted away from mine as he looked shifty.

“Well, about that…”

I snorted. “No way. You actually have one planned, don’t you?” I turned to Kevin. “What about you?”

He raised his hands, palms out, and backed away slowly. “Do not look at me like that, I swear I’m not planning anything. Besides, I’d probably just step out for a walk instead of inconveniencing the hotel staff.”

“Why is it an inconvenience?” Mason countered. “It’s their jobs, isn’t it? And it’s not like I wouldn’t pay just because I’m the son of the owner!”

I held in my snickers as I watched them bicker between themselves. It was just like Mason to have a party planned. I’d known, but having the confirmation didn’t leave me as annoyed as I’d thought it would. Mason would always be Mason, after all. If he didn’t have the party at the hotel, I knew he’d go somewhere else to bother other people.

Kevin would probably get himself lost exploring. But this was our hometown, so I’d have to hope he wouldn’t actually get himself lost. Besides, these two weren’t kids I was supposed to babysit. We were all chipping in to help in our own way. I knew they were doing something for the hotel, even if I didn’t know what it was yet.

“You can have your party,” I cut into their bickering, and they turned to me with twin expressions of surprise. “But there have to be a few ground rules. You know you can't bother other guests when you do have your party, right? If you do, I swear I will kick you out.”

“Of course I wouldn’t,” Mason said indignantly, even as he still watched me in surprise.

I gave a sharp nod. “The other condition is you absolutely have to give me a heads up before this thing happens. I don’t think I’ll be making an appearance, but I know I’ll be getting calls for it once you set this party up, and I’d like to be prepared for it.”

They both stared at me for a moment, then shared a look between themselves.

“Something definitely happened,” Mason declared. “But you know what? I don’t care what it is. I’ll let you know before I start throwing any parties, and you don’t have to worry, they won’t be too wild.”

Both Kevin and I scoffed at that, and Mason put on a betrayed look. It was hard to believe him because of all the outrageous stories I’d heard. A lot of it was probably exaggeration, but I’d stopped going to his parties after the first few I was pushed into attending for a reason.

After some more brotherly bickering, they left and I went back to work. Only to pause and pick up my phone.

Finally, after years, I was feeling happy. It was all because of Jessi.

So where was she?

Probably just busy, I told myself, writing her another quick text to get back to me when she could. I promised myself I’d look for her later.

With that decided, I put the phone down and turned to my computer, ready to focus. I had several hours before I could see her and I had to make them count.