Camryn Quinn is finally getting what she wants...sort of. Moving into a dorm and away from her not so supportive father is a good first step, but like everything with him-it comes with strings. She must attend the college of his choosing for at leas...
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I run a hand along the cream striped wallpaper lining the hallway of the hotel. The smooth, cool surface provides the relief I need. It lowers body temperature a few degrees while reminding me I am in fact still alive. The first few steps away from his door I was floating, gliding above the ground. The pressure from his body was lingering on mine. I couldn't be so sure that it wasn't a very detailed figment deep inside my imagination.
The way my fingertips skid across the wall, however, prove that it happened, that this entire day happened. And exactly as I had imagined it would. It's like baking a cake, the sweetest satisfaction in seeing something through from start to finish, but also knowing you get to enjoy the cake at the end. Taylor is my cake, and I might just get to eat it too. Although tonight was just pitstop on the map of the grander plan, of course. Which is exactly why I pull my fingers off of my wall and make a fist. I knock with three swift raps on the red metal door in front of me.
Katie answers, already dressed for bed in a flawlessly pressed t-shirt and short matching set. Her wide eyes scan my face.
"Camryn, what's wrong?" she asks.
I open my mouth but no sound comes out, of course I freaked her out. Why would I just show up here unannounced unless something was gravely wrong. I swallow hard to gather my thoughts, and words.
"Can I come in?" I ask, but I begin crossing the threshold before she mumbles a faint answer in my wake.
Their room isn't technically a suite, but the sheer size could easily be split into at least three separate rooms. The large room is separated into sections. The bed sits on an elevated platform to the right with the bathroom just off to the side of it. To the left is a kitchenette and fully stocked dry bar. Straight ahead is a grand sitting area with a full sized couch, coffee table, and two accent chairs all surrounding an intricately designed rug. I make my way further inside, forgoing the formal sitting area and settling for the two additional seats that back up to the windows.
It is after all, the sole reason my father always stays in this room. The windows take up a majority of the far wall and overlook the stadium. As I reach them, I have a direct view into the south end zone. The stadium lighting illuminates the entire field though. They are the only square yards of this campus that never sleep, always wide awake and on display for the airplanes flying overhead.
"Camryn?" my father asks startled as he exits the bathroom and ties a robe around himself. I bite back my laugh, never having seen my father so... casual.
"Sorry for coming by unannounced. I just– I wanted to thank you for this week. For helping me execute my plan. And for not asking too many questions. Ms. Reed and Nora and Taylor..." I busy myself by studying the open palms in my lap. "They needed this time together. So thank you."
My father doesn't speak, instead he quickly leans against the bathroom door frame and shoots Katie a side eye. It's a silent conversation full of suggestions. She quickly excuses herself into the bathroom under the ruse of a skincare routine. Which if is true, gives us approximately twenty or more minutes for whatever my father has planned.
