The Suite Adult Life

October (14.3)

Cody had been staring at his phone for the past thirty minutes. In reality, he'd been staring at it, throwing it to the side, and then grabbing it again, fearful that he had missed a notification. When he told Carla he had an in with Chef Gigi, the paper had sprung for two first class tickets for him and a guest. Now that the easy part was done, he now had to make the call to Bailey inviting her. But what if she didn't want to go? What if this space he was giving her really meant that she decided she'd made a mistake? He'd made mistakes with the women he'd brought back to his hotel room before. But this was Bailey. How could he be the mistake? He practically slapped himself to snap him out of this pathetic cycle he was throwing himself into.

During his mental self-lamenting his phone actually rang with Bailey's picture flashing on the screen. Startled, he dropped his phone to the floor before scrambling to pick it up. His greeting was breathless and anxious and way too over eager for his taste.

"Cody?" Bailey's sweet voice came through the speaker. "Is everything okay? I can call back."

"No!" He rushed out, as he settled himself back onto his couch. "Sorry, just running in from an assignment." He really needed to stop fibbing. He was too cool for that now. "Actually, I'm really glad you called. I was wanting to-"

Bailey wasn't prepared for him to end that sentence. She had run out on him, again. She had ignored him trying to reach out. Yet, somehow, she wasn't ready to hear that it was over between them. "Can I go first?" It had been a long year for both of them with both too much and too little happening between them. When she heard him defer she continued. "It was wrong of me to leave like that. And with a post-it note?" She sighed in her own embarrassment. "That's not who I am, and I'm sorry."

"Wow, Bailey... Thank you." Cody had never really been one to apologize unless he was the one who recognized how badly he had screwed up. He felt like he was sixteen again and he'd just done something stupid to hurt the girl he was madly in love with.

"My running away... I was scared. I was scared that I was going to be just another notch in your bedpost."

Cody looked down at his hands. He never realized that he had given her that impression. "You could never," he said softly. "I'm sorry for making you feel that way. That's the last thing I ever want you to feel. And I'm sorry too."

It was Bailey's turn to be surprised. "What do you have to apologize for?" He had been right about her distrust towards him and she was really proud of the improvements she had been making. So much of her life was trying to appease everyone else because to rock the boat meant she would get hurt. It was a defense mechanism that she had been working so hard to heal herself from.

"I never should have given you an ultimatum. Your health is for you to decide, not mine," he scoffed.

"I'm a big girl, Cody. I can handle it." There was a smile in her voice. Something challenging and nostalgic.

"I know you can," he said lowly. A comfortable silence settled between them. It was reminiscent of when they would study. One of the things he loved most about her back then was her ability to quiet his mind. He was used to having four things going on at once and all she would have to do was walk into the room and his focus would hone in on her. "Do you want to go to Italy?" The question was abrupt but casual. The type of casual he'd been trying to hype himself up being at the start of the call.

It was Bailey's turn to laugh. "Italy? Cody... where? How?"

"Well," the cockiness was back in his voice. He stood, his feet feeling light, like he was on top of the world. "I have these two first class tickets for the middle of November. And I reminded my brother that there was a very important date we should all be remembering."

Bailey giggled, her heart fluttering as if she were a teenager again. "You mean my birthday?"

"Is it your birthday?" He faked not remembering the date. He would never tell her that Zack remembered it before he did though. "I meant that Zack and I have had these long standing reservations for Chef Gigi's restaurant and he says he feels like he won't want Italian that day. So, I thought to myself, who would enjoy a first class ticket and the lovely accommodations of the Tipton in Rome other than you?"

Bailey laughed at the absurdity of it all. Traveling to Rome in a month? When her laughter trailed off she realized he hadn't been laughing with her. "Wait, you're serious." It wasn't a question. Her mind started compiling a To Do List of everything that needed to be done. She needed to start brushing up on her Italian again. She was woefully out of practice.

Cody could practically hear her thoughts. "Haybail?" The old nickname flowed off his tongue like he'd spent the last decade using it every day. "All you have to worry about is packing for a weekend and brushing up on your Italian."

Her breath caught at the old nickname and she realized just how much she missed it. "Say it again...?" Bailey asked softly.

A devilish smirk graced his striking features. "You mean about the accommodations? Well we'll be staying at the Tipton in Rome..." His smirk turned into a full on grin when he heard her contained frustration in her voice. She knew that he knew that wasn't what she meant. "Oh. You want me to call you... Haybail again."

Bailey bit her thumb as she smiled wildly at the welcomed sensation of his flirting. He'd never been so forward with her before and she would let it roll around between her ears letting the sensation prickle her skin.