Nightwalker

Thirty Seven

Thor

Walking into the Alton Hotel was the equivalent of a dream. The first thing that hit me was this incredible chandelier, sparkling like it'd been dipped in a billion tiny diamonds.

Everything smelled amazing—there were fresh flowers perched on every ledge and could even make out a hint of fresh linen lingering in the air.

The middle of the lobby had an indoor garden area with real roses, tulips and chrysanthemums along with a little fountain that made the place feel like an oasis.

Needless to say, I felt out of place just waltzing in—but in the best way possible.

I strongly debated picking out a flower for Danny, but she would catch on immediately. Plus it wasn't on my daily bucketlist to get dragged out of here by the ear.

I wasn't exactly displeased to be at a lodging place this time—it was a definite step up from the shitty motel we had before.

And finally, I could get some quality sleep.

As we approach the reception, I catch the attention of a uniformed stubby lady with rosy cheeks.

She seemed to have been toying with the thermostat in frustration before attending to us.

"Hi! Welcome to the one and only Alton Hotel. What can I do for you two?"

"Hello, we were wondering if you had a double bed suite for one night?" Danny quips.

She reminded me of something along the lines of a tired fawn.

Despite her curly hair being disheveled, and her blue eyes droopy, she still managed to look beautiful.

"For sure! Let me just check our openings and reservations."

A moment passes by and I remember to blink.

"You're staring." I hear her whisper. She wasn't at all looking at me, rather the opposite way, admiring the high ceilings of the hotel lobby.

Of course she would know I was staring at her.

I wonder if she knew every time I caught a glimpse of her for too long.

Danny knew of things without actually having to see it, so what makes me think she doesn't already know how I feel about her?

"It's not a crime is it? To stare at something so enchanting."

Her face finally turns my way and my lips form a foolish grin.

"What are you? Ninety?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but it looks like we don't have any two bed suites available. However there are still single suites."

I frown, "Single suites?"

"Meaning there's only one bed." Danny says as a matter of fact to the reception lady, who looked like her cheeks couldn't get any pinker.

"I'm sorry—are you not a couple?"

I look to Danny and Danny looks to me.

"We're a couple of annoyed people, if that's what you're getting at." I say.

I didn't want to give the lady a hard time, but I just couldn't deal with Danny having to dismiss the assumption and make things between us awkward again.