Crushing on the Captain

Four-At Least I Have My Books

        Complete giddiness took over me as I headed into my last seminar of the weekend. With a grand total of thirty-four dollars left on my magic gift card, I had squeezed out two books that were totally mine and would look beautiful on my bookshelf.

        This seminar was also my most anticipated one. Dr. Carry would be speaking about how she had taught math to some of the most reluctant students, and she now lived by the rule that anyone could learn math if they were taught the right way. In my own class, I had a decent amount of math-haters, and I was determined to teach them. 

        As the ballroom filled up, you could tell that everyone else had wanted to hear this particular seminar too. Some people even began sitting along the back wall when there were no more chairs left. I was relieved I'd showed up a little early. I clapped politely as Dr. Carry took the stage, then remembered to set my phone on silent.

        The talk was phenomenal. Dr. Carry went through a dozen different examples of how three students could solve a problem while taking wildly different steps. I took notes, copied math problems, and took pictures. She even had us try to solve a more complex problem (not a first-grade math problem) and had volunteers show the various methods for solving it. 

         Two hours, I felt like a teaching genius. I had notes (notes that I had dedicated proper handwriting to) and I had a brain full of knowledge. When I got back in January, my students would be the brightest kids in all of Denver.

         People flooded out of the ballroom, many of them chatting with the same enthusiasm I felt. Taking out my phone, I had a million missed messages and calls. Several from Nick, one from Logan, and a whole truckload from numbers I didn't recognize.

        "No," I said, almost dropping the phone. My flight, scheduled to leave in five hours, had been cancelled.

         "Quick, quick," I whispered, sitting down in a corner and dropping all my stuff. I needed another flight home. 

         Realization dawned on me as not only could I not find another flight to anywhere close to Denver, but people around me were anxiously talking on phones and frantically typing. A quick search confirmed it: Seattle's airport was closed, and wasn't planning on opening anytime soon.

         I flew into action. Grabbing all my stuff and zipping my coat, I rushed out the doors. Immediately, I was almost knocked off my feet. The wind took my small frame and pushed in the general direction of my hotel. I guess that was helpful, kind of, if the wind hadn't been slowly freezing my bone marrow.

         Swallowing hard, I fought through a cloud of snow that was so thick I could barely see two feet in front of me. My eyelashes had frozen in the thirty seconds I'd been outside, so I tried not to blink too much, or worse, tear up from the cold. 

         Even half blind, I found my way to the hotel. It took me close to fifteen minutes, but I made it. Already, the lobby was already packed with anxious travelers who were trying to extend their stays. I joined the makeshift line and hoped that I could extend my reservation. How I would afford it, I had no idea, but that was a for later problem. 

         I reached the counter. Unfortunately, the manager took that moment to shout, "WE ARE BOOKED FOR THE NEXT TWO NIGHTS! THANK YOU!"

         My face fell. "I already have a room; can I extend my stay?" I asked, knowing the answer already.

         "No, ma'am, your room is booked for tonight," the manager said, looking exhausted.

         What would I do? Surely every hotel in Seattle was booked solid by now. Even if I had fistfuls of money to throw around, I doubted I could find a room somewhere that was close enough to get to in such bad conditions.

        "Eve?"

        It caught me off guard. No way was he here. Had Logan sent him? I could see that. Logan was terribly worried about me, although he tried to hide it more than Nick did.

        Right now, I couldn't face Graham. I hadn't even talked to him since the trial. Honestly, I hadn't talked to him much before that, although he'd insisted on being my moral support when I'd had to testify. It was cowardly of me, but I couldn't bear to face him. Not after New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, I had no other options.

        "Hi, Graham," I said, probably sounding like a squeaky toy. "W-what are you doing in Seattle?"

         His gorgeous smile dimmed just a touch. "Visiting family," he said softly. "You're here for that teacher conference, right?"

         I hated and loved that he remembered that. "Yep. Well, I was. Now I'm a little stranded," I said sheepishly, trying not to focus on his sweet dimples or handsome cheekbones or his soft brown hair or any other physical feature of his that was distracting. Basically all of them. 

         He raised an eyebrow. "Stranded?"

         "I was supposed to fly home tonight," I said miserably. "The hotel doesn't have my room available. Or any room, for that matter."

         Graham didn't hesitate. "Stay with me. My room is good for the next four nights."

         "Oh, I couldn't," I said quickly. Burdening Graham was one of my worst nightmares.

         "Why not? I have room. Kind of. There's like...a room," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

         "No, I couldn't. Thank you for the offer though," I said politely.

         "Where are you going to stay then?" he asked, frowning.

         "I'll figure something out," I said dismissively, although the 'something' was currently crowding out all my other thoughts. I really had no ideas about where to go to even look. Not to mention that the painfully beautiful Graham was still standing in front of me and distracting me. 

          "Eve, I'm serious, I don't mind. I don't know that you'll find anything else this late in the afternoon," he said, looking genuinely concerned. That was the problem with Graham: he was always thinking about others when it wasn't necessary. I loved him for it, but it was hard when you were the one he was thinking about at the moment.

         I was torn. On the one hand, I knew I'd have to make an igloo if I didn't take him up on this offer. I had no igloo skills. But on the other hand, I couldn't stay with Graham for the next...few days? A week? Goodness, I hoped it wasn't a week.

        "Come on, let's go grab your stuff," he said, heading towards the elevators. And I had no choice to follow him.

         I thanked myself for having packed up my stuff this morning. It would've been mortifying if we'd walked into my hotel room to find my clothes strewn about and last night's cup of ramen sitting on the desk. My backpack and carry-on were on the bed, and everything was neatly zipped.

        Graham, sweet, adorable Graham, took my suitcase and we headed back to the elevator. "This is all?"

        "I was only supposed to be here for a few days," I reminded him. 

        He nodded and the doors slid shut. And then the silence started.

        There's a reason that aside from the trial, Graham and I haven't really talked in a little over eleven months. And I think that in this elevator, we're both remembering why.