Small Town Girl, Big City Dreams • Kate Martin

Chapter 21: A Hi Would've Been Nice

Inspiration Song: Tunnel Vision by Boy Bandicoot

I blew out all the air in my lungs and pulled open the back door of Sinsations. I saw Kelsey, Megan, and Syd talking with Jade, all in a circle, likely going over plans for the night. They all looked towards the door when I opened it. Jade immediately averted her gaze once she realized it was me who walked through the door.

"Kate," Kelsey spoke up first. Everyone looked generally confused, including her. "You made it."

"Yeah," I replied dumbly. Maybe Claire really had a point. I needed to work on my communication skills.

"So, are you guys feeling comfortable about how the night is going to go?" Jade asked the group. I hadn't taken more than a few steps in from the door, feeling as if I was interrupting something.

"Mhmm. Yep; we're all good here," Kelsey replied quickly, sensing the awkward tension between Jade and myself. Megan and Syd nodded their heads too, sneaking glances in my direction. I noticed Jade still hadn't spared a second look towards me, but she watched everyone else's interactions and reactions to me.

"Okay, sounds good," I saw a smile lift Jade's features. She then turned and walked towards me, her eyes staying trained on the floor in front of her.

"Kate," Jade grabbed my wrist and tugged on it as she was passing, pulling me along with her. "Let's go into my office and I'll catch you up on the game plan."

"Oh, okay."

Once she pulled me into her office, she shut the door behind me. She walked in front of me before placing her hands on my hips, walking me backwards until my back hit the door she had just shut. She connected our lips in a hungry kiss and, though it took my brain a second to catch up, I responded eagerly.

I had thought through so many scenarios of what might happen when I saw Jade again for the first time, but this was not one of them. I felt her hand sneak under my button down, resting on my stomach.

"I thought you were," she kissed my neck. "Sick."

"I feel," she grazed her teeth against the skin between her lips, causing my voice to fail for a quick second. "Better."

"Good," I could feel her smirk against my collarbone.

"Jade, what are you—" she cut me off with a kiss on the lips. "Doing?"

"Shh," she kissed down the other side of my neck. "Just let it happen."

"But—" she pulled my earlobe into her mouth. "Fuck."

"What was that?" she chuckled when she released my earlobe.

"As much as I'm enjoying this," I felt her nails graze across my stomach causing all the butterflies resting to take flight. "You open in like five minutes."

"Oh, I know, pretty girl," I internally swooned at the pet name. My head was so cloudy from Jade. My skin was on fire. I felt her lips against my ear. "Plus, you need to wake up."

I felt my body tense. "What?"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry you need to wake up," I opened my eyes to find a middle-aged flight attendant in front of me. She had kind eyes that showed she was sorry to have to disturb my sleep. "We've landed in Vegas."

"Crap, I'm sorry," I responded, wiping the drool from the corner of my mouth. "Thank you."

"No worries, sweetheart. You looked tired," she replied with a small smile.

I was exhausted, actually. I had been up since 5AM yesterday morning besides the nap I had just taken. Thankfully, I think I had been out on the plane for at least 3 hours. I checked the time on my watch: 5:15PM. That gave me an hour and a half to get out of the airport, get to my apartment to change and shower, and be at Sinsations. I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but I knew that Jade would absolutely murder me if I was late.