Roles Reversed

27

"Shay! Help!" I squeaked. My suitcase was very heavy, and I wasn't the strongest girl out there. I struggled to lift it into the trunk of the taxi.

"Here," he said, taking it from me.

I was mesmerized by the way his arm muscles strained under his this cotton shirt. Holy sh-

"Hello? I just asked if you had everythiny," he said to me.

I blushed. "That's all, yes."

"Okay. Time to go. We need to be at the airport in about forty-five minutes," he said. He walked around the can and opened the door for me.

"Thank you," I said politely as I slid inside.

This was going to be a long four days.

~

"Sasha," a quiet voice drawled out.

I swatted the voices hand away. It was poking me, and it was rather uncomfortable.

"Whatdaya want," I mumbled.

"We're here, Sash. We're in California," Shay said excitedly.

I sat up straight. "Really? Did I sleep all right hours?" I asked.

"Yeah. We sat down, and you were out. It's two o'clock here. What time are they expecting us at the hotel?"

"Three-fifteen."

"Good. That give us enough time together out bags, find a taxi-" I silenced him by slapping my hand on top of his mouth.

"I had no idea you were such a control freak," I observed out loud.

"I'm nobba comtrull freeg," he mumbled under my hand.

"Yeah, you are. But that's okay. I'm just used to it being the other way around with us. Now, the roles are reversed," I said, removing my hand from his stubbly face.

"I like it like this though," he said to me, "You're hot when you're bossy."

My head whipped around. "What?"

"You heard me."

Oh my.

~

"Taxi!" Shay yelled. I had on his small backpack and was pulling his little suitcase while he was pulling my giant one.

A car pulled up for us and we put our things in the back.

Our ride to the hotel was scenic and quiet. It was beautiful.

"Look!" he shouted, jolting me from my daze.

"There's a beach!" he said happily.

He grabbed my hand out of excitement. I didn't pull away.

"Thanks for bringing me here, even after I was an ass," he said with a smile.

I nodded. "And thank you for accompanying me."

When we got to the hotel, we were still holding hands.

"Let's go!" I said with pure excitement.

I was so anxious to see all my friends. I hadn't lost touch with them, but it had been a while since we had all seen each other.

We gathered our bags and entered the hotel.

I gasped. It was un-freaking-believable.

"Wow," I whispered.

"SASHA JACOBS!" Someone shrieked.

"GABRIEL!" I shrieked back.

I dropped Shay's luggage and ran to her with my arms open. She hugged me tightly.

"I'm so glad you guys made it okay," she said with a smile.

She turned to look at Shay who was now approaching us with his and my suitcases.

"Hey, I'm-" her eyes widened, "Shay? Shay Riley?"

"What a coincidence, that's my name too. How are you Gabriel? You look lovely," he complimented.

"I'm great! If you guys will come over here, Nolan's mom has all the rooms organized."

She led us over to Mrs. Sanders.

"Hello you two," she said sweetly.

"Hi," we chorused.

"What's your name again honey?" she asked me.

"Sasha," I replied.

She flipped through some papers.

"Here we are. Sasha and Shay will be rooming together," she said with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I think you have that wrong," I said as calmly as possible.

"No no, dear. All the girls are rooming together. You and Shay, Grace and Kiki, Nichole and Carolina."

"This is Shay," I said, jabbing him in the chest with my finger.

"Ow," he muttered.

"Oh my. Well, let me see if I can fix this," she said worriedly.

Once she was out of earshot, Shay leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"I really wouldn't mind sharing a room," he muttered to me. His front was pressed up against my back.

I tried not to let my face flush but it was no use.

Mrs. Sanders shuffled back over to us.

"I'm so sorry you two, there are no more available rooms," she said. Her eyebrows were punched together in worry.

"It's alright, Mrs. S," said Shay, "We don't mind."

"We don't?" her face fell a little so I changed my question.

"He's right, we don't. Not at all," I said with fake cheeriness.

"Oh good. Thank you for being so flexible," she said gratefully.

"Of course."

"You all are in room 207, floor six," she told us.

We thanked her and headed for the elevator.

Once we were inside, Shay spoke. "I think Nolan did this to me on purpose," he said to himself.

I don't think I was meant to hear that, so I didn't say anything.

The elevator dinged and we walked down to room 207. After much debate, Shay let me insert the key card.

I happily swung the door open to find my heart drop.

I froze. Shay tensed up beside me.

There, in the center of the room, was a single bed.

And I sure as hell wasn't sleeping on the floor.

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