Klara

He let me go change, but he made me wait for him to finish his breakfast, then as I dumped the  plates outside the room for room service, then he followed me back to my room. It was a smaller suite, but it at least had two rooms and a bathroom, and I had him wait in the front room as I changed.

I didn’t have time to wash my underwear, so I just folded it and put it far away in my suitcase. I’d have to remember it later.

Then, we headed out.

“How are we getting there?” I asked. “Do you have a car?”

I’d wasted money to get a flight, thinking I’d have to make my way back by bus, since I didn’t think the cash I had would be enough for much, and in the end didn’t last nearly as long as I’d hoped, anyway. It was just about everything I’d been saving up since I got my first job when I was sixteen, but until I finished high school, I used up more than I saved, so while it wasn’t little, it wasn’t a lot, either.

When I realized there was not much point in continuing to save it, since I had insurance for everything else, I used it up. Well, not all of it. There were still the funds in my savings account, which was half of the total, but they weren’t as easy to get my hands on. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have bothered with it.

“I don’t have a car,” Jake said.

I whirled around to him, back to the present, my regrets pushed to the back of my mind for the time being.

Once I’m back home, I’ll worry about all of it, I told myself.

“If you don’t have a car, then how are we getting there?”

He grinned. “Well, I could always rent one, or hire one if I’d rather not drive, but I have a much better idea.”

I wasn’t sure what idea that was, but since I’d already said I was going, and he’d extended my stay at the hotel for a few days, I couldn’t just back out. So as he headed for the entrance to the hotel, I followed right behind him.

Normally, I wouldn’t be so trusting of a stranger. I wouldn’t have so readily agreed to spend time with him like this, even if I wasn’t interested. Though, if I was my usual self, I wouldn’t have ended up in Vegas in the first place.

Outside the hotel, a car was waiting for us. Jake had gone forward and was holding the door open, and I slipped inside. He told the driver where to go before getting inside after me, so I didn’t get to hear it.

“Hang on. You aren’t here alone, so shouldn’t you tell your brother and his friends that you’ll be leaving, at least? What if they come looking for you? A trip to the canyon will take hours, right?”

I’d thought of stopping by to see it, but it wasn’t on my way home, and I didn’t have the cash for it. Besides, between visiting the Grand Canyon and clubbing, I went with the wilder option. Not that I’d had any plan.

“There’s no need to worry about them,” Jake said dismissively. “Besides, I’m a grown man, I can take care of myself, so they won't be worrying.” Then, he grinned at me. “And we won't be taking near as long.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see.”

There was some light traffic, but we arrived at our destination not long after, and my jaw dropped when I saw where we were going out.

“Are we supposed to be here?” I whispered.

Jake just grinned as the car stopped and he got out. I scrambled after him, then followed slowly behind him as he walked up to the helicopter.

“I’ve heard the helicopter tour is the best way to go for a better experience,” he explained, looking over his shoulder. “We’ll be able to see the whole canyon from above, and we’ll be making a few stops, too. It’ll be amazing.”

“Yeah, but how much was that cost,” I muttered.

I trusted his judgment since I didn’t know anyone who had been to the Grand Canyon, but if he expected me to pitch in for the cost, there was no way.

He chuckled. “Nothing for you to worry about. It’s not much extra to add one more person, and there’s no way I would have gone with the rest of the guys since there'd be too many of us. It’s also not the kind of thing you do for a bachelor party, and I don’t know when, or if, I’ll be back in Vegas again.”

I side-eyed him as he greeted and spoke to the pilot. He and his brother didn’t seem to be all that close since his dad had to talk him into going to his brother’s bachelor party. Though I had to wonder if he just felt cornered by them because they wanted something for him that he didn’t want for himself.

In a way, I thought we were similar in that way. I acted the way it was expected of me by my parents, but it wasn’t like I ever thought of going against them.

A lot of people wouldn’t believe it, but I was fine the way I was.

I was the girl who never once missed school, or tried to skip. I did my homework first thing before I got home, and unless I had a book to read or something, I was always studying. I wasn’t the top student at my school, but I was definitely at the top percentile. My parents never gave me a curfew, because when I went out with my friends, I always got myself home by five no matter what. I did chores when it was my turn to, with minor grumblings.

This didn’t change much when I went to college. I was introverted, too, so it wasn’t like I had a lot of friends to begin with, and I lost touch of a lot of them once college came up. I went to a good school not too far from home, and since I didn’t have to live at the school, I decided to continue staying at home and commute every day.

I lived very straight, and by some people’s standards, a very boring life. I was content with it. If I wanted some fun and excitement, I would find a good book, or a good show, or whatever I could read or watch online, not to mention my large music collection. I would have continued to be that way, too. If not for the piece of news that changed everything.

Jake finished talking to the pilot, and he went ahead and opened the door to the helicopter after us. Jake startled me by grabbing my hand and dragging me in behind him with a huge grin on his face.

“Come on! This is going to be fun.”

I took his word for it as I got into the helicopter. We belted in, were handed headphones, and the blades started moving. My heart was beating hard in my chest before we even got off the ground, and when I felt Jake’s hand come over mine, I clutched onto it without thinking twice.

The pilot would occasionally speak up, and after getting spooked the first time, I got used to it.

Whoever told him about this, their advice was right. Seeing the Grand Canyon from the top was the best view, and it wasn’t like that was all we did. There were stops the helicopter made, where we could get out to stretch our legs and walk around for a bit before we had to head to our next stop.

The most enjoyable part, though, wasn’t the view, but being with Jake.

He was amazing, and spending the day with him made me realize that my attraction to him before wasn’t a fluke. It was also very much reciprocated. While we were in the helicopter, he would hold onto my hand. When we stepped out of it, he either had a hand on me or an arm around me.

For someone who’d only had two relationships, where one could be counted as innocent since the farthest that one got before we broke up was a few, chaste kisses.

This obvious attraction, though, was something I’d never experienced before. I didn’t know if it was amplified because of circumstances, and because I wasn’t holding back and acting shy like I usually would, but the entire time, I felt hot.

By the end of the tour, I realized I’d spent more time thinking about Jake touching me more than the great view.

The helicopter made the last stop, back in the city. Jake and I were both quiet as we left the helicopter. I assumed there would be a car to take us back to the hotel, but it hadn't arrived yet, and we ended up standing in wait. I was suddenly very aware of Jake’s arm that was wrapped around my waist. My heart was beating fast in my chest, and my hands were fidgeting in front of me, my fingers unable to stay still.

“Klara.”

I jumped, feeling a thump in my chest. I already knew his voice was amazing, but it seemed to have gone deeper as he said my name from so close. I let out a shaky breath as my heart beat a fast beat.

“Yes?” I said, and my voice came out a shaky whisper.

The arm around my waist squeezed, and my breath stuttered. I felt some disappointment when he pulled his arm away, but then he was turning me around. He cupped my face between his hands and leaned down to kiss me.

It was nothing like the kisses I’d had before. It wasn’t soft, or romantic, or sloppy. Yet still, I had a feeling he was holding himself back. It was a hard, hot, steamy kiss, and I trembled as my arms went around his shoulders.