I want You Deeper

They’d clear things up in the morning.

That was what Vanessa had told herself as she fell asleep after a long catch-up session with Brooke. She’d confessed she’d developed feelings for the man she’d spent so much time with the past couple of days. It had felt good to finally say the words out loud to someone.

But when morning came, he was gone.NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.

She found out thanks to a note slipped under the door. It told her to call the front desk. She did so and learned that she had a ten-a. m. flight back to San Francisco. The front desk clerk didn’t know any details, but Vanessa assumed Heath had booked it for her.

A call to his cell went unanswered. She didn’t continue to call or text- she did have her pride, after all. Whatever was going on, he lacked the decency to have an actual conversation about it and let her defend herself. For that reason and that reason alone, she wanted nothing more to do with him.

The problem was, actually, she did.

Summoning both pride and determination, Vanessa packed her suitcase, wondering how she’d get all this stuff back to the production crew, and headed downstairs around eight a. m. The plan was to catch a rideshare to the airport and just try to put all this behind her. But there was a nice surprise waiting for her.

“You’re on my flight!” Brooke said, rushing to catch up with her in the lobby.

When Brooke had texted to ask where she was, she’d assumed Brooke just wanted to meet her to catch up for a few minutes. They’d have plenty of time to do that when they got home, but whatever. As it turned out, though, somehow Heath had managed to make sure they were on the same flight.

There was no limit to the strings a billionaire tech guru could pull.

“We can share a ride. This is so awesome!”

Brooke was her usual overly exuberant self, but Vanessa wasn’t feeling it. Not that she was ever as cheerleader-ish as her roommate, but today, she really just wanted to get home, crawl into bed, and pull the covers over her head. She’d deal with calling her agent and figuring out where to go from here tomorrow. Today, she wanted to hide from the world.

Brooke had other plans.

“So, this meeting with Heath and Justin, how are we going to do it?”

Vanessa winced. How did she explain to her best friend that she really wanted no part of it? If it meant seeing Heath again, count her out.

“My agent can get it set up for you.” Vanessa shrugged. “I really need to focus on lining up some more casting calls.”

Even as she said the words, Vanessa knew it was going to take a lot of effort to go back to life as usual. Like it or not, her time with Heath had impacted her. It would take a while for her to shake him completely.

And just when she would start to forget him, their episode would air, and it would all smack her right in the face again.

Brooke led the way toward the big hotel entrance, rolling her suitcase behind her. “We should be part of it. It’s more airtime for you. Trust me. People are all in on your romance with Heath. You two have chemistry.”

Brooke had her back to Vanessa, so she couldn’t see that her friend was gaping at her. “How could you possibly know that?” Vanessa asked.

Turning to face her, Brooke shrugged. “Anyone can see it. The way he looks at you…it’s just so…”

“Did you see us together before last night?”

Vanessa hadn’t thought of it until now, but what if Brooke had known the two of them were there all along? Would her friend hide that from her? If so, could she legitimately be mad when she’d been hiding from Brooke that she was there in the first place?

But Brooke laughed. “Of course not. It didn’t take more than two seconds to see the sparks there. I’m sure when you get a sneak preview of the footage they shot of you, you’ll see it.”

As sadness washed over her again, Vanessa shook her head. “I won’t see any preview. I’m done. Just have to wait for it to air.”

The ride Vanessa requested showed up then, and they climbed in while the driver tossed their luggage into the trunk. Once he was behind the wheel and they were on the way to the airport, Brooke picked up the conversation where they’d left off.

“You don’t go into a booth and dub audio over the parts that are hard to hear? I thought that was always a required part of shooting a TV show.”

“Nope. I think reality shows just use subtitles if something’s not clear. I’m not sure. But my agent said it was just three full days of work and I was done.”

At the time, that had sounded great, especially for what they were paying her. But now, it meant three days was all she’d ever get with Heath Hardcastle. And that broke her heart. “Add in a fourth day, then.”

At Brooke’s words, Vanessa’s sadness was replaced by confusion. Added to that was a little hope that she shouldn’t be feeling right now. There was no reason to get her hopes up. Three days was it.

“Can you get a copy of the shooting schedule?” Brooke asked. The wheels seemed to be turning in Brooke’s head with every word she spoke. She was up to something, but if it involved chasing Heath around town, Vanessa wanted no part of it. If he didn’t want her around anymore, she wouldn’t be around, plain and simple.

“I have a copy of the shooting schedule,” Vanessa blurted out, and then immediately regretted it. Now she couldn’t easily get out of whatever it was Brooke was concocting by simply saying there was no way to know where Heath would be and when. Well, except she knew where he lived and where he worked. Oh, and his favorite restaurant. But other than that…

“Forward it to me.” Brooke was already tapping on her smartphone. “I have a plan.”

Before she could ask what that plan was exactly, the driver pulled to a stop at the terminal. Vanessa had to scramble to pull up the e-ticket someone from Hardcastle Enterprises had inboxed her overnight. The whole thing was bizarre. Was Heath driving back or had he, too, caught a flight? If so, could she possibly run into him at the airport?

Despite her resolution to move past this, she found herself looking for him as they checked their luggage, waited in the long line at security, and walked to their gate. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if she saw him, but she could figure it out. Maybe she would just walk up to him and demand to know why he’d skipped out on her.

No, she couldn’t do that. Especially since he’d still have cameras on him. It would be bad enough to humiliate herself over a guy who clearly wanted nothing more to do with her, but to do so on national TV? Hard pass.

“I have to make a quick phone call. Watch my purse.” They’d barely arrived at the gate when Brooke issued that command. Without waiting for a response, she took off, putting plenty of distance between them and eventually disappearing out of sight.

She could have waited for Brooke to return, but she knew her friend would be evasive even if she did. So, with the straps of both purses in her left hand and her travel bag on her right shoulder, she headed down the concourse, spotting her roommate’s familiar head full of red hair from about a quarter of a mile away.

Just as Vanessa spotted her, Brooke took a sharp right turn. Vanessa looked around. It wasn’t likely she’d find a way to eavesdrop on her friend without being seen. But she had to at least give it a try.

Vanessa rushed to catch up to Brooke, stopping at the right turn Brooke had made. She positioned herself, back against the wall, and peeked around the corner as if she were in a spy movie or something. She just hoped security wasn’t watching her on surveillance right now. All she needed was to be pulled into some office and interrogated about her strange airport behavior.

But one peek around the corner told her she didn’t have to go far. Luckily, Brooke had her back to her at the moment she peeked around, but she made a sharp pivot to begin pacing back in Vanessa’s direction. Vanessa ducked back out of sight, just hoping she hadn’t been spotted, and tried to decide if it was safe to stay here.

“He wants to apologize to you.”

Brooke’s words blasted through the air, surprising Vanessa with how well she could hear. It still wasn’t clear if she was safe here, but she couldn’t have peeled her own body away from that wall if she’d tried.

“My roommate and I have a plan. We’re going to show up wherever they’re filming tomorrow and allow him the opportunity to do it on camera. It will be huge for both of you. ‘Two battling billionaires make up on national TV.’ I can even see it going viral.”

Judging by the way Brooke’s voice seemed to travel closer, then farther, than closer again, Vanessa knew she was likely pacing. She was safe for at least a few more seconds. Then she had to figure out how to get away without being seen.

“We’ll figure out the details. Just trust me. It’s going to work. Do it for me?”

Her voice was getting closer again, and it sounded like the call might be winding up. Vanessa took off at a quick pace, looking around for somewhere to hide until her roommate passed. She saw the perfect symbol on a sign up ahead, not too far from their gate. She couldn’t have thought of a better plan if she’d tried.

Vanessa ran to the ladies’ room, opening the door and rushing inside before she could be spotted.