Emancipating Andie

She met his stare, her eyes dropping to his lips for a second before she lifted them back to his, and he knew that if she had been anyone else, it would only be seconds before his mouth was on hers.

She seemed to realize this at the same time; he felt her grow tense against him as her eyes widened in alarm. “Andromeda,” she blurted out.

Chase pulled back from her slightly. “What?” he murmured, fighting the urge to sweep her hair away from her face.

“Andie,” she said, her voice softening. “It’s short for Andromeda. That’s my name.”

Chase stared at her, watching the flush color her cheeks, and she averted her eyes. “It’s Greek,” she stammered. “It means beautiful.”

She pulled away from him then, pressing one hand just below the base of her throat as she scooped up her dress with the other, hurrying off the dance floor.

He watched her rush toward the doorway that would take her out to the terrace, out to Colin, and he closed his eyes and set his jaw.

Andromeda. It means beautiful.

He inhaled deeply before opening his eyes. “Yes. It does,” he said softly, watching her retreating silhouette disappear through the doorway.

CHAPTER NINE

Andie folded her clothes, her hands trembling as she placed them into her suitcase. She hadn’t even been able to think about breakfast that morning; her stomach rolled and flipped incessantly. It was similar to the feeling she used to get before the first day of school, this combination of excitement and anxiety.

She would be starting the drive back up to New York that afternoon.

No, they would be starting the drive back up to New York that afternoon.

Andie was thrown by the dichotomy of her emotions; she was absolutely terrified to see him again, yet at the same time she found herself wanting to throw her things haphazardly into her bag and run down to the car.

She had almost kissed him last night.

And with that thought, her stomach flipped again. She had barely slept the night before, that moment replaying itself in her mind over and over. She didn’t trust herself alone with him, but at the same time, it was the only thing that could make this better. She needed some closure. She needed to face whatever this was head-on so that she could regroup, so that she could go back to New York with a clear head.

Andie heard the click of Colin’s key card in the door, and she straightened up as if she had just been caught doing something wrong. The door opened and she smiled up at him, hoping she didn’t look as guilty as she felt.

“Hey,” she said. “Where’d you disappear to?”

Colin plopped onto the bed, reaching into her suitcase and pulling out the pair of lace panties she had just packed, dangling them off his finger as he waggled his eyebrows up at her. She laughed softly, shaking her head as she pulled them from his hand and refolded them.

“I was downstairs talking to Chase,” he said, and it felt like her stomach turned inside out.

“Oh?” she said, keeping her eyes trained on the clothes she was stacking in her bag. “Is he almost ready?”

“No, but he’s not leaving until later tonight, so it’s all good.”

Andie stopped, looking up at Colin. “What do you mean? I wanted to leave by one.”

Colin smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll leave by one, if that’s what you want.”

She put the shirt in her suitcase and stood up, ru

“Yep,” he said as he sat up, taking a pair of Andie’s shorts out of the suitcase and refolding them more neatly. He flashed her his toothpaste commercial smile before putting the shorts back in her bag.

Andie pulled her brow together. “But what about your plane ticket?” she asked, realizing she probably should have been acting somewhat excited by this point.

“Chase is go

Andie was thankful that he had left the room, because she was terrified that the swelling disappointment building in her chest would be evident on her face. “Well, that was nice of you to offer to switch with him,” she finally said, the words feeling like cement in her mouth.

This was for the best, she told herself. This was a sign. She shouldn’t be alone with him again. And truth be told, she had no business feeling let down by this turn of events.

Colin stuck his head out of the bathroom. “As much as I’d like to take the compliment, I didn’t offer.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was his idea to switch.”

Andie’s heart plummeted into her stomach as Colin turned and went back into the bathroom. It was his idea? Why didn’t he want to drive back with her? Was it because he didn’t trust himself either? Or was it because he didn’t want to be around her? Did she overstep a boundary last night? He was the one who had given her the shot. He was the one who had asked her to dance.

Andie suddenly felt extremely betrayed, and she closed her eyes and shook her head at the irony of that, because she was guilty of betrayal for even being upset by this in the first place, for being excited, even if it was just for a second, about spending time alone with Chase.

She had never felt so out of control of her emotions; it was maddening and extremely unsettling.

Colin came out of the bathroom, swatting her bottom as he passed her and began packing his things, and as Andie zipped up her own suitcase, she found herself stuck somewhere between feeling deflated, and being furious at herself for even feeling that way in the first place.

They stopped in a hotel after being on the road for only seven hours. Andie was exhausted from not having slept the night before, and Colin was exhausted from the week’s activities. Now, Andie lay in another strange bed, her body completely worn out and her mind ru

Right before they left Tampa earlier that afternoon, Chase had come up to the room to say good-bye. He was amiable, casual, and completely at ease, as if the night before had never happened. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, thanking her for the ride before he turned to shake Colin’s hand. He wished them both a safe trip, and he and Colin made tentative plans to meet up once they were all back in New York.

And that was it.

At least, that should have been it. She should have been following his lead, pretending that the night before had never happened. Yet there she was, lying in bed next to her boyfriend with that moment ru

She was absolutely disgusted with herself.