Unleashing Chaos

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jace's loud-as-hell yelling wakes me up from a deep sleep, and I shoot up in bed, my hair out of control, my tank top twisted, and my sleep shorts riding all the way up my thighs. I spring to my feet and without bothering to right my clothing, sprint to his room and fling the door open.

"Jace, what the hell happened? Are you okay?" I exclaim, my chest rising up and down with my impending panic.

He is standing on his bed in his underwear, jumping up and down with his phone in his hand. His hair is standing in every direction, and he wears a smile so bright it's lighting up the room. "Edmonds is going to sign!"

He holds his hand out to me, and I timidly place my fingers against his. The next thing I know, we are holding hands jumping on his bed together. I've never seen him let down his guard and give into his happiness the way he is right now.

"Jace, I'm so happy for you!" I exclaim, squeezing his hand and giggling when he pulls me against him and tickles my ribs.

"It's thanks to you, Desideria, I swear," he says, and our jumping slows until we are standing a few inches away from each other. "Matt never would have talked me up so much if it weren't for you."

I shake my head. "You did all the work. You deserve all the credit. Not me."

He stops jumping but doesn't lose the smile. "I need one more favor from you."

"Okay."

"Matt didn't just talk me up; he mentioned you to Edmonds. I need you to play my girlfriend one more time."

"Yeah, of course. What night do you need me to help?"

Jace runs his hand over the back of his neck and looks away from me. "We are signing the papers at Matt's office. In New York. Next week." He looks up at me and flashes an innocent smile that has me going gooey on the inside. "I know you are running out of time, and I understand if you can't go."

I lift a hand to stop him. "I'll go."

"Are you sure? It's going to be four days in New York."

"The big city, right? The one with all the people and buildings and the green lady with the torch?"

He laughs and nods. "Sometimes I forget how clueless you are about human stuff. Yes. That's the one."

"That sounds like fun. Will we have time to do fun stuff too? You'll be able to take me places?"

His features soften and he nods. "We will have some time to do a little sightseeing. I'm sure we can fit the green lady in. So what do you say? Will you pretend to be my girlfriend one last time?"

The words one last time open a chasm in my heart that I do everything in my power to ignore. I intertwine our fingers together and squeeze. "I say yes. Consider me your adoring significant other. It's not a hard part to play, ya know."

His cheeks turn a soft shade of pink and he clears his throat. "Oh, also...if you want to get two separate rooms, we can. After our chat the other night, I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"No!" I blurt, too fast. "I mean, no. That's unnecessary. We're adults who have spent plenty of time together in intimate situations. Sleeping in the same bedroom won't be a big deal. We did it in Infernis, we can do it again. Besides, it will ruin the guise of being boyfriend and girlfriend if we are caught returning to separate rooms."

"Thank you. Not just for this but for everything you've done to help me. I promise to make the trip worth it."

I curse the fluttering that happens in my belly when I smile and say, "I have absolutely no doubt that you will."