WE TOOK THE subway back. There wasn't much room on the subway train we needed to catch, so we split up again into the groups from earlier. Professor Smith stayed with us while another professor that came along traveled on the first subway train.

I waved to Milo as he smiled softly at me through the window of the subway car, watching as he slowly floated away while I remained at the edge of the platform.

"Don't worry, you'll see him again in like twenty minutes," a female voice sounded beside me. I jumped slightly, heart palpitating, eyes bulging. When I looked, I was met with ocean blue eyes and a close-lipped smile.

"You scared me, Stacey," I breathed.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"I didn't see you all night at dinner. Where did you disappear to?"

"Oh. Well, after I came out from the bathroom, I saw Milo sitting at your table, and I didn't want to disrupt your dinner date, so I sat at another table instead," she stated nonchalantly.

A bright crimson red flooded my cheeks. "Nonsense, you should've still joined us. I'm sure he wouldn't have mind. And that was not a dinner date," I laughed awkwardly.

Twenty minutes later, after being heavily squashed against one another in the subway, we made it to the hotel. Entering through the automatic sliding doors, Professor Smith walked up to the front desk.

She returned shortly with our room keys, which were bundled up in a small stack. She called out the names on the card and one by one, we all attained our key cards.

"Your key card will only allow you to go to the floor your room is on, so you must scan your room key every time you need to go upstairs," she said as we entered the elevator, everyone quickly scanning their card and pressing the button to their floor.

I pressed the button to the fifteenth floor. The majority of the group got off at lower floors, and only a few of us were left when I hopped out of the elevator, two others got off with me. As I looked for the plaque with 15K on the wall, the others quickly found their rooms near the entrance of the elevator.

Walking all the way down the hall, I finally found it, the last and slightly bigger hotel room. I unlocked the door and stepped inside, content to find my suitcase already set neatly in the corner.

Upon entering, I walked through a short hallway, the bathroom immediately to the left, before coming across two beds and a medium-sized bedside table separating the two beds with a phone for room service and a digital clock.

On a smaller table next to the bed on the left laid a phone and a clear plastic bag that contained a toothbrush and toothpaste. I threw my shoulder bag to the bed on the right, falling backward onto the soft mattress as it curved around my body.

I could hear the running water from the shower as I closed my eyes, soaking in the comfort. A few minutes passed before the shower shut off and I'd meet my roommate for the rest of the week. The bathroom door opened with a small creek, followed by quiet padding against the carpet.

"Hadley?"

My eyes immediately shot open and I sprang up faster than a startled cat. My heart began to palpitate, adrenaline roaring through my veins, and suddenly it felt as if the air was being constricted from my lungs.

"How did you get in here?" asked Milo, standing shirtless in the middle of the room as a few water droplets still clung to his skin with a towel wrapped around his waist.

Oh god.

I squeezed my eyes shut, crossing my fingers as I silently prayed, repeating the phrase, "Please tell me I'm hallucinating."

I inhaled and exhaled deeply and opened my eyes back up, smiling to myself as I expected Milo's figure to be gone. He didn't disappear, however, so I tried again, shutting my eyes once again.

"I must be tired from today, I'm just hallucinating. Milo's not really standing in front of me. Man, if he was really here, he'd probably think I'm a weirdo who thinks about him so much that I actually started to hallucinate about him," I chuckled.

With a smile of reassurance, I opened my eyes once again. But there he was, still standing in the middle of the room without a shirt, his defined abs on display. My smile faltered as I took a step closer, shamelessly studying him from head to toe since he was just a figment of my imagination.

With caution, I slowly raised my hand and poked him lightly in the chest. To my horror, my finger touched flesh and not air. My eyes slowly trailed up to his face, cheeks on fire, to which he smirked at.

"Actually, Hadley," Milo took a step forward, minimizing the space that was left between us, "I don't think you're hallucinating, I'm pretty sure I'm standing right here in front of you," he smirked.

I wished the earth would right then and there swallow me whole as I felt every single cell in my body go into overdrive from embarrassment and our close proximity.

"Shit," I whispered. I quickly backed away and covered my eyes, turning around.

"What are you doing?" Milo asked, amusement in his voice.

"Just put some clothes on!" I said, horrified. Milo shuffled away, that stupid smirk on his face lingering.

"Okay, you can look now," he chuckled. I peeked through my fingers before exhaling sharply and removing my hands away from my face, seeing that he had a black shirt on with gray sweatpants. "Why are you here?"

I scoff, "Why am I here? Why are you here?"

"This was the room they gave me. How did you get in?"

I raised my key card in the air. "Me too." Exhaling deeply as I ran a hand through my curled locks, "I guess they must've accidentally put us together."

"At least it's just me though, right? And not some other guy you don't know," he tried, offering a comforting smile. I shrugged slightly, smiling faintly.

I shrugged off my jacket, walked over to my suitcase and grabbed some clothes before heading into the bathroom to shower. I ran a hand through my hair as the water cascaded down my body, which was a bit relaxing before I began thinking about what awaited once my shower was over. Shit.

As I slowly turned the knob of the bathroom door, nerves crept up on me. My heart began to suddenly pick up its pace and a tight pressure formed in my chest. Milo perked up when he heard the soft click of the door opening, peering up from his laptop whilst sitting in bed.

With every moment, I could feel his eyes on the back of my head as I put away my dirty clothes. Turning around, my eyes involuntarily wandered to his, my breath hitching. Looking away, I pushed my glasses higher onto the bridge of my nose, feeling insanely awkward and uncomfortable as I shuffled to my bed even though it was only a few steps away.

"You okay?" Milo sprouted, turning his head as I threw myself backward, landing with a loud poof against the comforter. I hummed in agreement.

Through my peripheral vision, I noticed Milo staring at my bare legs before trailing up to my face as I pretended to scroll through nothing on my phone.

"In the morning we should see if there are any more available rooms," I said.

∞

"I'M SORRY, HADLEY. There aren't any more available rooms in the hotel," Professor Smith sympathized.

"What? How is that possible?" I asked in disbelief.

"This month is their busiest. They'll be fully booked for the rest of our stay," Professor Smith sighed. "If you'd like, you can share a room with one of the other professors if you're not comfortable with sharing a room with Milo."

"No, I guess it's alright," I exhaled, running a hand through my wavy locks. Turning around, I walked back towards the breakfast buffet, stomach rumbling quietly.

Milo came up beside me as I grabbed a plate from the stack, "So what did they say?"

"There isn't a single room available. I guess I'll be rooming with you for the rest of the week." I scooped up a few pieces of assorted fruit and plopped it onto my plate.

"Are you sure? I can always ask one of the guys if there's any space for me in their room?" Milo pointed over his shoulder.

"No, it's fine. Like you said, it's not like you're a total stranger to me," I assured.

He smiled softly at me before grabbing a piece of French toast, and as I stared into his eyes, I continued to ask myself, What have I gotten myself into?

_______________

A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading! ♡

-Karlee 💛