I want You Deeper

Only when she saw one of the camera guys reposition himself to capture her face did Vanessa think about her own expression. She was staring at the podium, eyes wide, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

There was Brooke, her roommate, making the opening announcements. She’d say “so much for avoiding her,” but she figured there was zero chance of Brooke seeing her way back here. As long as Brooke stayed behind that podium, Vanessa was well hidden, even with these cameras around her.

“In a little while, we’ll be handing out some awards,” Brooke announced, her voice booming through the speakers. “In the meantime, enjoy your delicious dinner. Thank you.”

That didn’t last long. Brooke stepped down and made her way through the tables. Vanessa’s heart sped up as her roommate drew closer and closer, waving and smiling at various people she passed. Vanessa had no idea

Brooke was this well-connected. She’d been head of marketing for TravTech for, like, a minute. In fact, their other roommate, Alyssa, had been head of marketing until TravTech’s big layoffs. Somehow, Alyssa and Brooke had remained good friends after that. Vanessa wasn’t sure of the details on that yet.

Just as Vanessa was making plans to dive under the table, Brooke made a sharp turn two tables away and crossed to the far-right side of the room. It was kind of dark back here, so it made sense she wouldn’t have looked this way, despite the cameras.

“Dodged a bullet there,” Heath commented, bumping her upper arm with his.

She smiled over at him, loving the camaraderie they seemed to share. She was going to miss this when he dropped her off at her place tomorrow.

Would she see him again after that? It wasn’t just that kiss they’d shared, but it was also the way he’d acted afterward. He hadn’t avoided her or shunned her. Instead, he occasionally shared a look with her that definitely communicated his attraction to her. He’d also taken her hand as they’d walked toward the elevator. All that had to mean something.

But she was used to disappointment. People always disappointed her. She wasn’t going to let that happen to her again. She’d brace for being hurt by him. She’d expect him to drop her off and completely vanish from her life.

“The food at these things always sucks,” Heath muttered seconds after someone set down a plate that had the usual chicken and potatoes on it.

Her only experience with this type of thing had been the banquets she’d attended in school, and nobody expected those to have good food. Surely, a room full of professionals who had paid money to participate in this trade show should elevate the food selection a little.

“It would be great if the chicken wasn’t always so dry,” she commented as she cut into it, verifying what she’d suspected. She felt like she needed to pretend she had experience with these things. It was a little embarrassing to be such a noob.

“That’s what I was thinking!” he exclaimed, seemingly excited that they’d had the same thought on the issue.

She looked over to find him staring at her again, a look of admiration on his face. If that was all it took to win his admiration, she’d have to try reading his thoughts on the regular.

She felt the need to say something positive. It felt wrong to complain about free food.

“The potatoes are pretty good, though,” she said after she’d stabbed her fork into one and given it a try.

“Do you like Greek food?”

His question threw her off. She finished chewing her bite of potato, swallowed it, and nodded. “I think so.”

Truth be told, the entirety of her experience with Greek food was a takeout place near their apartment. Sometimes they had it delivered, and usually, she had the salad. She couldn’t say she’d really experienced authentic Greek food at this point.

“My favorite restaurant back in the city is this Greek place near the office. I’ll take you there when we get back. If you want.”

His words nearly made her choke on the sip of water she’d just taken. Was he…asking her on a date?

No, she couldn’t assume that. Maybe he just wanted to hang out when they returned. He might feel sorry for her after her admission that Brooke was her only friend in town. For all she knew, he would invite the cameras along and make it part of the show, although there really was nothing else to cover when it came to that.

Interesting. She didn’t want the cameras around anymore.

As some guy stepped up to the podium and started some long speech about the conference’s success, Vanessa was stuck in her own head. She’d signed onto this gig solely to further her career, but right now, she wanted to just spend time with Heath, no cameras allowed.

As the event organizers droned on, then introduced a bunch of awards that had nothing to do with them, Vanessa savored the delicious fudge pie that had been placed at each setting. All else faded into the background as she closed her eyes and enjoyed every bite.

“You’re really feeling that pie.”

Heath’s voice pulled her out of her chocolate-induced trance. He’d said the words close to her ear, probably to keep from disturbing the people around them, who were watching the not-so-riveting presentation going on up front.

Swallowing the most recent bite, she looked over at his now-empty dessert plate. “Did you even taste yours?”

That was said in a whisper, of course. She punctuated it with a teasing smile as she moved her gaze to his face. But he wasn’t smiling. He was looking at her with that longing in his eyes again, and it immediately turned her thoughts from savoring chocolate to savoring the taste of his kisses.

As everything seemed to fade away around them, he leaned over and gave her a slow, gentle kiss. His hand caressed her cheek as he deepened the kiss slightly, but it was still a tame kiss. She’d classify it more as sweet than passionate, which was in direct opposition to the way he’d looked at her.

He was holding back because there were cameras and people around. The awareness of that suddenly brought her full attention to where they were right now. This was definitely not appropriate, and it could hurt him, especially considering there were cameras on them at a professional event. His whole goal was to protect his reputation, and this wouldn’t help at all.

Without warning, Vanessa pulled back, her gaze automatically shifting toward the camera that was pointed right at her face. She didn’t even glance in Heath’s direction. Instead, she returned her attention to the presentation, shaken by the kiss while at the same time worried about what they’d just done. Would it hurt his reputation? Or did it even matter?

“Once again, Brooke is going to step up to help with that. Brooke is one of our exhibitors this year, representing TravTech. Everyone, give her a warm welcome.”

With that announcement, the emcee stepped aside and let Brooke take his place at the podium. She looked amazing, and Vanessa was dying to tell her that. But she could never mention it. She had to slink out of here tomorrow, pretending she’d never been here. All she could hope was that the topic of the past couple of days would never come up.

“Hi, everyone. As you know, TravTech has had a rollercoaster ride of a year, so we really appreciate the warm welcome. Justin and I always feel at home here, and we look forward to being a part of this trade show next year. But for now, I’m handing out some awards to a few of our exhibitors who stood out. If I call your company name, come up and get your award.”

Vanessa let out a gasp before realizing she’d done so. They were calling people up. What if they called Hardcastle Enterprises?

No, that wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t. Hardcastle was the unwanted exhibitor this year. No way would they have won an award.

One by one, exhibitors came up to get their awards, and Hardcastle was completely left out. But just as she’d decided they were safe, the dreaded words came out of Brooke’s mouth.

“For best comeback, Hardcastle Exhibits!” she called out.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Eyes wide, Vanessa looked over at Heath. Brooke had said his name. He was expected to go up there. She couldn’t go for him because she wasn’t supposed to be here. It was all on Mac Sutterfield to accept.

What was most disconcerting, though, was that he didn’t even glance over at her before he stood, pushed his chair up to the table, and headed toward the stage, camera trailing him. But Brooke wasn’t finished. She stepped back up to the microphone and spoke.

“Interesting thing about this guy representing Hardcastle Enterprises. I met him yesterday. You know those shows where the boss goes undercover? I swear that’s exactly what I thought when I first met him. Isn’t that hilarious?”

The applause died a little as people strained to get a glimpse of the man now walking toward the stage. Only, he’d slowed his step significantly as her words seemed to sink in.

Vanessa felt his pain. Not to mention his confusion. She’d spent ridiculous amounts of time with Brooke over the past few months and even she didn’t understand what her friend was up to. Why call this out in front of everyone, even if she was on to him?

And, by the way, since when had Brooke and Heath met? Why hadn’t Heath mentioned it?

But Vanessa didn’t really have time to dwell on that. Heath was reaching the front of the room, having sped up his step in what was likely an attempt to grab the award and get back to his seat. Brooke wasn’t going to make it that easy.