Something was poking my cheek. I cracked open an eye and saw a building. The shadows had grown long and I could tell the sun wasn't far from setting. Something poked my cheek again and I opened both eyes, blinking the sleep away. I looked over and saw Brayden watching me. 

"Hey," he said, lowering his hand. "We're in Denver. I just checked us into a hotel."

I blinked at him a couple of times as his words sank in. We were in Denver. My mind finally caught up and I began looking around. The view was obscured by buildings. There wasn't much I could see. I'd always thought that I'd be able to see the tops of the mountains above anything, but I couldn't. My shoulders sagged as I looked over at the boy who drove me here. "Thank you," was all I could say in response to his words.

"Let's get inside and find our rooms, okay?" He gave me a warm smile and got out. 

When I opened my door, I was hit by the stink of a city. I could barely smell the mountains. Not that I knew what they smelled like, though. I'd always kind of assumed that the mountains had a fresh, earthy smell to them. The scent of decaying leaves and whatnot. But this was the same smell as Lincoln: exhaust fumes and who knew what else. It didn't smell natural. 

Disappointed, I got my luggage out of the car and carried it into the building. Brayden led me to the elevators and then to our rooms. They happened to be next to each other. He gave me my key and I went inside. I flicked on the light and sat my luggage on the bed I wasn't going to use. The curtains were open, but the shades were drawn, obscuring my view. I opened them to find my view was obscured by a tall building.

I flopped on my bed. Why wasn't Denver like I'd always thought it would be? It felt like I had been disillusioned. The magic that I had always felt drawing me to this place had been shattered. Still, I wanted to be here. More than anything. It was what I'd wanted my whole life, so I wasn't going to give up on this dream easily. Even if it wasn't what I'd expected. 

My eyes slid closed as I listened to hum of the air conditioner and the traffic outside. Bumps and scrapes came through the wall, letting me know that Brayden hadn't stopped to rest just yet. We were going to dinner as soon as we both got settled. Whenever that was. 

The next thing I knew, someone was knocking on my door. I sat up quickly, startled. The room was much darker. I could see that the building out my window was barely visible. How long had I been asleep for?

Another knock. "Jenny?" came his voice. 

I hopped up and hurried to the door, opening it wide. "Hey," I said. "I fell asleep."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on my sleep schedule. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to grab a bite now."

"What time is it?" I glanced behind me at the clock by the beds, but I couldn't see it from my angle. 

"It's nearly seven. Sorry it took me so long. I felt like I needed to shower and rest a little." His eyes went up to my hair. "Looks like you did, too. I hope you can sleep well tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a big day."

I attempted to smooth down my hair. "What's tomorrow?"

He grinned at me. "You'll see. There's some things that are better in Colorado. Want me to wait out here while you get ready to go to dinner?"

"You can come in. I'm just going to fix my hair." He walked past me and I could smell his Axe bodywash. His hair looked slightly damp from his shower. There was something else that I smelled as he passed by that was just masculine. I'd never thought I'd ever love the scent of a man, but there I was - completely enamored by it.

He stopped and turned to me as I closed the door. "Did you just sniff me?" Amusement shone in his eyes.

I blushed and walked past him to my suitcase. "Of course not. Why would I do that?"

He plopped on my bed with a shrug. "Just seemed like you did, but if you didn't, we're good."

What if I had? I wanted to ask so bad, but this wasn't the time or place to be weird. He was doing me a favor, and the last thing I needed was for him to think he was carting around a weirdo that liked sniffing people. Though really I only wanted to sniff him. As much as I could.

I pulled out my brush and walked into the bathroom. The light showed the puffy eyes that I was sure made me look like I'd been crying even though I hadn't. My hair was stuck up at odd angles. No wonder he wanted me to do something with it. 

After passing the brush through it, it still looked weird. I needed to wash it, but that would have to wait. Instead, I went back to my suitcase and grabbed a hair tie. Brayden looked up at me from where he was sprawled out on my bed. How long did he think I was going to take? He'd taken off his shoes and was laying like a starfish in the middle. I just rolled my eyes at him and went back into the bathroom.

Why did he look so endearing? Why did I feel this drawn to him? Was this what falling for someone felt like? Was this a reflection of what was in his eyes when he looked at me? He'd been giving me small glances for the last couple of days, too. Had he felt the same pull? I stared at my reflection for a moment before deciding that I'd worry about it in the shower later. Right now, I was going out to eat with him and I didn't need to be any more awkward than I already was.

---

Sun peeked in through the curtains I didn't fully close. A beam hit me in the face about the time someone started knocking on my door. I forced myself to get up. It felt like I'd only just fell asleep. The bed was hard, and I was so excited I couldn't sleep. Taking two naps the day before didn't really help, either. 

"Jenny?" Brayden called. 

"Coming," I responded as I stood up. My reflection caught my eye as I passed by the full-length mirror. I looked like a straight-up mess. My hair was stuck up in weird ways, my night shirt was wrinkled, and I had a pillow crease right through a trail of dried drool. 

In other words, he was probably the last person I wanted to see me like this. 

"Actually, let me get dressed," I said through the door, starting to panic slightly at making him wait on me again. "I just need, like, five or ten minutes."

I could hear his sigh through the door. "What do you want for breakfast? I'll get it and bring it to you. We overslept. The breakfast is about to close."

Oh. "Whatever they have. I don't care."

"I'll be back in ten minutes," he said. Footsteps trailed down the hallway.

I let out a breath and sagged against the door. When did I start caring this much? I wasn't sure, and I sure didn't like it.

The ten minutes flew by. I'd barely managed to get myself dressed and cleaned up when Brayden returned. I nearly had a heart attack when he knocked. As fast as I could, I shoved my sleep clothes into my suitcase and zipped it shut. "Coming!" I glanced around, and when nothing else seemed out of place, I answered the door. 

He held up a plate with pancakes and some eggs. "They didn't have much else. Sorry." 

I stepped aside for him to come in. "That's fine. I'm not fussy."

"Not when it's free, no." He sat on my bed and held out my plate for me. "What do you think of Denver? I mean, I know you haven't seen much, but is it larger than you thought? Smaller?"

I shrugged, taking the plate and sitting at the desk. "I guess that there's more buildings blocking the view than I'd thought there would be. Why do people want to block out the mountains? It doesn't make any sense."

He shrugged. "As far as I can tell, it's more that they need to make room for people to live here. We are technically in the Rockies right now, you know."

"I know, but still." Our conversation tapered off, leaving us to eat in relative silence. The traffic outside was about to drive me crazy, though. Horns and general motor noises and the occasional muscle car sound had been going nonstop since I got into the room. I wasn't sure where the highway was in relation to my room, but it sounded like it was right outside the window. Not to mention the car alarm that decided to go off in the parking lot at three in the morning. 

"You should wear some layers," Brayden said eventually. "And some good jeans and boots if you brought some."

"I don't own any boots other than my winter ones, and those are back in Rapid Falls."

He sighed. "We'll get you some for hiking. I found several trails that go up into the mountains, and there's one that gives you an amazing view."

I poked my fork in my pancakes, watching it sink into the fluffiness. Why was he paying my way for everything? I looked at him, preparing to ask, but froze. He was already looking at me. His eyes held only what I could describe as tenderness. 

What in the ever-loving Rockies was going on?

He froze when he realized I saw his face before dropping his gaze to his food. It was something I wasn't supposed to see, apparently. I felt the air around us tense up as his cheeks flushed. This wasn't how things were supposed to be between us. I had to break it, and fast. "I've been wondering something," I began. 

"Oh? What is it?" Still not meeting my gaze.

"I was wondering why you've been paying for everything. I'm not complaining or anything like that, but it's just something I've been wondering." I was rambling, and I knew it. I couldn't help myself, though. 

He finally glanced at me, confused. "I owe you, don't I? I did those things with your check and I said a lot of things to you - bad things - and I need to pay you back. You said I could earn your forgiveness, right? Or have you changed your mind?" The look on his face devolved from confused to downright pitiful. He almost looked like a kicked puppy. It was the most vulnerable look I'd ever seen on him, and I felt powerful in that moment. 

Whatever I said would make or break him. There were so many times I wanted to be in this situation. So many times when we fought at work that I wanted to say the one thing I knew would bring him down. But now that I was in that position, I was nervous. I didn't want to say the wrong thing. 

I didn't want to break him.

That realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't have time to unpack those thoughts and feelings right then, though - I had to act. My silence wasn't doing any good.

I pushed my plate away and moved to sit beside him on the bed. "Look at me," I said when he wouldn't meet my gaze. He sat his plate on the chair I'd just vacated and turned to me. "My decision to forgive you stands. I haven't changed my mind. You've just gone above and beyond what I expected, and I was just wondering why, is all."

"So I'm forgiven?" He looked up at me through his lashes. His expression was endearing. I felt my heart melt. 

I patted his knee. "After everything you've done for me, it's kind of hard not to." In the grand scheme of things, what he did didn't matter. Spending so much time with him had convinced me that it was unlike him, that he'd had the best of intentions at heart. 

He smiled sweetly. "It's hard to say no to you, you know. You're so beautiful. I can't imagine how that man could hurt you in any way."

I froze. Did he just call me beautiful? What? Where did that come from? I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked down, feeling my face heat up. No one had ever called me that before. 

His finger touched the underside of my chin and gently guided my face so I was looking at him. He leaned closer until our faces were inches away and I felt his lips gently touch mine for a brief moment before pulling away. We stared into each other's eyes. My heart was racing so fast and beating so hard that I vaguely wondered if he could hear it. I slid my lids closed and this time, when he touched my lips with his, I kissed back. 

Internally, I was screaming. What was I doing? The kiss felt good and sent pleasant tingles down my spine, but seriously - what was I doing? 

I pulled away first, prompting him to pull back enough to look at me. There it was again. That look. The vulnerable look he'd been giving me just moments before. I knew something big was happening. I knew it, but for the life of me, in that moment, I couldn't figure out what that was.

Unease began to settle in the pit of my stomach, drowning the butterflies that had been residing there. I dropped my gaze and looked at my fingers that had somehow found their way to his, twining together. His thumb grazed the back of my hand. "Jen?" he asked quietly. "Are you okay? Did I go too far?"