Free Fly You To The Moon by Jocelyn Han Page B

The thought of Nicolas letting the two of them stay in a twelve-bedded standard dorm was preposterous, to say the least.
    The customer service rep frowned, tapped in a few things on the screen in front of him, and cleared his throat. “It’s your lucky night, Sir,” he said. “I have one more double room available in the Reichstag Ritz. Perfect for you and your girlfriend. These vouchers will cover all expenses.”
    Wrong move. Ava saw Nicolas completely tense up, giving the spaceport employee a stern look. “Any chance you can change that to two single rooms? She’s my niece. We’d like to each have a room to ourselves.”
    The man visibly paled. “I’m sorry for my assumption, Sir,” he stammered. “But this really is t he last room I have.”
    “Okay then. We’ll take it,” Nicolas said grudgingly.
    He carefully avoided her gaze as he handed over their passport chips to check in. Ava bit her lip. Gone was Nic’s relaxed demeanor of earlier that day. He was shitting bricks – probably afraid she might try something with him again. Or maybe, just maybe, Nic was scared of what he might be tempted to do. The thought brought unbidden tears to her eyes. Why couldn’t they just be comfortable around each other, like they’d been on the cruiser? Nic had held her hand. They’d laughed together. He’d been a good guardian and friend to her. And by trying to kiss him once, she’d ruined everything, including the chance of them ever being normal friends.
    After check-in, t hey were ushered to a bay where a dozen people were waiting for the hotel’s courtesy van. Nicolas put down their bags and turned around to address her, but then stared past her at someone else in the group of hotel guests.
    “Jeremy!” he exclaimed, a broad grin splitting his face in two. “What are you doing here?”
    Ava whipped around to see a handsome, young man approaching them. His green eyes reminded her of Nic’s, but his hair was lighter – a mix of copper and auburn. “Hey, Nicolas!” Jeremy greeted her half-uncle. “I could ask you the same thing.” His gaze swerved to Ava. “And who is this lovely young lady?”
    “We’re stranded here,” Ava told Jeremy. “I’m Ava, Nic’s niece.”
    “Nice to meet you.” Jeremy shook her hand and gave her a flirty smile, his gaze lingering on her lips for a second. “Really nice.”
    “We were diverted here,” Nic went on. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get to Birmingham by tomorrow. I guess that’s where you’re headed too?”
    Jeremy shook his head. “I have to be in Old London for business. But I’m stranded, just like you two.”
    “Jer is an old friend of mine,” Nicolas explained. “He lives close to Uncle Gerald in Birmingham.”
    Ava smiled up at Jeremy. He was clearly Elite, but he lacked the arrogant attitude she had come to know in most Elitists. It was obvious Nicolas and Jeremy really clicked. It was also obvious Jeremy was mesmerized by her appearance. As he chatted to Nicolas about his trip, his gaze kept swerving to her face. He even offered to carry her baggage by the time the courtesy Solar appeared around the bend. “Allow me,” he grinned, shooting her a seductive grin.
    “Of course,” she accepted, grabbing Jeremy’s other hand when he extended it. As she boarded the vehicle, she could feel Nicolas’s eyes boring into her back. Was he wondering what she thought of his friend?
    The van took them to their accommodation for the night within minutes. Ava gasped when she looked up at the skyscraper almost touching the clouds above Old Berlin. The idea that this gigantic hotel was now fully booked was almost inconceivable. Thousands of people had to be stranded here.
    “Why don’t we all have dinner together?” Jeremy suggested when they were waiting for the elevator to take them upstairs.
    “Sounds good,” Ava said. “Maybe we should book a table right now before all the food is gone. I don’t think this hotel has ever seen such a high