I woke up again a couple of hours later and quietly dressed for a run. I was tying my shoes when Chan rolled over and asked where I was going.
"I like to run in the mornings," I told him.
"By yourself?"
"Yeah," I laughed. "It's just a few miles. I'll be back in half an hour."
I stood up and Chan beat me to the door to block my way out.
"Can I come?"
"You run?" I asked. He seemed more like the weightlifting type.
"Not really," he smiled.
"Won't we have to bring security?"
"You'll have to bring security anyway now that people have hacked our cameras and know your routine."
The reminder that I was being watched constantly made me unsettled.
"Okay, get dressed," I invited. He texted one of the guards to be ready and threw on a pair of shoes since he'd slept in athletic wear.
"How far are we going?" he asked once we were in the elevator.
"Just 5k." I was going to do the same route as last time, or as close to it as I could remember.
"Just?" he laughed, and then we were on our way.
Even though I ran nearly every day, Chan easily kept up with me. The guard followed behind us at a close but respectful distance. He was also dressed in athletic clothes, though I couldn't help but wish he was in a full suit with shades on like a Secret Service member because seeing him run in that would've been funny.
We made it to the Capitol Building and Chan took a photo of it just like I had yesterday. He then handed his phone to Dmitri.
"Come on," he waved me over.
"What?" I laughed.
"Get in the picture!"
"No, you go ahead. I'm all sweaty."
"I am too," he grinned. "Please?" He pouted at me, and I caved as I went to stand beside him.
He put his arm around my side, and I put mine behind him as well and smiled. Dmitri took the photo, and Chan went to review it.
He tsked at whatever he saw and said something to Dmitri before he came back. "We didn't look coupley enough," he explained.
"Maybe it's because," I started and then moved closer to whisper, "we're not actually a couple."
"We can pretend better than that though," he argued. He put his arms around from behind me, and I placed my hands over his because it was what I felt like I was supposed to do.
Chan rocked us from side to side and I laughed when he lifted me off of the ground to carry me over to see the pictures.
Apparently, he'd told Dmitri to just press the photo button non-stop because in the few minutes we had been posing, he'd racked up a couple hundred photos.
Chan smiled as he swiped through them.
"Ready to head back?"
"Can't I see?"
"Mmmm, maybe later," he teased before taking off.
Dmitri and I chased after him. He had a great sense of direction and managed to get back to the hotel with no GPS at all. I had to run faster than I normally would have to keep up, but he greeted me with a grin as Dmitri as I rounded the final turn.
We headed over to the breakfast buffet, and I showed Chan the spot I'd found that overlooked the water. He sat beside me and, a few tables away, Dmitri sat with another guard who'd come down to eat.
"Where are we going today?" I asked Chan. I hadn't been given an itinerary of the show stops.
"Nashville. Home of cowboy boots, so you'll fit right in," he laughed.
"Oh, so I actually get to attend the next show?"
He smiled with his tongue in his cheek as he'd been surprised by my wit.
"Maybe," he joked.
"How was the show last night?" I asked.
"Pretty standard. More cowboy boots in a single room than I've ever seen in my life."
"Nashville will be even better," I laughed.
"I think you mean worse," he said as he stabbed a sausage link to eat.
It made me feel a sense of pride that people were copying me. Although I felt a little strange knowing that some were only doing it with the intention of stealing him from me...not that he was mine, but they thought he was.
"Should I feel weird that they're only copying me to get your attention?"
"Why would you?" he asked with a mouthful of eggs.
I shrugged. It wasn't like we were really dating, but pseudo-dating Chan made me pseudo-possessive. "I'm not sure."
"Are you jealous, Ella?" he teased as he bumped his shoulder into me.
My face turned a bright pink, but I threw it back to him. "Do you want me to be?"
Chan stared out at the boats for a minute, rocking on the water. He looked at me with a more serious expression than our banter required.
"Maybe I do."
My heart pounded in my chest because of the way he looked at me. The disdain and annoyance I usually felt toward him was gone.
He looked between my lips and my eyes as if asking permission. I looked at his too, so plump and pretty. I wondered what they'd taste like...
Someone squealed behind us, and Chan's hand became a fist as he turned with a fake smile for the fan that had interrupted us.
"I'm such a huge fan," she began rambling, and I turned to eat my breakfast and stare out at the water.
She took a photo with Chan and was about to walk away when she noticed me beside him.
"Oh my god! Is this Ella?" I turned in surprise that she knew my name. "Hi! Omg. You're so pretty. I love the boots you wore! I wore some last night, too. Can I take a picture with you?"
"Sure," I answered in shock. She opened up her camera app and took a picture that I'm sure I looked horrible in given that I'd just gone on a run.
"Yay! Okay, thanks. Bye!" she ran off in the other direction, and Chan looked amused by the way I'd handled myself.
"What?" I laughed once I'd processed what had happened.
"Nothing, it's cute."
"What's cute?"
"Seeing you have fans."
"I don't have fans," I argued. "You have fans. I just happen to be here."
"Ella you're so pretty," Chan mimicked her.
"Please. I bet you hear that all the time, too. Chan, you're so hot," I said in a mocking voice. I recognized the irony that I was basically making fun of myself for what I would've told him a week ago.
"You think I'm hot?" he flashed a dimple.
The tension from earlier returned.
"I don't not think you're hot," I replied casually.
"Good to know," he smirked and ate his food. I gaped at him.
"You're not going to compliment me now?"
"Ella, show some class," Chan sassed. "You can't ask for a compliment."
I stuck my tongue out at him and ate the rest of my breakfast while looking at the boats swaying.
Chan would laugh to himself every so often, and I wondered what was so funny.
When we finished, he encouraged Dmitri to finish his meal with his friend. He'd taken some convincing that we could safely operate an elevator and walk down the hallway without any trouble but eventually gave in.
Chan and I went to stand by the elevator, and he grabbed my hand while we waited. I raised my eyebrow at him, but he blamed it on the rules in our contract.
I had a feeling it was more than that but didn't argue. For once, holding his hand felt nice. The elevator opened, and we got on. Chan pressed the button for our floor and let go of my hand only to wrap his arms around me from behind like he had earlier.
"You look beautiful," he whispered in my ear. I felt tingles down my spine and my face flushed.
I put my hands on his again. "Do you have a crush on me, Chan?" I asked in the same teasing voice from earlier, though the question was anything but a joke.
My heart pounded as I waited for his response. He whipped me around to face him and opened his mouth to speak.
But the elevator doors opened, and we were no longer alone.