27. Jamie

"Oh my God, Jamie, you have to stop pacing," Mina snaps, cutting me off mid-answer.

I stop short and pivot to give her a pointed look. Usually we're both pretty good at keeping a level of professionalism with each other while we're around the rest of the staff. It's not like her to slip up—if anything, it's me that's the one to forget that boundary, which means I really don't want to have to call her out on it. Especially not when we're all exhausted after a week of debate prep.

Thankfully, I don't have to because she immediately corrects herself. "Sorry, sir," she says with careful emphasis, "but you need to stand still, preferably behind the podium. You need to get used to answering questions under the same conditions you'll be in tomorrow."

"I know that, but I can't be behind that freaking podium anymore." I blow out a frustrated breath and run my hand through my hair. "Honestly, I don't even know why we're even doing this debate at this point. It's not like they have any sort of monumental effect on elections anyway, which is what we really need at this point. Going back and forth with Mitchell for an hour and having to suffer through his passive aggressive digs at my loyalty and/or sexuality isn't going to sway the minds of enough voters to make this election any less of a toss up. Yet we've been going at this for hours upon hours every night this week, anyway, and I swear to God, I think I'm starting to go a little insane."

It isn't until the last word leaves my mouth that I realize I've been raising my voice. I glance around the room between Ben, Riley, and Mina, finding them all looking at me warily.

"Maybe we should take a break," Riley suggests carefully.

"The debate's tomorrow, and we still don't have solid answers for agriculture subsidies or redistricting," Ben argues.

I wince slightly because while he didn't outright say it, I know by "solid answer on redistricting" he means that I can't answer the question without sounding like I'm on a tirade.

"Yes, but continuing to work when we've clearly hit a standstill won't get anything done," Riley fires back.

"No, Ben's right," I say. Then I take a second to center myself, inhaling slowly, then exhaling. "I'm good. We can keep going."

After another deep breath, I head back over to the podium. "What was the question again?" I ask, looking at Riley.

She hesitates for a moment, then checks her notes. "Healthcare coverage for pre-existing conditions."

"Right," I say with a nod. I open my mouth, ready to restart my answer, but then my phone buzzes on the podium. "Sorry, give me a second y'all."

I flip the phone over to look at the screen and see Adrian's name flashing up at me. My brow furrows. He rarely calls me out of the blue, usually opting to text instead. Plus, he knows I'm in debate prep, so whatever it is must be important.

"Um, can we take five? I think I need to take this," I say.

"Go ahead," Ben says.

"Thanks," I say as I walk toward the door, answering the phone on my way. "Hey, darlin'. Is everything okay?"

"Hey," Adrian says. He sounds exactly like he usually does over the phone, which puts me more at ease. "Everything's fine, why?"

"You almost never call me out of the blue," I say.

"Sorry, I know you're in debate prep, but—"

"I'm not complaining," I assure him quickly. "I'll never complain about getting to hear your voice. I just thought something might be wrong."

"No, nothing is wrong," he says, then he makes a noncommittal noise. "Well, actually, something is a little wrong because my surprise is kind of spoiled. I didn't think about the building's door being locked when I got here, and Mina wasn't answering her phone. Can you come let me in?"

I furrow by brow. "Wait, what?"

"I'm outside. Can you let me in?"

"Outside?" Despite my confusion, I navigate through the bullpen of volunteer desks, out the door to our rented office suite, and down the hall toward the lobby. I nearly trip over my own feet when I see him through the glass door.

He smiles at me, and I hear his voice through the phone I still have held to my ear. "Hi."

Exhaling sharply, I hang up the phone and rush over to pull the door open for him. "Adrian? What are you doing here?"

He steps through the entryway and sets his overnight bag on the floor as the door shuts behind him. "You've seemed more stressed than normal lately, then Mina texted me about how tightly wound you've been the past few days with debate prep. So, I thought I would, you know, surprise you."

I stare at him for a long moment, not fully processing that he's actually here.

His face goes a little guarded. Worried. "Should I not have? I ran it by Mina, and she thought it would help, but if I overstepped…"

"No, of course not," I say in a rush. I mentally shake myself out of my dumbfounded state and close the rest of the distance between us to practically yank him into a fierce hug.

His hand comes to cradle my head as I bury my face in his neck, and God, if I don't feel about five pounds lighter already. I've only been back in North Carolina for the break for a week, but I already missed him—missed the warm fluttery feeling I always get in my chest when I'm with him that I haven't quite been able to put a name to. At least until this exact moment. It feels pretty obvious now that I let myself sit with it, but I guess realizing you're falling in love is always a little like that—hard to recognize while it's happening, but clear as day in retrospect.

Now that I've had the realization, all I want to do is scream it from the rooftops. But I'm only just starting to get Adrian to let his walls down. He's built them so high, and I don't want to frighten him off by trying to climb my way over them with a grappling hook. I can wait until he opens the gate for me. And maybe he's not too far off from doing that because he's here. He took a train and showed up at my campaign office to surprise me because I've been stressed. That's not something you do for someone you feel casual about.

After about fifteen seconds, I pull back to look at him. "But don't you have work?"

I'm almost positive he does. He keeps his two-month shift calendar on his fridge, and before I left DC for the month, I swear I saw he had some shifts around this debate, which is why I didn't even ask him to be here for it.

"Well, I already had tomorrow, Friday, and Sunday off. But one of the other doctors needed to trade a few of her shifts at the end of the month, so she took my shifts today and Saturday. It means I'll be working six in a row, but I figured the trade off would be worth it." He shrugs, like this isn't a big deal.

But it is a big deal. It's huge. It's the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me, and just so fucking Adrian. And I'm at a loss for words because I'm so overwhelmed that all I can do is hug him again. I bury my face in his neck again and relax even further when his fingers comb through the hair at the nape of my neck. Finally, I manage a small, "thank you," and he simply hums in response.

I pull back again and cup his face with both of my hands. "No, seriously. Thank you. This…" I sigh and shake my head before pressing forward to bring our lips together for a brief kiss.

"You're welcome," he says, resting his forehead against mine.

I relax into him for a moment, but I know I can't stay long with my team waiting on me. I'd said to give me five minutes, and I know I've probably already passed that.

"I really hate to say this, but—"

"You need to get back to prep, I know," he finishes for me.

"I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "Don't be. I understand."

"But you came all this way," I protest.

"To support you, not distract you. I figured you'd still need to work when I got here. It's okay. I'm just here to help."

I let out a soft exhale. "Thank you."

"I'm not sure how much help I'll be, seeing as I know nothing about proper debating strategy and public speaking is my nightmare scenario, but I'm here," he says, clearly trying to lighten my mood.

Although I still feel a ball of anxiety in the pit of my stomach, it does work, at least a little. "It's okay, darlin', you can just sit and look pretty—give me something to focus on when I start to flounder."

He rolls his eyes, and reluctantly, I extract myself from his arms and step back. Before he can get it himself, I scoop his bag from the floor and throw it over my shoulder. Then I hold out my hand to lead him back to the office.

When we get back to the suite and into the conference room, I notice the table is clear of papers. I stop in the doorway, still holding Adrian's hand.

"What's going on?" I ask.

Riley looks up from her bag, and her eyes widen when they land on Adrian over my shoulder. "Dr. Wilks, hello. I didn't know you were coming into town for the debate."

"It was a bit of a last-minute plan," he says, a little uncertain. "And it's just Adrian, please."

"Well, Adrian, it's good to see you," she says, smiling. Then she focuses on me. "We're packing it in for the night, sir."

"But as Ben said, I still don't have a solid answer for agriculture or redistricting," I say, directing it more at Ben than Riley. While I'm the one in office, Ben has the final say on everything campaign related. He's basically my unofficial boss, and there's no way he's letting us just pack it in, especially when I'm, arguably, still a mess behind that podium.

He lets out a controlled sigh, then nods. "We're done for the night. Riley… made a persuasive argument that we'd all benefit from a break."

I glance at Mina, who gives me an amused smirk. I have no idea what I missed, but I guess while Ben is my unofficial boss, Riley is his.

The development should be good news, seeing as not even two minutes ago I was desperately wishing I could just go home with my boyfriend. But now, panic crawls up my throat. I'm not ready. I'm clearly not ready—Ben said as much. And the debate's tomorrow. Tonight was our last night to try to get me to be ready, and so far, we've barely made any progress.

I feel Adrian's hand tighten around mine, like he can sense my train of thought. It doesn't stop it, but it at least grounds me as Ben continues to talk.

"Riley and I are going to head back to our hotel and see if we can draft some better talking points for you. But tonight, you need to get some rest," he says as he shuts his briefcase. "Take tonight and tomorrow morning and try to shake yourself free from whatever has got you so stuck in your head—which is what I think has you so off your game."

He's probably right—or rather, Riley is probably right because those words sound way more like her than they do Ben. I'm stuck in my head and it's causing me to question every single decision I make.

The problem is that I don't know how to pull myself out of it.