I jump at the sound of his voice and slap him in the chest when he opens his eyes, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“Ass. How long have you been up?”
“You mean how long have I noticed you staring at my skin like you wanna wear it? A while.”
I playfully shove him in the chest again and try to roll away, but he grabs me by the waist and holds tight. “I can’t stand you. You should’ve told me to stop being a creep sooner.”
“Nah, I like when you look at me.”
Sleeping with this man was a terrible idea. Not only does he have a stroke game that will have you sitting in the bushes outside his house waiting for him to show his face, but he says things that feel real and permanent.
It’s not. This is a fantasy we’re selling each other.
He is a damn good salesman though.
“Let me find out you’re needy.”
“And if I am? What you gonna do about it?” He nuzzles his head against my breasts while massaging my hip dimples.
It’s hard to think straight with him clouding my space like this so I change the subject. “Do you have to sneak out soon?”
“Nope. I’m free today, and so are you.” He slides out from under the covers and heads to the bathroom. I lean forward in the bed so I can peek into the bathroom to see that he’s using the spare toothbrush provided by the hotel and helping himself to my toothpaste.
“How you figure that? You know Ri probably has our day planned down to the minute. I gotta ask her for bathroom breaks.”
He doesn’t answer for a while, the sounds of water running and him brushing his teeth filling the room. When I hear the sink turn off, I get up to head in and brush my own teeth and I find him scrubbing his face with a washcloth and my face cleanser. He sure got comfortable in my space very fast.
“I figure that because whatever plans you have today, I need you to get out of them.”
Scoffing, I step by him to grab my toothpaste from the edge of the sink. He meets my eyes in the mirror and I’m taken aback by the lack of humor I see on his face. His eyes are low and his jaw is tight. He’s serious? “Rome, how the hell am I supposed to get out of whatever Ri has planned today? I’m the maid of honor, that’s not a good look.”
“What did I ask you to do when we first agreed to do this whole thing?” He motions his hands between us.
My mind flashes back to the morning after our first night together. It feels like weeks have passed since I turned my life upside down for him instead of mere days. Chewing on my bottom lip, I let out a sigh. “To give you all my yeses.”
“And that I would take care of them and you. Right. So, you know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t have your best interest at heart.”
“I know.”
“Then can you please just trust me?”
I do trust him, completely, and that terrifies me because it’s not in my nature. My dad taught me to never give anyone my trust until they’ve earned it, so how the hell is it possible that Rome could have earned my trust in three days? Sure, I’ve known him for almost two years before this trip, but this is the first time we’re really spending extended periods of time together, alone.
I’m confused as hell and I don’t know what to make of the man in front of me, but I find myself walking past him to grab my phone anyway.
Me: I need y’all to do me a favor
Evie: It’s so early for favors
Me: Girl you think it’s too early for everything
Evie: And yet you ask anyway
Dani: No you bitches are not blowing up my phone
Evie: Blowing up your phone? It was four texts.
Dani: One is too many. The vibrations are so loudddddd Dramatic when I’m barely conscious
