“I’m really glad you’re home.” I tentatively reached a hand out, resting it on his chest. I was surprised to feel his heart racing under my palm. “I missed you so much.” Oopsie, my filter had clearly been dissolved via alcohol into a net with gaping holes. What was I even saying? Inside thoughts. Had to keep the inside thoughtsinsidemy head.
He placed his hand on top of mine with an involuntary shiver. “Geez, you’re freezing, Sar, your skin feels like ice.”
I breathed a laugh. “I’malwayscold.” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually felt warm.
He sighed and threaded an arm around my waist. “Come here.” I yelped as he easily hauled me across the bed.
“Hi.” I giggled, tucking my hands under my chin while I buried my face into the solid warmth of him.
“Hi.” He breathed, and I was enveloped by the scent of the minty soap, still clinging to his skin. He pulled the covers up over us and rubbed my back, trying to warm me up.
“Carter?”
He chuckled. “Yeah?”
“Why are you still wearing my hair tie?” He tensed, and then it suddenly dawned on me that maybe it wasn’t mine at all.
“Your hair tie?” He started slowly.Shit. It was someone else’s.Carter drew a long breath before speaking. “Do you want it back?”Back.Relief flooded me. Carter moved to slip the hair tie off. “It’s probably all stretched out now.”
“You keep it.” I smiled. “You’ve been wearing it for almost a year.”
He blew out a small breath in response. “Yeah, a year.”
“Mmm.” I hummed, feeling sleep quickly closing in as his fingers trailed over my back, tracing a mystery pattern over and over again. I shivered, not sure if it tickled, soothed, or aroused, but I didn’t care. He was touching me, and it felt incredible.
Actually, I didn’t know if anything hadeverfelt so good as being pressed against him, as being wrapped in his arms. He felt… like home. Like the thing I’d so desperately been trying to find all these months. Like I was finally safe again and finally had somewhere to land.
As I drifted in and out, there was another question I’d been mulling over that I couldn’t quite make sense of since the last time I’d seen him. I searched my drunk and tired mind trying to find it. He’d mentioned it back at Thanksgiving.
I sleepily relished the soothing rise and fall of his chest against my body as the question finally came to me. “Sotell me about this yellow Gatorade thing.” I sleepily demanded, while his body heat seeped into my very bones, staving off the cold I’d been enduring this whole year.
He was quiet, and I wondered if he was asleep already, but then I realized he was still tracing. “You really want to know?”
“Mhmm.” I hummed, barely a grunt.
“You falling asleep on me?” He asked, a smile clearly evident in his voice.
“Mmm.” I was drifting in and out and having a hard time telling what was real and what was dream now. This was probably just a really good dream. That was okay. It was better than having another nightmare.
“Let’s save that story for another night.” He pulled me a little tighter, and I let him.
“Carter?” I tilted my head up, my nose scraping against the underside of his stubbled chin.
He shivered, but his chest shook with laughter. “Yes, Sarafina?”
“Thank you for not leaving.” Definitely a dream.
He stilled and then whispered back, “I’ll never leave you.” And then his nose dropped down to graze against mine.
“This is so much better than a phone call.” I mumbled.
“Yeah. It definitely is.”
CHAPTER 25
Counting Sheep and Panties
CARTER
