It’s soft, it’s slow…it’s mesmerizing.
“Go back to sleep, Blondie.”
I let my fingers toy with the ends of her hair. I’m soobsessed with these blonde strands. It’s borderline creepy. I thought maybe the fixation would fade when I got my hands on it once and for all. The opposite is true so far, I want to bury my face in it and never come up for air again.
She flips to her stomach and hugs the pillow exactly the same way she had been hugging me. It takes everything in me to look away, to pull my eyes from the swell of her perfect ass under the covers and open the tent door. The sun is coming up slowly over the edge of the desert, covering the sky in a faded golden glow.
My hand rests over my heart as I will it to slow down. I want to take this moment in, just in case this is the last time I’ll get to have it. I hope Addie wants to pursue this. Pursue us.
I don’t want to scare her off, so I try to stay calm, pretending I’m cool and collected. Pretending my literal dream girl isn’t sleeping naked in my tent right now. Pretending I didn’t get to taste her and finally press myself inside her the way I’ve always imagined.
A cold shower is calling my name, so I climb into the back of Willa and stand underneath the steady stream of water. She can sleep until noon if she wants to. Surely she deserves it. I need to think up a way to show how proud of her I am today.
There’s a pair of sweats I left in here the other day, so I tug them on, but I can’t find a shirt, so I start rinsing off Addie’s bike. Mine is still perfectly clean. I haven’t been riding at all since California. I’m happy for Addie—more than happy—but it still stings still. I was supposed to be up on that podium yesterday too.
I’ve been out of it all season, too focused on what was going on in Addie’s head instead of my own. I didn’t deserve to be up there this year, and I know it. There were countless riders who performed better than me. Countless men who deserve Addiemore than I do. That was my issue with Callum, honestly—I felt threatened by his good nature.
The bikes are clean, so I lean them up against the van and get started on breakfast. We don’t have much—I’ve been forcing Addie to eat more than usual so she’d have the strength for Red Bull. For a second, I think about driving to the store while she sleeps so I can surprise her with boujee avocado toast or something, but I’m too scared to leave her alone, even if this is one of the safer spots we’ve stayed. I settle for whatever is in the van instead.
Frying her a singular egg—it’s all we have left—I shove a half eaten bag of trail mix into my mouth. There’s a stray snickers bar around here somewhere. We try to stay stocked up on the things—they’re cheaper than any protein bar on the market, and tastier too. I brew her latte just the way she likes it and make sure to clean up after myself. Addie hates it when I don’t clean out the coffee machine right away.
Carefully, I unzip the tent as I balance her measly breakfast and coffee in one hand. She deserves the world, and all I have to offer is one slightly burnt egg.
She sits up and smiles at me. It almost makes me drop the egg. She’s so beautiful it hurts, like looking directly at the sun. It makes me shrivel up a little.
“Morning, sleeping beauty.”
Addie smiles as she takes the coffee from me. “Thank you. I’m starving.”
My cheeks flush. “Sorry, we are out of everything. Why don’t you get dressed, and we can go get something.”
As I say that, she lets the comforter fall an inch and sucks in her bottom lip. The little vixen knows exactly what she’s doing. I love flirting with her—I love the way she’s finally flirting back even more. “Adelaide, are you flirting with me?”
She smiles and lets the blankets fall away, exposing herperfect breasts. While I’m busy staring at them, she yanks me down towards her, and I crash into the hard ground underneath the tent.
“That’s what you get for ogling!” she yells at me.
I try to pull her down to kiss me, but she’s already tugging on one of my t-shirts. Her ass is jiggling right in front of my face. I get the strongest urge to bite it, but she’s gone, climbing out of the tent.
Her smiling face stares back at me as she zips up the tent behind her. “I’ll be right back.”
Addie points to her teeth, as if I wouldn’t kiss her with a little morning breath. I would kiss Addie Fairfax just about anywhere, in any condition. Her dorky-ass smile right now makes me want to do exactly that. She’s perfect—and maybe, just maybe, she’ll let me try my best to deserve her.
As much as I want to fuck her one more time in this dusty desert camp, I am genuinely starving. While she gets ready, I tear down the tent and start balling my clothes up and tossing them into my broken duffle bag. I stumble across a perfect pair of black lace panties. Those I shove in my pocket. They’re a little too special for my messy bag.
Addie hops in the passenger seat, her hair falling in loose waves around her face-making her look like the angel she is. My thumb grazes the inside of her leg. “Where to, Blondie?”
Addie shrugs playfully. “Wherever the wind takes us.”
The wind takes us to a diner, and we gorge ourselves on pancakes and hash browns. It’s sublime, sitting here across from Addie, our toes brushing against each other under the table as we enjoy each other’s company. The veil between us has dissipated.
I see her clearly for the first time, without any filters of denial. I’ll get lost in her if she lets me—I fucking hope she lets me.
Tentatively, I grab her hand and plant an unsteady kiss to her knuckles. “So what’s the plan, Addie?”
“Do we need one?”
Usually, I’m all for no plans. This time, I’m searching for some assurance we’re on the same page—I’m begging for it.
