This—thiswas true. It was real but only when no one was looking. We didn’t want the same things and I knew that. Iknewit but my silly little imagination ran away with itself tonight just as I’d feared it would.
chapter twelve
Ryan
Today’s Learning Objective:
Students will keep the good times rolling.
I knewit was morning and I had to get my ass to the gym but I didn’t want to open my eyes. Not yet. All I needed was five more minutes of feeling…not awful. My shoulder didn’t ache, my hip wasn’t shooting daggers down my leg, my joints weren’t made of rust. For once, nothing hurt enough to get me moving.
I just wanted to exist in this bliss a couple minutes longer. Then, I’d take care of the hard?—
Fuck.
It was then that I realized the pressure on my cock was real. It wasn’t the remnants of a dream. It was happening right now and it was from Emme’s ass in my lap—and the only things separating us were a blanket, her sweats, and my trousers. It might seem like a lot but I could be rid of all of it in less than thirty seconds.
I stared at her, still asleep beside me with her dark hair in braids and my hand tucked under her sweatshirt, resting loosely on her belly. My cock gave a painful throb and I had to swallow a loud groan.
It took everything in me to keep from jackknifing up and out of the bed. No one needed that kind of reaction. Uncalled for. And those antics would only draw attention to the fact we’d slept together—rather we’d slept apart while in the same bed—and I’d had an obvious physical reaction to that.
With all the regret in the world, I pulled away. Her torso was too short and my hands were too big for this to continue. One slight shift in either direction and I’d be in dangerous territory.
Slowly, I shifted to my back and shoved myself into a mental ice bath. Not that it helped much. Not now that I knew how perfect her backside felt against my cock. After touching her like she belonged to me forhours.
After kissing her.
Yeah, fuck, that one had changed things.
I’d told myself it wouldn’t matter. That I could find the perfect moment with just enough cameras on us, and I’d get it done. Get it out of the way and move on.
I’d knownallof that was bullshit but it was easier to believe the bullshit than the alternative. So, I’d kissed her. And then I couldn’t stop. If I’d talked to anyone the whole night, I didn’t remember because all I’d done was stare at her mouth and think about how I’d made a huge fucking mistake by telling myself I could play this game with her.
This was going to ruin me. I knew it. I knew it as well as I knew I wanted to roll over and drag her back to my lap.
The funny part was that my watch showed some of the best bio-data I’d had in months. Maybe years. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept this well.
Emme shifted under the blankets and I knew she was awake. She took a few minutes to stretch and yawn before rolling over to face me.
“You were out so quick,” she said around another yawn. “Do you remember seeing any of the movie?”
I shook my head. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to crash here like that.”
She brushed some loose hairs off her face. “It was better this way. I didn’t have to share any of the desserts with you.”
“You should’ve woken me up,” I said. “Sent me home.”
“I didn’t mind,” she said, stretching her arms over her head and sending that sweatshirt riding up the soft line of her belly.
I looked away. “Have you seen my phone?”
She kicked off the blankets and headed toward the door. “Over there. I plugged it in.”
I knew better than to expect any kind ofwhat does it mean?reaction from Emme this morning but I still wanted one. I wanted her to say something about last night, about sleeping together, about this whole fucking thing. To give me any small sign that she’d felt the earth move when we kissed. That she’d wanted to snuggle up to me in the night and she’d noticed how I reacted to her. Any opening she gave me, I’d take.
But I wasn’t holding my breath for one.
I waited until I heard the bathroom door close before climbing out of the bed. I didn’t trust my dick not to spring back to life at the sight of Emme and her three-sizes-too-large sweatpants. Though I was thankful for those sweatpants. As much as she liked sweeping things aside—like the factwe slept together last night—it would’ve been a lot tougher to pretend this was merely a friendly sleepover if she’d worn some little shorts or just an oversized t-shirt.
