“My dick is stupid for you.”
“The feeling is mutual.” I circled my arms around his waist. “How about a shower?”
He jumped out of bed, taking me with him. “Maybe we do have time…to get clean before we hit the road.”
“To get clean…right…”
Kisses and shower sex were my new favorite ways to start the day, even if they ended too soon.
A quick breakfast, coffee for Troy, and a to-go tea for me later, and we were on our way to Connecticut.
When we stopped for a late lunch a couple of hours away from Chester Falls, it was clear Troy noticed my increasing anxiety because instead of going straight to the diner on the side of the road, he pulled me toward a woodland area nearby.
“Let’s stretch our legs,” he said.
There was a man-made path with signs leading to a stream. We didn’t get that far before Troy stopped and pulled me into a tight hug.
“What’s up, baby? You’ve gone really quiet all of a sudden.”
“I don’t know. So much has changed so quickly, and I’m not sure how to handle it. What if my parents ask me what I’ve been up to, and I blurt out your name? What if they can tell I have no friends and they make me go back home?”
Troy pulled back to look at my face. “Wait up, you have no friends?”
Shit.In my panicked, swirling thoughts, I hadn’t filtered what came out of my mouth.
“No, I mean…um…” I sighed. There was no point lying. “Apart from hanging out with Jett, I haven’t gotten close to many people. At first, I was afraid they’d recognize me because Jett knew exactly who I was when I walked into our dorm room.” I put my hands on his jacket when he became restless. “Don’t worry. It’s because he’s a history major and has a thing for royal families. If you ever want to know the most eligible prince or duke to marry, he can tell you in a heartbeat, and the answer might surprise you.”
Troy narrowed his eyes. “Why would you want to know that? You don’t have to marry royalty, do you?”
I chuckled. “No. When you meet Jett properly, you’ll find sometimes the information comes at you whether you want it or not.”
“I’m looking forward to the experience.” He cradled my face between his hands. “I’m so sorry. I should have been a better friend.”
“I didn’t want you to be my friend, Troy. That was the problem. And I didn’t know how to get close to you.”
“And now?”
I snaked my arms over his shoulders and pulled him until his face was level with mine. “Now I wish the rest of the world didn’t exist so I could have you all to myself a little longer before I have to pretend we’re just friends.”
Kissing Troy was addictive. Who needed food when the way his tongue licked mine, how he pulled my lips between his, gave me such a rush of happy feelings?
Of course, then his stomach growled because while I might think I could survive on kisses alone, he needed real food. I could give him that.
“Come on, let me buy you lunch.”
“Wait—about us…I mean…”
I smiled. “Like I said yesterday, I’d like to keep this between us. Not because I think what we’re doing is wrong, but because this has been building for so long and we both need to process it before anyone else gets involved.”
“Sometimes I wonder which one of us is older.”
“Not by that much.” I poked his sides.
Troy’s relieved expression planted a tiny seed of doubt in my mind that I tried to push away all throughout lunch and the rest of the drive to Chester Falls.
I knew his feelings were real. I’d seen it in his eyes, felt it in the way he held me and kissed me. But would he feel the samewhen he read about our relationship in the news and felt the weight of public opinion?
Maybe I was getting ahead of myself and should take my own advice.
