“Then, what is it?” Her eyes shimmered.
God. Fucking. Dammit.
Then her lips quivered. “I haven’t felt this kind of connection with anyone…ever.”
She was feeling it too.
“I’m just not looking for anything serious right now.” That part was true. “I’m here to focus on hockey.”
She pursed her lips. It was a bullshit excuse and we both knew it. A tear slipped down her cheek and it felt like my guts were being ripped out of my body. My hands were still cupped on her cheeks and I kissed the salty skin above my thumb. The tear was a preview of what would happen if I got involved with Evie. “Let’s get some rest.”
To my surprise, she let me take her hand. She had put everything on the line, chasing me down. It should’ve been a romantic kiss in the middle of the street, complete with red and green lighting and a Christmas jingle soundtrack. I ruined what could’ve been a beautiful moment.
Our hands separated as we walked in the front door of the inn. The desk was empty. A note card with instructions for reaching the management stood in the center. “Come on, roomie.” Evie led the way up the dimly lit stairwell.
Room 222 was chilly and I shivered as we stepped inside. “I’ll turn up the heat.” Evie adjusted the thermostat and the metal radiator clanked in response. “There are extra blankets in the cupboard. I’ll see you in the morning, Nick.”
She disappeared into the bathroom and I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt from my bag. The pull-out couch creaked and the springs sagged as I settled onto its lumpy mattress. I was glad that Evie took her time in the bathroom, it gave me time to get my body settled down.
That kiss. Her lips.
I rolled onto my side as she walked out of the bathroom.My dick was as hard as a block of ice that wouldn’t melt. I couldn’t stop thinking about how she tasted.
The down duvet rustled as Evie got into her bed. I glanced over my shoulder to see that she was facing away from me. Other than the clanking radiator, the room was so quiet I could hear her breathing. I shifted on the pull out, the springs groaning under my weight. It was going to be a long night. For one, it felt like I was sleeping on a torture device, and secondly, the woman of my dreams was sleeping within arm’s reach, and I couldn’t touch her.
Her breathing didn’t change. I knew because I was listening for it. I rolled over and then back again. Then over again, trying to get comfortable. I moved slowly to try to keep as quiet as possible. The creaking springs had to be keeping her awake. Then the groaning of the springs was replaced by a loud popping sound, almost like a gunshot. I bolted upright as another spring snapped, and then the mattress below my butt gave out. I was folded in half as the bed springs beneath me broke.
“What was that?” Evie turned on the bedside lamp. “Nick!” Her eyes opened wide. “Are you okay?”
I groaned and tried to extract myself as the broken mattress sucked me toward the floor. “I’m fine, but I’m not sure I can get out.” Grunting, I tried to press myself out of the bed, feeling more like a mouse in a trap.
A smile spread across her face and then she clamped her hand on her mouth.
“Don’t you dare laugh at me.” I tried not to laugh.
“You broke the bed.”
“I’m pretty sure this bed wasn’t made for people in this century.”
Evie got out from beneath the covers. She was wearing red plaid flannel pajamas and her hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head. She walked across her bed and hopped onto the floor next to mine. “Let me help.” Shegrabbed my hands and leaned back, but as hard as she pulled, couldn’t get me out. “Hold on, let me get up here.” She gingerly stepped on the edge of the pull-out sofa. “Now I’ve got some leverage.” She dropped to her knees and held out both of her hands. I put my right hand in hers and used my left to try to pry my body loose.
Her technique worked. The two of us were able to haul my two-hundred-and-thirty-pound body out of the depths of the sofa bed, but it wasn’t smooth. Momentum took over and I toppled on top of her. We ended up in a tangled pile at the foot of the mangled bed. “Are you okay?” I pressed onto my hands, relieving her from the burden of my weight.
She giggled. “I’m fine. GJ is going to be mortified that the bed almost ate you.”
I rubbed my lower back and sat on the edge of the bed. The metal rail pressed into the back of my thighs. “It’s definitely going to leave a bruise.”
“Oh no.” She shimmied behind me and lifted the back of my shirt. “You’re not bleeding, but it looks like there might be a bruise starting to form.”
My skin prickled as she dragged her fingertips over my lower back. “Sorry, does this hurt?”
It did not hurt, her light touch felt incredible. “A little.” I shifted and pulled down the back of my shirt. “I think I can pull the mattress out of that void and put it on the ground.”
“Nick.” She stood and crossed her arms. “That mattress is going to require the jaws of life to get it out of those springs.”
Another spring sproinged. Were we in aLooney Tunescartoon? “I guess it is a little dangerous looking.”
Evie grabbed the pillows from the decrepit bed and tossed them onto hers. “You can sleep here; we will make a pillow wall.”
