“Whatever you need.”
I catch the hint of her smile in the shadows, and her eyes slide closed.
The rain patters on the roof, a soothing rhythm as I watch her sleep, my eyes growing heavy. Today didn’t go how I expected, but it ended up better than I could imagine.
Maybe that’s one of the many reasons I love Reese—she’s never boring. Here I thought Rocosa had become dull and complacent. But maybe that’s just life without her? Without her sense of humor, her smile lighting up a room, or waiting for her next escapade—she paints the color in our small town... and I’m not sure I’m ready to give that up.
Drifting off, I keep our hands entwined, enjoying the connection.
Suddenly my eyes spring open, my heart nearly exploding at the turn of my thoughts.
Love?
Chapter Fourteen
REESE
The towel barrier is completely useless.
Sometime in the night, we’d both reached over it for one another. Tristen’s hand tangles in my hair at the nape of my neck with mine flat on his chest. Even his leg is slung over onto my side, his socked foot resting between my calves.
Still asleep, he doesn’t flinch when I nudge him to his side of the bed. His chest rises and falls in a steady pattern, his mouth slack. It draws my attention to the coarse hair of his furry beard, the thickest I’ve seen it. Less manicured and more mountain man, it fits him. I’m almost tempted to run my fingers up his jaw. Or scoop back the mop of hair over his eyebrows.
Despite being on day four of our travels, he still smells laundry-fresh with a hint of his aftershave mixed in. The spicy fragrance used to annoy me, but now it’s surprisingly comforting. I inhale it slowly this time, appreciating this quiet moment without judgment. I’ve never been so close to him that I could study him so easily.
It’s almost toointimate.
Waking up wrapped in someone’s embrace is a first for me. My one and only boyfriend was allergic to cuddling and romantic gestures. All Burns cared about was the music, the parties, and the thrill of his next buzz. Affection was a tool used for manipulation and nothing more.
“What’s with the frown?” Tristen asks, his voice heavy with sleep. “Bad dream?”
“Just thinking.” I roll away from him and stare at the ceiling two feet above me.Stupid Burns.I wish I could just forget he existed.
“Where are you going? Talk to me.”
Tristen traces a path down my arm to my hand, looping his index finger through mine.
“It’s not important. Mistakes from my past.”
“They seem important if they’re bothering you.”
I chew on my dry lower lip, desperate for my lip balm in the other room.
“I was thinking of Burns and how different the two of you are.”
He growls something close to a curse. “Of course I’m nothing like him.”
“I know, it’s just all I have to compare. I’ve never slept next to someone before... at least I think.” I cover my face, remembering the fragmented memories of the night I blacked out at Cliffys. “I woke up once in my own bed with no memory of how I got there. I mean... who knows what happened that night. Gosh, I’m such a disaster.”
Why would Tristen ever be interested in someone like me? I have so much baggage I could fill this camper with it.
“Wait a minute. When was this?” He tries to peel my fingers back. “Was it when you wore the blue miniskirt?”
“Miniskirt?” I sputter and turn on my side to face him. There are two skirts in my possession and neither of them aremini. “It was a normal length denim skirt that Nova gifted to me for my birthday. It stopped right above my knee.”
“You need your eyes checked. There was a lot of thigh visible. I had to knock a few heads for staring,” he counters sternly.
“That’s crazy talk. Nobody was staring but you.”
