We turn again, side by side. My eyes find hers, enjoying the flush on her face from the dance.
“Looking good yourself, Dawson.” The smile that’s been painted on her face since our kiss widens. She does a shimmy move, then throws me a wink. I grab her hand and lead her into a darker corner of the room.
“Let’s continue that kiss from earlier,” I growl, breathlessly. “I hate dancing.” Her response is muffled as I take her face between my hands and draw her tinted red lips to my own.
Just like last time, my world explodes.
I’ve dreamed countless nights of kissing my best friend.
Reality isso muchbetter.
Whenwearrivebackat the ski resort hotel a little after midnight, we both collapse on the bed in a blissful state of exhaustion. We lay on our backs, side by side, nothing touching except our clasped hands. Every single spot where her hand intertwines with mine is on fire.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had that much fun,” Hadley says. I turn my head to look at her and find that she’s already looking at me. She wears the same wide smile she’s held all night, and I still can’t quite fathom that I’m the one who put it there. Literal dreams come true.
“Same here.” I squeeze her hand. We continue to gaze at each other with stupid grins and dazed eyes for what feels like the shortest eternity before she gently pries her hand out of mine and sits up on the bed. I follow suit.
“I guess we should talk about…” I pause before saying the next word. A word I’ve wanted to say for a long time. “Us.”
“There’s an us, huh?” Hadley asks, laying her head on my shoulder. “I never thought it would happen. I didn’t know you wanted me as a girlfriend.”
She tenses, and I try not to laugh because I know she’s embarrassed by the assumption that she’s my girlfriend. “You’re so much more than a girlfriend, Hadley. Like I said earlier, I’ve wanted to kiss you for a very long time.” She relaxes, and I lean my head back against the headboard and close my eyes. I never want to leave this moment. “The timing was never right, it seemed.”
Her breaths become ragged beside me in the silence of the dim room lit only by a bedside lamp. Then she sniffles and lifts her head from my shoulder.
“What’s wrong, Hadley?” I lift up my head and turn my body to face her. She’s smiling, though tears stream from her eyes. Loose hair sticks to her face, and I reach out my hand to tuck the strands behind her ears. She opens her eyes, the tears making the blue color glisten like the sun rising over the ocean water when I’m out on the rig.
“I’m just so,” she sniffles again, bringing a hand up to wipe at falling tears, “happy.”
I situate myself against the headboard again before pulling her close to my side. My arms fit so naturally around her like she was always meant to be the woman between them.
“Are we doing this?” I don’t want to ask that question, but I have to. “Because I know you just got out of the relationship with the idiot of the century, and I don’t want to rush you into—” Hadley cuts me off with her lips, and I forget what I needed to say.
She pulls away after a moment, slips her phone out of her pocket, and begins texting.
“What are you—” My phone vibrates with three beats, signifying a text from her. I take my phone from my back pocket as she grins up at me.
I read the text.
Bully:Ask me what the vibrations mean.
“What do the vibrations mean?”
She kisses me again instead of answering. Then, she whispers against my lips the words I’ve longed to hear from her. “I love you. Three vibration tones. Three words.” My breath hitches, and I gently push her away to look into her eyes. “I’ve always loved you,” she continues.
I search her eyes with my own, mimicking the REM stage of sleep. She’s dead serious, and my heart swells.
“I love you too, Hadley. More than a friend,” I whisper back, not bothering to hide the tears pricking at my eyes. I pull away as shivers charge through my body like the cavalry. “Now I’ve got to get out of this bed before I do something I’ll regret.” Her face falls, and I immediately hear the way those words just sounded to her. “Not that I don’t want to, but I, well, you see, it’s because I want to and I—”
“Shh, Rawls.” She places a finger over my lips. I resist the urge to taste it. “I know what you mean.”
Another shudder radiates through my body, and I throw myself to my feet. “Do you know how much I like it when you say my last name like that?” She wickedly grins and begins to repeat my name while I make my pallet on the floor. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this…
“Hadley, I think it might be best if I see if they have a spare room for the night.” I hope the hunger raging in my eyes is very clear as to the reason why.
She sighs. “You’re right. We have to do this the right way. You’re worth it.”
I cross the room one last time, pull her into my arms, plant a kiss on her forehead, and say, “No, you’re worth waiting for. Tonight was proof of that.” Then I jog to the front desk, praying there is another room available.
