“You’re just going to sleep,” I remind him. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“Yes, I will,” he says quietly. “I’ll wake up and it’ll be dark and quiet and I’ll be all alone with nothing to think about except that you left me, just like Blake did. I’ll be so sad.”
I exhale slowly. “Chad?—”
“Jusss, please.” He steps closer and grabs the front of my shirt, fingers fisted in the fabric as he tries to pull me closer to him, as if the idea of me leaving is truly awful. “Jus lie down for a minute.”
I want to say no, I really do, but despite my better judgment, there’s an innocence to him that’s so damn endearing it makes it so fucking hard to refuse him. So I sigh and reluctantly sit on the edge of the bed. “Fine. A few minutes.”
He lights up instantly, then strips down to his boxer briefs and pulls back the covers. I knew he was a fit guy, but fuck. His abs are flexed as he holds up the blanket, and I can’t look away.
“Come on, get in here! You can’t sleep like that,” he insists, waiving a hand at the clothes I’m wearing.
I hesitate at the suggestion, but Chad claims to be straight, and I know he doesn’t mean anything by it. I also know there’s no way I’m going to comfortably get into this bed with my leather jacket and pants. Sighing, I turn off the light and strip out of my pants, then jacket and shirt, placing them on the back of the armchair in the corner of the room.
“There you go!” he encourages happily as I walk back to the bed, joining him, now only in my black boxer briefs.
“I’m only staying for a minute, so go to sleep,” I remind him.
“Sure, sure,” he says dismissively as I climb into the king-sized bed. But instead of him staying on his half of the bed, he rolls in close, tucking himself against my side. One leg hooks over mine, and his arm drapes across my chest. He exhales, and all his weight settles into me. “There,” he says quietly. “Now I can sleep.”
I should move him, peel him off me. Complain at the very least.
But I don’t. I… can’t? I feel like I’ve lost all control of my actions as I let him snuggle into me. Chad isn’t small by any means, only an inch or two shorter than I am, and he definitely spends a lot of time in the gym, but I’m sure I could push him off easily.
It’s only a minute before his breathing evens out, and after another long minute, I finally start to peel away from him to go sleep on the couch like I know I should. Ididn’t even bother to close the door because I’m not staying.
But he groans when I try to move, pulling me closer to him.
“Don’t go,” he whispers, his eyes still closed.
Fuck.
6
CHAD
“So, who did you end up sharing a room with?” Blake asks me as our group makes our way to the hotel spa.
I texted everyone weeks ago to see what type of massage they’d want. Ash was the only one who wanted a facial, and John never responded, so I booked everyone their requested couple’s massages and chose one I thought John would enjoy.
“I slept with John last night. It was great!” I answer, unable to suppress my huge smile. John, who’s so cool with all his tattoos and man bun, held my hand last night multiple times, defended me in a fight, took care of me, made sure I ate, and tucked me in. He’s so thoughtful.
Oh my god, and he actually bit the fry that I was holding in my mouth! That was fucking hilarious. I knew we’d become friends, but I wasn’t expecting all of that so quickly in our relationship. And as much as he pretendedlike he hated the idea of sharing the bed, I barely even had to ask him to stay by the time we were back.
John was gone this morning, but when I woke up in the middle of the night, he’d totally been cuddling with me, and you can’t fake that kind of comfort with someone, so I know our bond is real. I’m so glad he stayed; I haven’t slept that well in ages.
“Oh, I bet he loved that,” Blake jokes.
“I think he’s got a soft spot for me,” I insist, knowing he’s too strong-willed to have stayed if he didn’t want to.
My goal today is to spend more time with John and get even closer to him. We’re starting off with the spa, then we’ll go to the pool before dinner and go out again tonight to the casino and wherever else the group wants to go. Plenty of opportunities for bonding.
“Hello, there,” says a woman with brown hair pulled back in a bun behind the check-in counter in her all-sage green spa uniform.
“Hi, we have reservations for the Moore–Barclay party,” I respond, and she takes a moment to find our reservation on her computer.
“Great, here are clipboards for your party to fill out quickly before we get everyone started on their treatments.” She slides them forward, and I turn to pass them out with Blake’s help. Everyone stands around, quickly checking boxes, and signing their names, except Ash, who appears to be reading through every line.
