I need to stop overthinking. I really do. Because right now, he’s lying next to me, still asleep, his breath slow, his body warm against mine. These are our last few hours together, and I refuse to waste them stuck in my own head.
He shifts slightly, his fingers brushing mine, and I go still, not wanting to wake him just yet. I want to freeze this exact second where the world feels like it’s still mine. To memorize every small detail, like the way his lashes rest against his cheeks,that half smile lingering even in his sleep, the messy hair I tangled with my fingers last night.
The truth is screaming at me. I’m running out of time.
His eyes flutter open, and for a split second, he looks confused, still caught between sleep and waking. Then he catches me staring, and that sleepy, dopey grin spreads across his face.
“What?” he mumbles, his voice rough with sleep, not quite awake but fully aware of me. That awareness makes my heart leap into my throat.
“You drool when you sleep,” I tease. It’s a lie, of course. He doesn’t drool.
His brow furrows as he wipes at his mouth. Then, realization hits and he glares at me, the corners of his mouth twitching as he fights back a smile.
“You’re a brat,” he grumbles, pulling the blanket over his head.
I laugh and tug it back down. “You’re cute when you’re grumpy, you know that?”
He can’t fully hide his smile. “Stop flirting. I’m mad at you.”
How am I supposed to leave this? Leave him?
He’s smirking like he’s got the world at his feet, while I’m here with my heart pounding, knowing that time is slipping through our fingers. It’s too much.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lie. I shake my head, hoping he won’t hear the tremor, but he does.
His gaze sharpens, those piercing eyes narrowing as he reads me like an open book. “You’re thinking about it again, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” I sit up, pulling the blanket tighter around me,trying to choke down the knot in my throat. “This whole leaving thing sucks.”
“You’re notleavingleaving,” he says, like it’s that simple. “You’re just…temporarily relocating. We’ll see each other again soon. I’ll be texting you memes and random thoughts until you can’t stand it anymore in the meantime.”
I force out a shaky laugh, but it doesn’t quite reach my heart. The ache is still there. He’s trying to make it better, but the thought of leaving still feels like a mountain I can’t climb. “You make it sound so easy.”
He pulls me back down, his arms wrapping around me like he’s trying to keep me tethered to him. I let him, burying my face in his chest, even though my mind won’t stop thinking about the goodbye that’s coming, and how much I’m already dreading it.
“It’s not,” he murmurs, his voice full of that certainty that makes me want to believe him. “We’ll figure it out. You’ll see.”
He sounds so sure, but the knot in my stomach won’t loosen.
“And you’re right, this does suck,” he continues, “but you’re here right now, and I can think of a few different ways to hold us both over until next time.”
I can’t help but laugh, the tension easing as I tilt my head back to look at him. He’s incorrigible, and I just happen to love it.
“Oh yeah? You mean something like this?” I tease, taking his index finger between my lips and letting the tip graze my tongue as I pull it deeper into my mouth, watching his eyes darken.
Before I can take it any farther, he flips me onto my back, his hands moving so fast I’m left gasping for air. His body hovers over mine, the heat between us a live wire, crackling with every breath.
“You want to tease me, lass?” he growls. “I’ll show you teasing.”
I’m all for it.Yes, please.
I barely have time to register his wet finger slipping into my already soaked pussy before his teeth graze over my sensitive nipple.
I burn the image into my brain and save it in my personallust libraryfor later reference. This is one I’ll definitely want to revisit.
I’m clutchingmy purse in the passenger seat of Cal’s truck. The closer we get to the airport, the more my heart hurts.
