“I don’t think they will mind us going missing occasionally.” He melts into me before kissing my cheek, and I know I have him. The overwhelming feelings I have after just one night together is leaving me feeling a little frazzled. Planning this trip as a couple is more than I can cope with on top of everything else we’ve shared tonight.
“If that’s what you want, let’s talk to them. As much as I want you all to myself, it sounds like a fun way to spend the break.”
Cruz’s phone vibrates next to me as his lips descend on mine. “That’s probably security calling about the food,” he says, kissing his way down my neck as he blindly grabs for the discarded phone.
When he finds it, his forehead wrinkles as he stares at the screen. “Is it the food?”
“No, it’s not. I’m not sure who it is. It’s a St. Louis number, but I don’t recognize it.” His lips tilt down as he places the phone screen down and buries his face in my neck, holding me tight.
“Cruz. Look at me.” I bury my fingers in his hair, scraping my fingernails across his scalp. “You can talk to me.”
“I know, but right now I don’t want to think about anything other than you naked in this bed with me. If it’s important, they will leave a message. It’s probably just a wrong number. There’s no one in St. Louis that I need to talk to, especially not when I have you pressed against me. Tell me what you want to do in St. John’s?”
I should push him to talk about it, but I don’t want this lazy moment in bed with him to end. And he’s giving me a pass on vacation. It seems we both want to keep living in this bubble where it’s just the two of us. No outside world, past traumas, or unknown phone numbers that can ruin our night. So, I’ll do as he asked and let it drop for now, like he did for me. “Can we go snorkeling?”
“We can do anything you want. As long as I get you naked in bed at least twice a day,” Cruz says as he plays with the thin bracelet that he got me a few years ago for my birthday.
“I want to take you shopping while we are there and find you a friend to match this bracelet. Maybe one for your ankle. Now that you’re mine, I can spoil you like that.”
“Because that stopped you before?” I shove at his chest playfully, pushing him onto his back so I can cuddle against his broad chest.
“Someone had to do it.”
“Mhmmm. You can take me shopping, but I’m giving you a spending limit.”
This time when his phone vibrates next to my arm on the bed, it’s the front desk calling to let us know the delivery is here. Cruz answers it, wrapping his arm tightly around my waist when I try to roll off him. “You can send them up. Thanks. Have a good night,” he tells the on-duty security guard.
“You stay right here. I’ll grab the food and we can eat in bed.” Cruz slides a pair of gray sweatpants over his legs, letting them rest low on his hips.
“Can you at least toss me a shirt? I’m not eating naked.” Cruz’s face falls into an exaggerated frown that causes my chest to vibrate with laughter while he reaches into his dresser to grab a shirt. “Did I ruin all your fantasies?”
“Kind of. I had my heart set on feeding you cheesy fries while naked in bed. I hoped that some cheese would accidentally fall right here,” he says, running his finger across the swell of my breast. “I was looking forward to licking it clean.”
“Wow. What a vivid fantasy. I’m sorry to ruin that for you.” I reach my hand out, grabbing for the shirt, but Cruz lurches forward, sending me soaring backward. I land flat on my back with him, pinning my hands above my head. His smile widens as he lowers his head to my chest and licks my breast. Right where he had pointed before.
I laugh and squirm underneath him as he licks at the imaginary cheese.
“Mmmm, delicious.” Cruz’s lips tickle my skin as he talks.
This is what Mikey and Willa were talking about when they said Cruz would be easy to love. When he lets himself be light and carefree, it’s priceless and I soak up each of these moments as they come, hanging on to them for when the grief strikes.
Cruz finally relents and hands me the shirt when there’s a knock at the door. “Food’s here. You got lucky, I was about to lose a piece of bacon in your belly button.”
“I hope this isn’t a deal breaker for you, but my belly button is off limits.” His shoulders shake with amusement as he walks through the door to retrieve our food order.
Chapter 25
Unknown Number
Present
Watching Delilah sleep in my arms as the sun spreads across the room is the best part of my day. Her blonde hair shines in the light and her lips flutter lightly with each breath. But hands down, the part that tops it all, is how she’s wrapped herself around me in her sleep.
Her leg is thrown over my hip, giving me unrestricted access to palm her ass or wake her up slowly with my fingers. She’s got her arm draped over my middle, hanging on to me like she thinks I might get away from her while we sleep. She doesn’t know it yet, but I have no plans to let her go, ever.
Eventually I need to get to the gym to lift before practice, but it can wait. I’m not ready to leave this bed and go back to the real world just yet. Pushing Delilah’s hair out of her face, I debate whether I should let her sleep. I kept her up late last night and this is the only morning she will have off all week. The right thing to do is let her rest, especially after all of the orgasms I pulled out of her last night.
Careful not to disturb her, I reach for my phone which is lighting up on the nightstand. I sit up quickly when I see the same number from last night on my screen—the one I don’t recognize from St. Louis. Even just seeing it flash across the screen again makes my palms sweat with the same panic I always feel when I think about that city, that team, and the people who weren’t there for me when I needed them the most.
