For now, I can enjoy the sound of her small breaths. I’ve never slept in the same bed with anyone before.
One of her hands lays on top of the other, the pillow tucked tightly under her head, and a need washes over me to see her sleep for as long as she wants. To not have to get up and worry or work. I’d like to watch her play a video game or play with a dog or ride shotgun on the rare occasion I race. She’d love that.
And that’s why you watch, she’d said.
Last night comes flooding back, and I whip off the sheet, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I rub the back of my neck.
Why the hell did I tell her all that? Goddammit.
She woke me out of a dead sleep. I wasn’t thinking straight.
She must think I’m fucking crazy.
She didn’t act like it, though. It was nice to talk to someone. No one around me is very easy to talk to—not about sex. Madoc just gives me tips on her erogenous zones, my dad says there’s nothing wrong with waiting, and Jared has panic attacks when anything uncomfortable comes up.
I thought about talking to a woman, but it’s embarrassing. Pretty sure Dylan and Quinn are still virgins, and the others raised me, so no.
I liked finally getting it out, and she’s probably right. There are other things we can do first. Things that will help me get attached to someone and need more.
“You move too much at night, Pirate,” Aro says, and I hear her yawn behind me.
I rip my phone off the charger, seeing it’s after ten in the morning. “And you have your own bed, Rebel,” I grumble. I move to get up, but I’m swelled and poking through my goddamn pants. I sit back down. Christ. I rest my elbows on my knees, pretending to check my phone.
The bed bounces under me, and I struggle to hide myself as she jumps to the floor. “I’ll make coffee,” she announces. “You check the camera.”
Thankfully she leaves, every curve of her ass pronounced like a second skin in Dylan’s jeans. My cock twitches. “Shit.”
I rise, grabbing my towel and heading for the shower. If she sees me with another boner, she’ll start thinking they’re because of her.
I wash, taking a minute to cool down and get my head straight again. I told her some stuff last night, and she was kind of cool about it.
Friends can talk to each other. I’m not trying to date her. Or get her into bed. I don’t care if she’s impressed or thinks I’m weak, so it’s easy. No pressure.
I certainly know her problems. Maybe confiding in each other just builds trust. That’s a good thing.
I dress, grab some coffee, and check surveillance on the garage, while she takes her turn in the shower. I glance back at her as she heads down the hallway, remembering her grabbing the underwear and bras from Dylan like they were top secret. God only knows what that troublemaker bought her.
“Supposed to be packing for college,” Schuyler says on her video as I scan social media. “But the incoming seniors need a little help.”
And then the theme to Rocky starts playing as she plucks packages of streamers, balloons, and party masks and throws them into her cart.
The senior party. A beginning-of-the-year celebration hosted by the captain of the football team, which is Kade.
But he has no interest in doing the planning, so he usually pawns it off on some girl or, like last year, the entire cheerleading squad. I guess Schuyler is helping him this time.
Aro’s words from last night come back to mind. She’s just as nervous as you are. She just wants to know she’s wanted.
I look at the date on the video. Last night. I check her Instagram.
The water. The lake. It flows through our veins, and there’s nothing we can do about it… It’s like venom. – Karen Katchur
And there’s a selfie of her at Blackhawk Lake, the sandy beach and water and her in a red bikini top. Harrington Hill, the little island in the middle of the lake, visible behind her.
Turn off the cameras. Except the one for her, Aro had said.
I stare at Schuyler’s IG, getting an idea.
She’s having a lot of fun, isn’t she?
She’s thinking I was a waste of time.
I lean down, planting my hands on the desk. “You should’ve been patient with me.”
I grab my T-shirt and pull it over my head. Taking my phone, my hoodie, and sliding into my sneakers, I duck out of the hideout before Aro leaves the shower.
She’s right. I give people too much power. What am I worried about? Kade doesn’t care if they’re happy. The more confused he makes women, the more they want him. And if they leave, there are others. He doesn’t sweat about it.