The sound of Rachel’s steady breathing filled the space between us. I spooned her and inhaled her scent. Her perfume lingered in her hair, and I took another breath of her. I slipped my hand under the covers. Maybe I could convince her to wake up for a few minutes so we could get tired out again before sleeping in another hour or so.
My hand trailed up her smooth leg. I didn’t want to startle her, but I wanted her to be awake before I did anything else. She stirred and I moved my hand around the front of her before four sharp claws dug into my hand.
“Ow!” I said and pulled away from her manicured nails.
She rolled over and pushed me away from her. I backed up a few inches before she spoke.
“Parker, just because I stayed here last night does not mean I’m going to change my mind.”
I groaned and leaned closer to her for a kiss.
She pressed her soft hand against my mouth. “Don’t think kissing me will change my mind, either. And besides, you have morning breath. Gross.”
I rolled over onto my stomach and dug my head into the pillow. “Will anything change your mind?”
“You know what will make me sleep with you?” she purred. “A ring.” Her voice was close to my ear. I could easily turn and kiss her, but I didn’t want to piss her off that early in the morning. I’d already woken her up.
When we had first started dating, and she’d told me she was a virgin, I hadn’t believed her. It was almost impossible to imagine my twenty-five-year-old blonde bombshell of a girlfriend had never been with anyone that way. She was the image of most men’s fantasy, but she insisted that we wait until we were engaged before we even attempted sex. And as much as it frustrated me to sleep next to her when she stayed over—especially when she wore skimpy lingerie showing off her rockin’ body—I admired her for her persistence in keeping her values when society pressured women to do otherwise at every turn.
I rolled over and sat up. “I’m starving; let’s get something to eat.”
Rachel sighed heavily. “I don’t want to go anywhere today.” She rolled over and wrapped my blankets around her body. “I just want to lie in bed.”
“Well, I’m going,” I said, hoping she would change her mind.
She didn’t move from under the covers.
I flipped the dimmer switch to the lowest setting so I could see what I was doing.
Rachel groaned from her cocoon.
“I’ll be done in a minute,” I said and headed into my closet.
In the year that Rachel and I had been together, her side of the closet had overflowed to partially envelop mine. She wasn’t a permanent fixture in my house, which was probably a good thing. I was not sure how long I’d be able to hold out if she warmed my bed every night. But I did allow her to move whatever she wanted into my place. I hoped in the near future she’d call it her home, too.
I grabbed my phone from the charging station I kept in the closet. I hated having my phone near me when I slept. The constant influx of emails I received interrupted my precious sleep. I checked the weather app and typed in my zip code. I smiled. It was going to be a comfortable seventy degrees today.
I grabbed a pair of shorts and a polo and threw those on before digging my feet into a pair of flip-flops and heading back into the bedroom.
“I’m going now,” I said to Rachel.
Her hand poked out from the under the blanket and she waved me away. “Thanks for letting me know, but I’m trying to sleep here.”
“Do you want me to bring back anything from the diner?”
“Sienna’s place?” Rachel muffled from the bed. “No thanks. I don’t need to clog my arteries.”
I ignored the dig at my best friend’s diner. The food was delicious, but not very healthy. And Rachel watched her weight like a hawk. In fact, I was sure their meal sizes were the same.
I went to the bed and bent over for a kiss. She quickly moved the covers over her face so I got a mouthful of fabric.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Turn off the light!” she said as I started for the door.
I flicked the lights off, and the room was shrouded in darkness once more. I loved those black-out curtains. It could be noon and you’d think it was the middle of the night when they were down. Rachel said it was one of the reason’s she liked staying the night with me. She was able to rest without hearing the other people in her neighborhood and be able to sleep all night—and most of the morning—without being disturbed by the intrusion of the rising sun.
Even though it was still early, I knew Sienna and Tony would be at the diner. I drove through the empty streets in my Porsche 911 and gunned it down the roads with a lot of space between traffic lights. I never got to ride like that during