Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)(81)

I never forgot him. I never forgot us.

And apparently, neither did he.





Chapter 25


Rio


Throwing the comforter off, I give up on trying to sleep.

It’s well after two in the morning, and as per usual, I can’t fucking sleep.

I’ve already gotten out of bed to turn the thermostat down in my hotel room. I’ve scrolled on my phone. I put on some TV. I tried to read.

My brain won’t shut itself off. I’m too busy thinking about the game tomorrow night against Philly. Trying to remember if I took the garbage cans out to the street before I left. Wondering if the almond milk in the fridge is going to be good for the entirety of my trip, but if it’s going to expire, I’m trying to figure out how I can get some delivered to the house for Hallie to use.

Hallie.

Always Hallie. That’s where my mind circles back to every time I’m alone and it’s quiet enough to think.

When I close my eyes, I can still picture how sinfully perfect she looked standing just outside my shower as I got myself off earlier today. How sexy she was with that lip tucked under her teeth. How raspy her voice became when she told me she wanted me to come.

Are you still thinking about me?

If she only knew.

When I think of sex, I think of Hallie. She’s the only name that pops into my mind. Her face, her body, and her voice are the only things I visualize. She was my first. She taught me how to do it. We learned together by learning each other. Six years later, I think it’s safe to assume there will never come a day that I don’t think of Hallie Hart when I think of sex.

God, I miss her.

I want her back, and I’m done lying about it. To her. To myself.

Sitting up, I rest my back against the headboard before grabbing my phone off the nightstand. I text her, not caring that she probably won’t respond until sometime later after she wakes up.



Me: Can’t sleep. Thinking about you.



To my surprise, three dots immediately start dancing on the screen as she types back.



H  : Thinking about me, or thinking about that shower?



A laugh warms my chest.



Me: Both.



Even more surprising than finding her awake is when my phone starts vibrating with a call from her. I answer immediately.

“Hey.”

Her voice is tired. “Hi.”

“Everything okay?”

“I can’t sleep either.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue, wanting to ask if she went into my closet after I left. If she found all the mixtapes and CDs I haven’t stopped listening to since she originally gave them to me.

I’ve never forgotten this girl, not even for a second, and it’s about time she knows that.

With the lights off, I scoot down to lie on my back again, phone pressed to my ear. “Why can’t you sleep?”

“I have a lot on my mind. Mostly you. Mostly us.”

Fuck. I like that.

“Do you want to talk through it?”

“No,” she whispers into the line. “I want you to talk me through something else.”

Fuck. Me.

She sounds so turned on right now. Earlier today, Hallie told me she knew when I was about to come. Well, that makes two of us. I remember exactly how she sounds when she wants to get off, and I can hear it in her voice right now.

“I still feel worked up from watching you earlier,” she says.

“Mmm. Well, we should take care of that. Don’t you think?”

“Could you do that for me, Rio?”

There’s something unguarded in the way she asks. Sure, it’s just phone sex, but the bigger picture is that Hallie’s not wearing her armor right now. She trusts me enough to be vulnerable in this way again.

“I can do anything for you, baby. Tell me what you’re wearing.”

She hums at that name. “A T-shirt.”

“Yeah? What else?”

She pauses on the other line. “Nothing else.”

My eyes screw shut. “Hallie, put me on a video call.”

“Not this time. It’s my turn, Rio, and I just want to hear your voice in my ear as you talk me through it. You owe me one, remember?”

My self-deprecating laugh is painful. “Yeah, Hal. There’s no forgetting that. I’ve been looking forward to paying you back. Where are you right now?”

“In my bed.”

“Lights off?”

“Yes.”

“Door locked?”

“Mm-hmm.” I hear her swallow on the other line. “But I wish you were here with me.”

Something is different. She’s being open and honest with me. I want to press her about it, ask her if she’s feeling differently about us, but I also really want to make her feel good.

“Fingers or a toy?” I ask.

“What do you want me to use?”

I roll to my side, keeping the phone pressed to my ear. “Fingers. Pretend they’re mine.”

There’s a soft rumble in her throat.

“Slide your hand down, Hallie baby. Open your legs and slip your fingers between them.”

I wait to hear her tell me she’s doing what I instructed, but this is torture. The best kind of torture, but still, I want to see her. I want to touch her, but I can’t. So instead, I reach down and touch myself. Over my sweatpants, I run my palm down my length.