“Of course it does.” I curl onto my side, tucking my hands beneath my head.
“I’m sad, but I don’t know, I’m also kind of happy Trey’s here.”
“As you should be. We said we’re having fun, boys be damned, remember? So damn them. You’ve now got a fine ass man willing to turn your nights from a five into a ten. That’s more than I can say.”
“True.” Her laugh is laced with a sob, but she shakes her head. “I can’t believe Trey’s actually here.”
“Maybe it’s a sign.”
“A sign I need to get laid.”
I grin, and Cameron’s famous smirk comes back.
“Atta girl.”
With that, she presses play, and we binge the rest of the season, eating the same thing we did for breakfast, for dinner. We don’t leave the room once.
By seven, Cam retired to her room, and we both passed out. It was a fantastic day, but too early to go to bed, especially when we basically took mini naps all day.
Now I’m wide awake and my room is dark, despite the curtains being drawn, and when I look to the clock, I find it’s only one in the morning, still a crap ton of hours left in the night.
I try finding another show, but after thirty minutes of watching trailers, I give up and tiptoe down the stairs for something to drink, careful not to wake the others.
Snagging a water bottle from the fridge, I step up to the floor-to-ceiling windows, admiring the ocean beyond it.
The glow of the moon against the dark waters is unreal, and one of my favorite sights. It’s peaceful, scary as shit after a horror movie marathon, but peaceful any other time.
“Hey.”
I scream, but a large hand quickly wraps around my mouth, and I spin, coming face to face with Chase.
“Shit.” My shoulders settle, a huffed laugh leaving me. “You almost caught a water bottle to the face.”
He grins, slowly letting me go as he looks around the room. “Walking around in the dark?”
I rub my lips together, tipping my head at him. “That’s where all the fun happens.”
A scowl forms along his face, and I bite back a laugh.
He says nothing for a several seconds, so I nod. “I’m going back to bed.” But before I can slip away, Chase gently grips my wrist, so I look over my shoulder, into his green eyes.
“I got a smoothie earlier. It sucked,” he tells me randomly.
I suppress a grin. “That’s too bad.”
“It was Brady’s fault.”
I chuckle and his smile slips free.
“I’m craving a sundae.” His eyes search mine. “You know you want one, too.”
“It’s the middle of the night.”
“So.” He shrugs.
“So…” I glance around the room, having no idea why I’m trying to escape. “I’ll get the spoons?”
“That’s my girl.” He turns to the freezer, and I pretend he meant that in a far more literal way. He moves over to the cupboard for toppings, quickly setting them on the counter to his left.
With his eyes on the floor beneath his feet, he heads my way. Assuming he’s coming for the spoons, I slip to the side, but Chase shocks the shit out of me when his left arm darts out, caging me in.
My eyes slice up to meet his, and his palms find my hips. He lifts me, slowly lowering me onto the kitchen island.
The unexpected chill of the granite has me squealing, my body lurching forward, right against Chase’s chest.
He chuckles as my hands latch on to his shoulder, and I ease my ass down.
As I look up, my breath hitches. His mouth is no more than an inch from mine, and I’m not the only one who noticed.
All I would have to do, all either of us would have to do, is tilt our heads the smallest bit, and our lips would be touching, but I tried that once, and we both know how that turned out.
I won’t try again, even if, since that night, something’s shifted. I can see it in his eyes, in his words.
I can sense it in his touch.
It’s almost as if, for the first time, he’s testing the feel of my skin. His hands have grabbed hold of me thousands of times, but not with a firm grip, and never did they linger. Not like now.
Chase is frozen, standing completely still as he stares at my mouth, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s replayed our kiss, as fleeting as it might have been, in his head as many times as I have.
Heat spreads through my abdomen, so in effort not to embarrass myself more than I already have this week, I avert my gaze. The second I look down, I jerk with realization.