As I’m closing the door behind me, she says, “Where are you going?”
I step back into the room and lean against the dresser. “I tried not to wake you.”
Layla sits upright, eyes half open and bunches her brows together. I smirk because the just-woke-up-look isn’t something I ever see on girls, but I’d kill to see it on her again.
“I’m heading to the couch,” I clarify.
“Are you sure?” Layla scoots to the side, her gaze darting to the mattress then back up to me. “Pretty sure you could fit an army on this mattress.”
I chuckle and amble across the room. Tiny tremors attack my muscles. I’m shaking. I just hope she can’t see it. “That’s a California King.”
“It’s big.” She chews on her lip and stares at me. I grip the footboard of my bed and lean onto it. Layla crosses her legs under the blanket, and pulls the corner of the comforter back. “I’m not offering sex, but if you want to sleep beside me, I don’t mind.”
I nod and pull my shirt over my head. Layla’s eyes widen as she takes me in. It’s been a few months since we went to the beach. Taking care of the ranch full time has added muscles in places the gym never came close to touching. I smirk, relishing in her reaction, then step out of my jeans.
I slip under the covers, but don’t hug the edge of the bed. I take a spot, near the center, closer to Layla but not so close that I’m pressuring her into anything. She rolls onto her side, adjusting herself so we’re touching. I bite my tongue until I taste blood, trying to distract my brain from her ass being pressed against my dick with a surge of pain.
It works until Layla turns towards me.
I look down into her eyes and she presses her mouth against mine. I part her lips with my tongue and put my arm over her waist, pulling her closer. Her fingers tug at the tiny curls at the base of my neck and I groan into her mouth, unable to fight myself any longer.
Layla pushes my shoulder and rolls me onto my back, climbing onto my lap. Her eyes go wide and she jumps off of me after feeling the hardness through my boxers. “I said no sex.”
I chuckle and set my hands on her hips. “You’re the one on top of me, gorgeous.”
“Right.” She turns her back to me and scoots to the far end of the bed. “Goodnight.”
I adjust myself in boxers, then tuck my hand behind my head. I probably shouldn’t have let that kiss get so intense, but what can I say? I’m a guy, and I enjoyed it. I close my eyes and feel my heartbeat pulse through my body. Tonight wasn’t a total loss. Tomorrow will be even better. “Goodnight, beautiful.”
My head is killing me. The curtains are drawn, blinds closed, but it’s still too damn bright. There’s a reason I haven’t drank in over a year, and this pounding in my head is it. I cover my face with a pillow and squeeze my eyes shut.
Last night was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I drank too much, had my mouth assaulted by Sam’s tongue, and had the bomb of all bombs dropped. Then, as if I wasn’t confused enough, drunk-Layla decided to climb on top of Josh and then freak out the moment his giant thing touched me. Through clothes! I’m pathetic.
I peek from underneath my pillow and notice Josh is gone. My chest tightens, fearful he decided to up and leave without saying goodbye, but then I remember he said he gets up early to feed the horses. I push the panic aside, and convince myself that there will be no walk of almost-shame this morning.
Josh will be back, we will say a proper goodbye, and that will be that. I frown, surprised at the wave of sadness that comes over me. As bad as last night was, I don’t want to leave. I sit up, feeling the room move around me, and put my palm to my head.
After taking a minute to steady myself, I crawl out of the bed and walk into the hallway. “Hello? Josh?”
He doesn’t answer. I step into the open living room/dining room/kitchen area and walk to the fridge. There’s a bottle of cold water inside. I grab it and guzzle half of it in one breath. It helps, but my head still hurts. I peek through the window, looking out at more untouched grass than I’ve seen in my life. There’s no movement, or anything to indicate Josh is around. I step to the front door and smile when I open it and see his truck. He’s still here.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and head back toward my room. I dig through my purse and find two Tylenol in the emergency stash I keep there. After swallowing them down, I step back into the main part of the house. Josh is still nowhere to be found.
I explore the house, searching for a bathroom and find it two doors down. There’s a fresh set of towels on a rack above the toilet. I poke my head out the door one more time and figure, What the hell?
I stand under the shower’s spray until the water loses its warmth. I hate a cold shower, so I get out and wrap myself in a towel. Standing in front of the sink, I wipe my hand across the mirror. My eyes are still puffy from crying last night, but at least my headache is gone. I run my fingers through my hair, then twist my locks into a braid. Satisfied with what I see, I decide it’s time to get dressed and either head home or find Josh.
“Morning!” he shouts from one end of the hallway when I walk out of the bathroom in a towel.
I jump, the thin terry cloth slipping out of my hand and falling to my feet. “Eek!” I bend down to re-cover myself but the damage has been done. Josh has seen me naked, and I’ve got three day stubble growing on my vag. Shoot me now.
“I have breakfast.” He smirks. His eyes trail down to my toes for a quick once-over and I feel my cheeks turn red.
“I’ll… uh… I’ll be ready in a minute.” I scurry into Josh’s bedroom and shut the door behind me. I fall onto the bed and cover my face with my arm. I thought about shaving before I left my house yesterday, but reasoned that I wasn’t getting naked, so it didn’t matter. Had I known I’d be going commando this trip, I would have suffered through a day of razor burn to avoid the embarrassment.
Josh knocks at the door. I sit up, adjusting the towel around me and notice a huge wet spot on the sheets from my hair. I must have been laying here longer than I realized.
I open the door and smile. “What’s up?”