“I can,” she pauses and looks down at Bonkers. “I can’t believe you told her you love me though,” she says softly.
“What?” Did I say that to Jessica? I can’t believe I would blurt that out.
“You, uh, said you didn’t want to be around her and that you love me and you’re with me. Or something like that.”
I run my hands through my hair. Shit. I didn’t mean to do that to her. I don’t want to scare her away. Nonetheless, I do love her, and I need to fix this. “I did say that, didn’t I?” I nervously chuckle. “Well, I meant it. That doesn’t mean you have to say anything back. I really didn’t want the first time I said that to be in that way, but next time I say it, it’ll be more special.”
She thoughtfully looks at me for a moment. “Can we go to bed now?”
I don’t say anything else. I just nod.
Chapter Fifteen
Selene
As we lay in bed together with my back against Brody’s chest as usual, I feel bad that I rather forget Brody’s admittance of love for me. It’s not that he said it or that he does, it’s that right now, it’s tied to her. I don’t want that. At all. Hopefully, he knows that because I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
“Will you relax?” Brody whispers against my neck. I didn’t realize he was still awake. “You’re tense, and you feel like a stiff board in my arms.”
“Sorry.” I wiggle a little in attempts to get comfortable.
“If you keep wiggling like that, something else will be stiff.” He chuckles, and I can’t help my laugh. “Close your eyes,” he orders. Without hesitation, I do. “Don’t think. Just feel.” What is he talking about? “Don’t think, Selene,” he repeats. His arm moves and then I feel his fingers, barely there, trailing over my skin starting with my shoulder. This isn’t going to relax me. But I’m not supposed to be thinking, so I try my best to shut down my thoughts as the tips of his fingers reach my elbow.
They travel ever so lightly down to my wrist and back up to repeat the process. By the third time, I can feel my nagging thoughts leave, my muscles beginning to relax. But then Brody leaves his path on my arm to glide down my side, almost tickling me. When he feels me tense, he chuckles. His fingertips don’t stop at the hem of my shirt. Instead they go further, creating a line of sensitivity down my thigh. When he reaches my knee, he comes back up, seemingly going slower than ever. It is soothing, but if he does that on my leg one more time, things are going to heat up.
Right before he goes to make that daring path again, I grab his hand and say, “I think I’m relaxed now.”
Brody chuckles, kisses my neck, and then takes my hand. “Okay. I’ll stop. Goodnight.”
“Night.”
~
I wake up first, at the precise time Bonkers walks over to put his face inches from
mine as he stares at me with wide eyes.
“I’m up,” I giggle. “Down.” He jumps off the bed, and I get up to let him out. Just like yesterday, I stand at the door and wait for him. He makes me smile when a bird lands a few feet away from him, and he runs after it, jumping a little when the bird flies away. He’s so adorable. “Come,” I call for him. Bonkers runs at a rapid speed and I have to open the door before he runs into it. Unfortunately, that has happened before. He’s run into the wall once, trying to turn the corner, but since he was so excited, he slid into the wall. He kept right on running though.
Bonkers stays downstairs, eating, as I make my way back upstairs. I’m in a good mood, and I hope Brody is too. He’s sprawled out on his stomach, a foot hanging off the bed. I crawl in next to him and put my hand on his muscled arm.
“Brody, wakey wakey,” I repeat what he said to me the other day, and it cracks me up. I’m in a really good mood. My laughter wakes him up more than anything. He turns his head to look at me, a smile playing in his lips.
“Your laugh first thing in the morning is an amazing thing to wake up to, you know.”
I wink. “I know.”
He rolls onto his back, his hair half stuck to his head, half up and looking crazy. I lean over, running my hands through it. Brody grins. “Did you wake me up just to play with my hair? Because I could have stayed asleep for that.”
“What if I did?” I ask as I move to straddle him, not quite sitting on him yet. My fingers still lost in his soft hair. Who knew guys could have hair like this? My thoughts are halted when Brody grabs my hips to make me sit on him, causing me to feel how hard he is already.
“I wouldn’t believe you. I think you woke me up because of your selfish need for sex this morning.” His smile makes me want to kiss him, but I don’t. He’s being a little cocky today.
“Should I let you go back to sleep then? Since I’m being selfish?”
“Oh, no,” he says, making me squeal when he rolls us over. “I’m up now.”
My squeal must have gotten Bonkers’ attention because he comes running into the room. “Down,” I order just as Brody commands, “Out.” Bonkers stands next to us on the bed, not knowing who to listen to.