“Okay, then,” she agreed before I could try to cajole her any more.
So that’s what happened. We stretched out together, side by side with our faces basking in the sunshine and our backs propped up by a huge ornamental rock, and I closed my eyes while she opened her book.
I don’t know how much time passed, but dusk was approaching when I came to. I felt more rested than I’d felt in a long time. It might’ve had something to do with the fact that my face was pillowed on her thigh or that she was running her fingers through my hair, but damn, it felt good. I lay there a second, just soaking it in, wondering how the hell my face had gotten down there and how I could get it there again, sans clothes.
I heard a page flip above me and decided to sit up, yawning. Aspen’s hand fell from my hair, which was a shame, but she smiled at me in a lovely manner as she lowered the book and asked, “Better?”
“Much.” I stretched, realizing she’d made it halfway through her story. Damn. “What time is it?”
I’d taken my phone out of my pocket before I’d gone to sleep to be more comfortable. When I spotted it nearby in the grass, I went to reach for it, but Aspen answered, “It’s almost seven.”
“Fuck.” Ten was probably having a shit fit.
As if he’d just heard my thoughts, my cell phone went off.
“And oh, yeah,” Aspen added. “Someone named Zero keeps calling and asking where his truck is.”
I groaned and answered my roommate, telling him to hold his damn horses. Aspen read the reply over my shoulder. “I take it Zero is a friend?”
“Yep.” I pocketed the phone. “My roommate. He goes by Ten, so I of course label him as Zero. He takes Modern Lit with me, actually. Oren Tenning.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh.” The way she said it told me she knew exactly who Ten was. “He writes very...interesting papers.”
Laughing, I leaned into her to smell her hair. It smelled exactly as I imagined it would, like lavender and warm sunshine. “I’ll bet. Chock full of f-bombs and crude comments, huh?”
She tensed.
Alarmed by her reaction, I pulled back. “What’s wrong?” Then it struck me. “Shit. I’m sorry. I know better than to ask you about anyone’s papers or grades. I told myself not to even mention school today.”
“No, it’s okay. That’s not why I was freaking out. I mean, not that I was...” She cleared her throat and glanced away, the tops of her cheeks turning pink.
I took her hand, worried about what was ruining our perfect day. She didn’t think I’d told Ten about what I was doing with her in his truck, did she? I opened my mouth to assure her my roommate was clueless when she finally lifted her gaze.
“Did you just...did you just lean in and smell me?”
Shit. I had, hadn’t I? Another thing I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do today. But I hadn’t even thought about it. After waking up relaxed and rested with my head on her thigh and her fingers in my hair, it had felt like the most natural thing in the world.
“Maybe,” I hedged, only to turn the tables on her. “Did I just wake up on your lap to you scratching my head?”
Blushing madly, she bit her lip. “Maybe.”
I swayed toward her. I wanted to steal a kiss. So bad. But my phone buzzed again, letting me know I had another text. With a groan, I lifted it, and we both read Ten’s message, wanting to know when I’d bring his truck back.
Aspen puckered her brow. “Why do you have his truck, anyway? What’s wrong with yours?”
“I don’t have a truck,” I answered her as I wrote Ten back, telling him I’d be home by midnight.
Aspen’s eyes widened. “Midnight? What do you plan on doing with me until then?”
I shuddered, thinking up all the things I’d love to do with her until then, and had to remind myself I’d promised to behave. “Dangerous question,” I warned.
“And why don’t you have a truck?” Then she rolled her eyes. “Oh, I get it. You’re a motorcycle guy, aren’t you? I should’ve guessed.”
Shaking my head, I just grinned. “I wish.”
Her teasing grin fell. “You mean, you don’t—?” With a gulp, she flushed guiltily. “Oh, my God. I’m sorry. I just assumed...”
“Hey, you didn’t say anything wrong. I just don’t have a set of wheels, that’s all. It would’ve felt, I don’t know...selfish, I guess, if I’d bought a car while my family was...” Well we didn’t need to go there. “I usually send all the extra money I have home to my sister to take care of stuff there, anyway, so it’ s not like I can really afford one.”