away from falling into a deep sleep when I made it back to my room.
As quietly as possible, I emptied my pockets, dropped my pants, and removed my shirt. Tori was back in the bed she’d slept in the night before, so I climbed into the empty bed beside hers and fell asleep.
17
I woke up a half hour before my alarm went off, but I’d fallen into such a deep and intense sleep that I was worried I’d overslept.
The room was pitch black apart from the green light on Liam’s phone charger across the room.
Liam.
I dragged my arm across the other side of bed, but it was empty. Sitting up, I squinted in the dark and saw a Liam-shaped figure on the next bed over. I was surprised he hadn’t climbed into bed with me, but then again maybe my little speech earlier had prompted him to give me as much distance as possible.
I sighed regretfully. I’d meant what I said about liking him. I did. More than I ought to, given how temporary our situation was. But after dinner with him and his friends, I found myself lamenting my decision. It was a weird thing, to be both excited and afraid. I wasn’t used to sticking around any man, and I was even less used to being around a man like Liam. Romantic, thoughtful, pensive. Those were things most women would find endearing. And I did. But they also made me confused and scared. There wasn’t a future for us. I’d go back to the shitshow that awaited me in Idaho and he’d stay here.
After only a moment of debate, I climbed out of my bed and climbed into Liam’s. As if he sensed me in his sleep, he rolled to his side and exhaled as he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I snuggled in, my back to his front, and fell back asleep for another thirty minutes.
My classes that Tuesday morning dragged. Maybe I hadn’t gotten the quality of sleep I thought I had. Or maybe I was just impatient to get back to the room, to Liam. We had plans to go out to a lake east of the city for fishing, something I loved to do growing up. Liam had promised he had enough fishing gear for me and since he needed to run home anyway, he would pick it up before our lunch fishing date.
By the time I made it back to the hotel room, Liam was still gone so I climbed into his bed, laying directly on his pillow and inhaling his cologne. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remembered was opening my eyes to Liam leaning over me.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” He brushed my hair away from my face. “Still up to go fishing?”
“Oh yeah,” I said, stretching and yawning.
“I see you’re in my bed.” He took my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “Sleep well?”
“Yep. So well that I think we need to upgrade your bed to our bed.” I winked and sat up. “What do you think? Has a nice ring to it.”
“Very nice.” He cocked his head toward where a cooler waited. “I grabbed you a pole and lures, but they’re in the truck. We’ve also got a cooler and snacks, so we should be set. You’ll want to wear your hat and bring sunglasses if you have them.”
“Aye-aye, captain,” I said with a salute. “I’ll be ready in just a few. Meet you downstairs?”
“Sure.” He popped a kiss on my nose and left me to get ready.
When I joined him, he wrapped an arm around me. “Valet is bringing my truck around.”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“They’re on their way to the lake. But don’t worry, they can’t get out on the water without us.”
I was about to ask why when it became very clear why no one would be going out on the water without us. Because a truck towing a pontoon boat pulled up to the curb and a young valet handed the keys to Liam.
“This is yours?” I asked, marveling at the boat even as he opened the passenger door for me to climb in.
“Yeah.”
“It’s huge.”
“It hardly ever gets used,” he explained and climbed into the driver’s side after closing the passenger door. “I was going to sell it a few months ago, but now I’m glad I didn’t. Boat rentals aren’t cheap.”