Chapter 5
May
MY EYES FLYopen, and anxiety instantly fills my chest when I see early-morning light shining into my room, while hearing the doorbell go off and someone knock. Sitting up, I grab my cell off the side table next to my bed and check the time. It’s way past when I should have been awake, and right now, I should be heading to the airport. With a very unladylike curse, I toss the blanket back and rush out of my bedroom, past the kitchen, and go to the front door, swinging it open.
“I overslept,” I tell Aiden as I step back to let him inside. “I swear I’ll be ready in just a minute.” I spin away from him and run back through the house, leaving him standing there… realizing only when I get back to my room that I don’t have on pants and the cut-off shirt I’m wearing doesn’t cover much. With no time to really think about how embarrassed I should be that he saw me half-dressed, I load up my toothbrush and shove it in my mouth.
While brushing my teeth, I put on my jeans, then go back to the bathroom to spit and rinse, and then I rip a hairbrush through my hair before tying it up. After I change my shirt, I tuck my sleep clothes, brush, and toothbrush into my bag and zip it back up.
Last night, I might have stayed out on the beach with everyone way too late, but I did pack up all my stuff before I went to bed, so I at least don’t have to do that this morning. It doesn’t take me long to finish getting ready, and once I’m done, I grab my purse along with my winter coat I left unpacked and drag my suitcase with me out of the bedroom toward the living room.
“Sorry about that.” I meet Aiden in the kitchen area, and he unfolds from the barstool he was sitting on.
“Do you have everything?” he asks quietly, taking my suitcase from me.
“Yep.” I look around, trying to avoid meeting his gaze. I might not have had time earlier to think about him seeing me half-dressed, but I’m definitely thinking about it now. “And if I forgot anything, Willow can bring it to me when she comes back in a few days.”
“She’s staying that much longer than you?”
“Yeah, school starts Monday, and I have stuff I need to get done before then,” I tell him as we head toward the front door. “When do you go back?”
“My flight gets in Tuesday evening.” He lets us out of the house, and I see that he’s moved his car to our driveway. “I’m surprised the girls weren’t up to say goodbye.”
“I’m not.” I laugh. “They were all pretty out of it last night when we got back, and I don’t know what time they went to sleep. But when I went to bed, they were still in the kitchen, making pancakes.” I hear him chuckle as he opens the passenger door for me to get in.
“The guys did the same.” He holds the door until I’m seated, then slams it shut. I tuck my coat into my oversized purse at my feet, then put on my seatbelt as he places my bag in the trunk. When he slides in behind the wheel a minute later and turns on the engine, I cringe, seeing the time. “You’ll make your flight,” he assures like he’s read my mind.
“I can’t believe I overslept. I know I set my alarm. I don’t know why it didn’t go off.”
“Maybe it did and you didn’t hear it.”
“Maybe,” I agree as he backs out of the driveway. “All I know is if you hadn’t woken me up, I probably would have slept until noon. So thank goodness your alarm worked.”
“I haven’t been to bed yet.”
“What?” I hiss as my eyes widen.
“I couldn’t sleep last night when I hit my bed, so I went for a run, then waited until it was time to pick you up.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, and he glances over at me.
“Sorry I couldn’t sleep?”
“Yes.”
“That makes sense, since you’re the reason I couldn’t sleep.” He pulls onto the highway, and my mouth drops open.
“I’m the reason you couldn’t sleep?”
“Yep, and after seeing what you went to bed in, I have a feeling I’m going to be losing a lot of sleep,” he grumbles as his hands on the steering wheel tighten, and my stomach dips in response.
With no comeback, I turn my focus to the road ahead like I’ve never seen anything more interesting in my life, then jump when he grabs my thigh, startling me as we exit the highway.
“Look.” He taps the clock, his touch gone so quickly I would think it hadn’t happened if I didn’t still feel where his fingers burned into my skin through my jeans. “You still have plenty of time to catch your flight, and you might even have time to get a coffee before you do.”
“There is nothing better than really expensive airport coffee.” I smile, feeling off-kilter from the tension that has settled between my legs.
“What airline are you taking?”
“American,” I tell him, and he heads for my terminal as I gather my stuff. When he pulls into an empty space to park, I get out when he does, then meet him at the trunk as he places my bag on the sidewalk. “Thank you for the ride.” I pull out the handle of my bag, then tip my head back to meet his gaze. “And for waking me up. I really appreciate it.”
“Let me see your phone.” He holds out his hand, and I frown before digging into my purse for it. Once I find it, I hand it to him, and he taps the screen. “What’s the code?”
“Two-two-one-one-two-two,” I tell him, and he types it in, then goes to my contact list and adds his number before going to my messages and sending himself a text.
“Let me know when you make it home.” He gives me back my phone, then his hand comes up between us, his fingers trailing lightly down the side of my face.
I notice his eyes aren’t just blue but have rivulets of gold shooting out from the center that make them that much more interesting, especially in the early-morning light. I shiver from his touch, and my eyes slide closed when he leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead.
“Get home safe, and I’ll see you soon.” He steps back, and all I can do is nod before I turn with my bag and head inside the terminal so I can catch my flight.