Everything I Dreamed (Everhope Road #2)

7. Oliver

7

OLIVER

H ailey throws a grape at me when I slide on a pair of boxer briefs after our third round. “Cheater. We’re not supposed to wear any clothes.” Hailey is still draped with a blanket.

I give her a stern eye. “Sorry if I need to refuel, and your bare pussy near me needs a barrier, otherwise we will never rest.”

She curls her lip into a pout. “No fun. Speaking of barriers, did you pack like a whole box of condoms or something?”

I hop back onto the bed and my face screws up. “Not exactly a box.”

Her jaw drops as she lies on her side. “Were you just going to find some random hookup at my brother’s wedding?”

“First off… no. Two, I’m a responsible man who comes prepared. Three, I didn’t pack a box which means we need to pick wisely, mouth or pussy later, when you feel the need to have my amazing cock inside of you.”

Her shoulders bounce. “Just take me without one.” My eyes pop out from her statement and calm delivery. The corners of her mouth twist. “I mean, I’m on birth control. I normally don’t do it, but we trust one another.”

I pull her close to me, already knowing I’m not going to resist this turn of events. I never do this, but Hailey is my undoing. “Looks like our marathon can continue then.”

“I’m happy I got stuck here with you. Thank goodness for shitty airlines and Midwest storms.”

“Me too.” I kiss the top of her head. I haven’t decided yet if I’ve ever been a cuddler or why I don’t second-guess it with this woman in my arms.

“And thank you for buying the wind chime. I’ll have to figure out something to hold onto for you until you have a special occasion. You’re not a weird garden gnome person, are you?”

My quirky Hailey. Always random.

I smile. “No garden gnomes, nor indoor plants. Maybe a manly cedar-scented candle.”

“Huh, I could see that. I’ll hold onto your chime then keep it at my place until there is something for you to celebrate.”

“We’re not tit for tat.”

“No. But I want to.”

Blowing out a breath, the muscle in my cheek ticks. She cares and I care. We’re similar in that way.

The room is quiet but peaceful as we listen to the sounds of the storm outside. “I love the sound of rain,” she mentions.

“Me too. My parents have rocking chairs on their porch, and I would just sit and listen to the rain when I was growing up, especially when I was in college and would visit. It’s calming.”

“It is a sedative, except right now, my entire body is on an adrenaline high because of what has transpired,” she admits in a feathery voice.

“Makes sense. We’ve been walking on glass around one another. We get along, and we laugh together, pretend we are just friends. But the attraction equation comes up with only one answer, and here we find ourselves.”

Inside, a pit opens between my heart and stomach. Sexual tension is one thing, but Hailey isn’t just that. It’s my innate need to feel more. Even if she isn’t just any woman, I fear she may be the only woman for me. I just can’t untangle that thought because there will be consequences.

Squeezing her closer, I still think about the circle we always find ourselves in. “I guess we no longer need to wonder about what happens when we give in.”

A short laugh hits my ears. “Yeah, now it’s just stamped in our heads what it is actually like to give in to temptation, and I’m not sure what’s better, dreaming what it’s like or knowing for sure, because both options have my mind spinning.”

So true.

“Don’t think anymore, Hailey. Maybe we should open the bottle of wine.”

“No way. I’m already floating from an orgasm.”

“True. I have that effect on people.” I sigh proudly.

“Tomorrow’s car ride might be a little awkward then,” she teases me.

“Nah, we’ll be okay, right?” No. We probably won’t be.

“Sure.” Her voice is unsteady. “I’ve fucked my adult crush, no biggie.”

I feel a little cocky. “Crush, eh?”

“Oh, shut up.” She jabs me with her fingers. “Would you rather I say that I’ve been pining for you to strip me and have your way with me?”

“Have you been pining?” I’m no longer volleying back our teasing. I know the answer, but the caveman in me wants to hear it out loud.

The sound of the rain overtakes the room again because no words leave her mouth, and I have my answer.

“Oliver… we click, and any woman would be a fool if they didn’t see how you fall into the good-guy category. You’re the type of man you bring home to your parents. The kind of man that makes someone feel lucky.”

I’m not a good guy.

I only fight for something when it involves sports and law. Maybe I’m protecting a friendship, but I’ve now crossed a line with my best friend’s sister, and in secret, too. And here I am, letting Hailey and me have a taste of something completely forbidden. Not just because of traditional bro-code but also the fact that I don’t want to hurt her, and now this might be hard to forget.

“I mean, you’re the kind of man whose looks are meh,” she jokes.

I softly shake my head. “How do you make life so damn peppy and light? From your humor to your complete randomness at times in general.”

“Because my energy is good for the soul. I can’t complain about life. Not to mention, being grumpy means fine lines on my face at a young age. I can’t have that now, can I? Besides, if I ever want to shift my career a bit, then I need to be ready to rumble with an overload of energy.”

Her career aspirations are an honest one. Wholesome, too. It’s just right now, in my arms, she is kind of dirty in the best possible way when it involves me.

“You’re a good woman.”

“We’re two peas in a pod then. Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.” I mean it.

“If I give you a hidden signal at the wedding, will you save me? I have a feeling my mother might be sending a pack of single barracudas my way.”

I tense at the mere thought. I could slash out anybody’s eyes who land on Hailey with non-honorable intentions. Only I get to have those. I’m going to be a selfish prick and steer any protentional guy far away from her. In practicality she doesn’t belong to me, but in my head, she is only mine. “Deal.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me to return the favor? What if a friend from Liam’s college days who he hasn’t spoken to in years yet somehow got an invite wants to pounce on you?”

Chuckling again, I’m wondering how I’ll survive the wedding party table. Hailey with alcohol is always a whole other experience, but add in a happy occasion for her brother and this is going to keep me on my toes.

“I’ll tell her that my dick is out of commission, as a beautiful witty woman has left claw marks on my back.”

She giggles and it’s soothing. “Just don’t give me a hickey, I have a dress to wear that shows a little neck.”

We both snuggle into one another and that peaceful quiet returns. Her nails brush along my arm, and it feels too natural that my body is willingly her canvas.

“One night,” I warn her.

She rests her chin on my chest and her soft eyes stare straight into me. “Are you telling me or reminding yourself?”

This woman knows how to read my mind. We’re not strangers after years of orbiting one another, only being intimate is new.

And this once will be the only instance. No matter the thoughts in my head that could cause our own personal apocalypse.

“Shh, and get on your hands and knees,” I demand because getting lost in her is my only focus right now.

Hailey and I collapse into the chairs at the dining table that has a whole array of breakfast choices. Instantly, we both begin to stack our plates with muffins, eggs, bacon, anything and everything.

“I’m starving.” Hailey sounds exhausted.

“Well… we both need an energy boost after last night and this morning.”

“And an ice pack for my thighs… old volleyball injury.” It drags out of her mouth as we both see Patricia walk in with a smile and a new jug of orange juice.

She smiles at us brightly. “Good morning. I hope you slept well.”

Hailey and I glance to one another. I’m not going to lie. Driving today will be brutal. I basically lived inside of this woman. Her reverse cowgirl is on point.

I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly. “Splendid. Well rested and ready to go.”

“Lovely. You can have a late checkout if you like, the next guests won’t arrive until 4.”

Tipping my head to the side, I ponder, as it means I could bury myself deep into Hailey once more.

“Yes, please.” It shoots out of Hailey’s mouth with firmness.

My eyes skate to her, and her smile is pasted on to Patricia. It seems Hailey is a smart girl.

“Lovely.” A timer goes off in the other room. “Oh, that’s the banana bread. Excuse me.”

She excuses herself, and I have to admire Hailey while I pop scrambled egg into my mouth with gusto.

Her shoulders lift to her ears when she looks at me. “What? Take advantage of our one-night policy. It only ends when we sit back in the car.” She points her fork in the direction of the front door.

“Fair point. We’ll have to be quick; we need to get on the road if we want to make it to wedding festivities.”

“Okay. It’s doable.”

“Agreed. Now eat your damn muffin, can’t have you weakening on me.” I weaken for you even when I have a full stomach; all the time, actually.

She takes a large bite into the blueberry muffin with crumbs falling onto the plate.

“What a good girl you are.”

“I’m only listening to my master,” she quips.

A sound rumbles in the back of my throat in response.

We make good use of our breakfast, and when we go back to the room one last time, I take her as she lies on her stomach. Her skirt is the gift of the clothing gods, it gets us straight to our goal. And I don’t give a fuck if I rip her panties in the process.

But now we both linger by the car doors, hesitating to get in. As soon as we do it’s over.

“Well… that’s that.” She avoids any eye contact.

Now reality hits us like a ton of bricks.

The timer is up.

Walking around the car, I surprise her when I grab her arm and wind her into me, take her face in my hands, and kiss her. Not a damaging kiss but a soft affectionate kiss because she isn’t just a random one-night stand. It’s Hailey. The woman who shines like a comet. Orbiting my life but never touchable.

She deserves the universe.

My gentle kiss deepens against her lips.

One last kiss.

Reluctantly gravitating away from her mouth, my thumb circles her cheek and our foreheads touch.

“I won’t forget last night, even if I should,” she whispers.

“We don’t need to forget it. Just leave it as it is.”

She barely nods once in understanding.

“Let’s get back in the car. No point standing around,” I suggest and hate every syllable of the sentence.

“You’re… right.”

It’s a brutal silence as we settle back into the car. I bite the inside of my cheek as I watch her stretch across the middle to set the navigation. I’m trying to fight the urge to wear down the tension in the air.

But Hailey, the light that she is, saves us both.

The navigation turns on, and I have to laugh. “Really?” I give her a pointed look.

She shrugs at me and can’t control her closed-mouth smile.

“You changed our navigation voice to a woman who sounds like Dolly Parton?”

“Fun, right? I mean, I guess we are going to miss the Big Foot museum, so I have to keep the adventure going somehow.”

“You’re the adventure,” I say quietly, but she hears.

Her lids flutter and then she turns away to look out the window.

That’s us.

That’s it.

We leave it behind.