Chapter Forty-Six
Sunny D
Pack a bathing suit, and an overnight bag.
It’s not even an away game, why would I pack an overnight bag? I already have my stuff at your place.
Sunny D
Don’t ask questions, please just do as I say.
For once.
Fine, but I have to be home by Sunday.
Sunny D
Done. Now hurry up.
First you boss me around and stop me from getting out of my house and now you want me to hurry up? Can’t have it both ways, mister.
Sunny D
I can and I will. Hurry. Up. Elise.
Give me one good reason.
A photo starts downloading almost immediately,
and when it loads, it’s not what I’m expecting, but I love it all the same.
Rafael’s full lips are open in a perfect “o”, with his tongue hanging out and saliva dripping off of the tip. His facial hair is a little longer than a five-o’clock shadow, and I can already picture it rubbing over my sensitive skin.
Ope. Be there soon!
Sunny D
That’s my girl.
I’ve learned the trick to getting you to show up early to something for once.
Now if only everyone else could too.
Sunny D
They better fucking not. Now get over here before we run out of time.
Sir, yes sir!
Sunny D
Such a brat.
He’s right; while I’m never late , I am French. Which means I’m always rushing everywhere, but only because I like to move quickly to the next thing.
And now that he’s given me something to look forward to, I find myself tossing my clothes into a bag, running around my room to get to him for whatever reward he has planned for me.
I’m addicted to his touch, his kisses, his smell.
Everything about Rafael has me smiling to myself, overwhelmed with a content happiness I haven’t experienced in, well, ever .
And that is precisely what drives me to work extra hard to get to his office for my reward before anyone else arrives.
“Remind me again how you managed to make it seem like a coincidence that neither of us had to drive back to campus with the rest of the team?” I ask, my brow quirked as I buckle my seatbelt in the back of the rideshare Rafael booked.
“Like I’ve already told you, stop worrying about it, peligrosa,” he says, shaking his head at me.
“Fine,” I huff out but lean into his touch, resting my head on his shoulder.
I focus on his warm hand gripping my thigh and the faint pop music playing over the speakers.
I’m tired from exertion, but the thrill of excitement at what lies ahead is the only thing between me and a nap right now.
That and the stop-and-go traffic jostling me forward and slamming me back into Rafael.
He wraps an arm around me, clutching me to his side as we sit in a comfortable silence for the next hour until I hear the tyres slowing over gravel before stopping.
I pop my head up, peering through the windshield and up at the cutest cottage-style inn I’ve ever seen.
The whole place is surrounded by wildflowers in bright shades of yellows and blues.
The building is covered in a light stone exterior, vines climbing the sides, with small balconies on the second level.
I turn to Rafael, who’s already watching me, taking in my reaction.
“What are we doing here?” I ask, breathless.
“Get out of this poor bloke’s car and you’ll find out,” he says.
I unbuckle my seatbelt and scoot out of the back seat, thanking the driver. Rafael meets me on my side, opening the door and taking my bag from me. He clasps his hand in mine, leading me up the stone walkway to the intricately carved dark wood door.
He twists the heavy wrought iron knob, holding it wide open, letting me slip inside first. It shuts behind us with a loud thud.
An older woman seated behind a small desk with her gold-rimmed glasses sliding down the bridge of her thin nose as she reads her book is the only person around.
Her head snaps up when she notices us, slamming her book shut and tossing it in her bag on the ground.
Her cheeks flush a light-pink colour as she clears her throat.
Damn, I wish I would’ve paid more attention to the cover. That book must’ve been steamy.
“Hello,” I say with a curt wave.
“Checking in?” she asks, regaining some of her composure.
“Yes, ma’am, for Rafael Romero-Castillo,” he answers.
“Yes, dear,” she says, plucking a key from a drawer, leaning across her desk to hand it to him. “You’re the only guests here for the weekend. It’ll just be two nights, is that correct?”
“That’s right,” he says, squeezing my hand as my eyes widen to comedic proportions.
Two nights ?
We’re spending two whole nights away together?
My heart beats a little faster, knowing I want to spend as much time with him as possible but also knowing that being with Rafael isn’t something either of us could have planned for and our lives might blow up as a result.
We should have a conversation about where we’re going, but the press of his hand in mine as he leads me up the staircase and the promise of what’s to come makes the world shrink away, and with it, all sense of responsibility.
Two nights. We can have two nights together without shattering the spell we’re under and having the hard conversation I can feel us both avoiding.
He drags me along to a massive set of white doors with gold knobs. He slides the iron key in, twisting it to unlock, letting us inside.
The room isn’t huge, and it’s nothing particularly special at first glance, but the longer I stand here, dumbstruck as I stare at the peeling wallpaper, the wood-burning fireplace, and the queen-sized bed with the canopy top, the more my heart clenches and twists in my chest.
“This is the place.” I breathe.
The place . The one I showed him in a video I’d seen online last week. Someone did a tour of the area, and with how close it is to Embershire, I wanted to go. I’d sent it to Rafael because truthfully, I’d wanted to go with him.
And here we are. Something so seemingly insignificant as a message I’d sent him in passing and here we are, living it.
“It is,” he says, tugging me against his firm chest, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I melt against him, breathing in his clean, woody scent.