Chapter Twenty-Four
Jade
We stepped forward, and before either of us could make a request, the clerk, whose nametag read, “Oscar” informed us, “It’s your lucky day. We have one room left.”
Brian glanced at me, like he wasn’t sure I’d be okay with that. “Only one room?”
“My last one.”
“Two beds?” I asked hopefully.
Oscar clicked a few buttons, then shook his head. “It’s a king.”
Brian and I exchanged looks, and he shrugged. “I can sleep in the truck.”
“Don’t be silly. We’ll make it work.”
With that, Brian pulled out his wallet and asked, “How much?”
A few more clicks, and Oscar told him, “After tax, seventy-nine dollars and thirty-six cents.”
Brian handed him four twenty-dollar bills, causing the clerk to frown.
“You don’t have a credit card?”
“I do, but I prefer to use cash.”
“Okay, but I’m still going to need a credit card for a security deposit.”
“I don’t want to use my credit card,” Brian reiterated.
“It’s a five hundred dollar cash deposit then.”
Brian’s eyes got big. “For a seventy-nine dollar a night room?”
“That’s the policy. You can always use a credit card.”
With pursed lips, Brian counted out five hundreds, then slid them across the counter. “I’m gonna need a receipt that shows that’s refundable.”
As Oscar typed something into the computer, he asked, “Are you guys having an affair or something? Is that why you don’t want to use a credit card?”
Before I could even interject, Brian slowly shook his head while bringing his bottom lip past his top.
“Nope. Just friends.” Then he floored me when he added, “Look at her; she’s way out of my league. Do you think if I were lucky enough to get a shot with her, I’d settle for just an affair? No way, man. No way.”
The clerk looked me up and down as the receipt was printing, then as he handed it to Brian, replied, “I’m sure she looks better when she’s not soaking wet.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Partly because I’d cringed when Brian had told him to look at me. I’d caught my reflection in the lobby windows, I knew what I looked like.
I guess since Oscar’s motel was sold-out, he didn’t feel inclined to blow smoke up anyone’s ass.
Still, Brian stared at me as he told the man, “She’s gorgeous no matter what.”
I glanced at the puddle on the floor by my feet while my toes curled.
Fucking curled.
One thing was certain: he needed to knock that shit off.
****
Brian
I slid the key card in the slot and held my breath as I opened the door and flicked on the light. I wasn’t sure what to expect for seventy-nine dollars.
When I saw everything seemed okay—no rodents or insects scurrying across the floor, I held the door and let Jade pass in front of me.
She looked around as she set her backpack on the long chest of drawers under the TV mounted on the wall.
“I mean, it’s not bad. I like that there isn’t any carpet.”
I twisted the lock and threw the security latch, then followed her inside, setting my duffle bag next to hers.
“I agree. I’ll bet laminate is a lot easier to maintain and keep clean. Especially if it rains like this a lot.” Gesturing toward the bathroom door, I asked, “Do you want to go first?”
“No, go ahead.”
I opened my duffle and pulled out my toiletries kit, remarking, “It won’t take me long.”
When I came back out, her shoes were off, and she had already claimed the right side of the bed by pulling the covers back and sitting in it while she looked at her phone that was connected to a white charging cable.
I wondered if that was an omen since I slept on the left side.
Well, I started at the left. I tended to gravitate toward the middle as I slept.
She smiled when she saw me at the foot of the bed, then stood up, grabbed a pile of what looked like clothes and a big square bag with a floral design.
“I won’t be long either. I’m going to wait and shower in the morning.”
“That’s what I was thinking I’d do, too.”
The bathroom door shut, and I unzipped the small side pocket of my duffle and pulled out my phone charger, then sifted through the clothes she’d packed for me until I came across a pair of pajama pants.
That’s when I noticed two pairs of rolled-up socks and smiled.
It was just like her to ask me a question, then totally disregard my answer if she didn’t agree with it.
And damn did I like that about her.
She was sassy and strong-willed, while still being kind and caring.
And so fucking hot.
The image of her as she stood in her garage in nothing but her underwear was going to be forever burned into my memory.
And I wasn’t mad about it.
Then she came out of the bathroom in the skimpiest pair of pajama shorts I’d ever seen, along with a matching camisole top that did nothing to hide her perky nipples, and I couldn’t help but stare.
I mentally checked to make sure that at least my mouth was closed.
She didn’t make eye contact with me and moved quickly to put her bag and clothes back in her backpack.
Finally, she turned around and moved her hand down her body. “I’m really sorry. This is all I brought. I was expecting to be at my girlfriend’s—in South Carolina. Not in a roadside motel in Virginia with you.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m not complaining. And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here with me in Virginia instead of at your girlfriend’s in South Carolina.”
You could have knocked me over with a feather when she looked at me with a soft smile and murmured, “Me, too.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I awkwardly shut the lamp off next to me and said, “Well, goodnight.”
As if embarrassed by her admission, she quickly got under the covers and clicked off the light on her nightstand, too. With her back to me, she murmured, “Goodnight.”
You fucking dumbass! Fix this—NOW!
Desperate to say anything, I told her, “I set my alarm for seven. That should put us on the road no later than nine, which means we’ll get to the cottage around seven.”
Without rolling over, she replied, “Sounds good.”
I searched my brain for something else to add but came up empty.
There was no way around it; I had zero game when it came to Jade Beaumont.
~~~~
The silence was almost deafening as we lay in darkness. It was killing me to know she was within arm’s reach, yet there was nothing I could do about it.
I thought about confessing why I was acting like such an awkward dipshit but opted not to.
What would be the point?
I’d decided long ago that Jade was the type of woman you married, and marriage was nowhere on my radar. I know it sounded stupid, but someday I would be ready, and I didn’t want to have ruined my shot with her by being the guy she’d fooled around with once.
But I’d never shared a bed with her before. This was all unchartered territory.
As I warred with myself about what to do, I noticed her breathing was even and slow. My decision had been made for me.
I closed my eyes and tried to take comfort in just being near her while willing myself to sleep.
It must have worked because soon I found myself having the most amazing sex dream about Jade. Her firm tits fit perfectly in my hands as I nuzzled her neck and ground my dick against the cleft in her ass.
I was just about to pull her panties to the side and thrust inside her heat when I realized…
I wasn’t dreaming.
I was in the middle of the bed, and I’d pulled her back to my front. And my hands were actually fondling her tits.
“What the—” I whispered as I jerked my hands away like I’d just been burned.
Fuck!
I’m molesting Jade in her sleep!
Shit, damn, fuck!
I lay there stone-still as I tried to devise a plan to extract my arm out from under her without waking her.
I turned onto my back and slowly moved it when she rolled over and nuzzled against my side with her leg thrown over mine. Then she stroked my hard cock over my pajama pants, and I closed my eyes tight, arguing with myself about whether I should stop her or let her keep going.
Then she mumbled, “Mmm, Garrett, yes,” before flopping over to her other side and moaning softly.
It was hot as hell.
But who the fuck is Garrett?
****
Jade
I woke up when I felt myself pulled toward the center of the bed. For a millisecond, I forgot I was at a motel in Virginia and panicked—ready to put my self-defense training classes to good use.
Then I remembered where I was, and more importantly, who was trying to spoon me.
He didn’t say anything, so neither did I, as his arms came around me and he pressed his hard dick against my ass.
I figured he thought our actions were doing the talking, and I was all for it. Words right now would only get in the way.
Yeah, it was reckless. I knew I was playing with fire and had a ninety-nine percent chance of getting burned. But then he palmed my tits in his hands and nuzzled his face in my neck, and my poor, neglected pussy made the decision that it would be worth it.
Pressing back against his cock, I let out a soft whimper.
That’s when he froze.
A second later, he mumbled, “What the—” and jerked his hands away.
I realized then that he hadn’t been coming on to me; he’d been dreaming, and I just happened to be the body next to him in bed.
When he realized what he was doing, and with whom, he wanted no part of it.
I felt like a fool.
Then another thought hit me: what if he assumed I had come on to him? I couldn’t exactly explain that he’d instigated it without having an explanation why I didn’t stop him.
If he could be having dream sex, why couldn’t I?
With my eyes firmly closed, I rolled over, snuggled into his side, and threw my leg across his for added effect.
Then I reached for his cock over his pajama pants.
Ho-lee shit.
His dick was thick and hard, and I was tempted to reach under his waistband because… dayum.
Then I remembered that I was trying to sell that I was asleep.
And his entire body was completely rigid. He was obviously mortified that I was touching him, so he’d probably shake me awake if I actually attempted to grab the bare thing.
“Mmm, Garrett, yes.”
I whispered the first name I could think of—my ex’s, before rolling away from Brian and pretending to carry on with my dream.
He didn’t move for several seconds, then gently turned over on his side with his back to me.
No matter what I did, as long as I stayed in Haven Springs, I was always going to be the dorky wallflower.
I hugged my pillow and quietly wiped away a tear as it rolled across the bridge of my nose.