Chapter 37 Who’s Name Rhymes With Face
CHAPTER 37: WHO’S NAME RHYMES WITH FACE
LACEY
“ Y ou and Jace seem to be getting close,” Poppy says as we walk back into my room. She throws herself on my bed.
“Yeah, I’m glad we’re working through things and becoming friends again.”
“Lacey.”
“What?” I dig in my suitcase. “Should I wear my black bikini or my red one?”
“Why does it matter? Are you trying to impress someone?” The corner of her mouth tips upward.
“No, I wanted my best friend’s opinion.”
“Well then my opinion is that if you were trying to look hot for a certain someone, who is at this cabin, and whose name rhymes with face, then I would go with the red one. Your ass looks good in that one.”
“You know that’s not what I meant,” I deadpan, throwing the black top at her head.
“Seriously though, what’s going on? You two seemed very close this morning.” She quirks her eyebrow up at me. “And you admitted to eye-fucking him yesterday on the boat.”
I walk into the bathroom to get changed. “Hell if I know,” I yell from behind the door. “It’s all very confusing if I’m honest.”
“Go on.”
“Well you know our history and then he showed up looking like… well he showed up looking like he looks, but I hated him.” I pull on my bottoms. “Then everything got sorted out and we started texting here and there to catch up, and then trivia happened.” I fix the triangular top over my tits and tie the string around my back. “And I don’t know, Poppy, it’s like I’m sixteen again with a huge crush on my best friend and I don’t know how to tell him.”
I walk out of the bathroom brushing through my hair. “Please say something,” I beg.
“Gosh, it kinda feels like we’ve been here before, except this time you’re telling me about it.”
“You’re hilarious.”
“The two of you always thought you did such a good job hiding your feelings for each other. Did you ever wonder why I didn’t even blink when you told me y’all kissed at that bonfire? It’s because I fucking knew you two loved one another. You both are about as subtle as the main characters of a Disney movie.”
I dig through my suitcase, find a pair of denim shorts, and pull them on.
“It’s because I know you better than I know anyone else. And I know I haven’t seen Jace in a decade, but you two still look at each other the same way you looked at each other in high school,” she says.
“And what should I do? Pretend like the past decade didn’t happen and tell him I want to try again?”
“That would be the mature thing to do.”
“Shut up.”
“The past decade didn’t happen babe. It was made up in your head, so forget about it.”
We make our way back downstairs. Her words circle in my brain over and over. I try to push them away. Now is not the time. I’ll deal with Jace Jackson and my feelings later.
The rest of the group is waiting for us on the deck and we make our way outside.
“Y’all ready for a boat ride?” Enzo asks, lifting a cup into the air. The group cheers and heads toward the dock.
My body is exhausted, but my mind won’t settle. The day out on the lake was full of tubing and drinking. I should be asleep, but I’m not.
I turn over and stare at the clock on the bedside table. It reads one fifteen. I swing my legs out of bed and tiptoe down the hall and then the stairs to find a cup of water. I round the corner towards the kitchen and stop in my tracks. On one of the small loveseats in the living room I see Jace’s feet hanging off one end.
I try to keep quiet as I move toward the cabinet and carefully pull a glass down. I press it up against the water dispenser and the loud sound of ice falling fills the house.
“Shit,” I say in a hushed voice trying to make it stop and frantically hitting the water button.
“Lace, is that you?” I flip around to see him sitting up.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I couldn’t sleep, so I was coming to grab some water.”
“Yeah, I can’t sleep either,” he breathes out and stands. He’s shirtless and his gym shorts hang low on his hips. Fuck me.
He walks into the kitchen and grabs a glass from the cabinet and moves over to where I’m standing. I freeze as he invades my space and I swallow hard.
“Lacey?”
“Um, yeah?”
“You mind scooting over so I can get some water too?”
“Oh, yeah, my bad.” I take a few steps back.
“So what’s keeping you from sleeping, pixie?”
You.
“I don’t know. There’s a lot on my mind I guess.” I sip my water and move to one of the barstools.
“Enlighten me.”
“It’s nothing. Boring even.” He walks over and takes the barstool to my left. I think he might continue to press me on what’s in my head, but he doesn’t. “What has you awake at this hour?” I ask.
“Let’s see. Tanner’s snoring and the mattress up there is so thin I can feel every spring, so I figured I’d try a couch, but these are more like love seats and I’m too tall,” he laughs. “I don’t think sleep is in the cards for me tonight.” He moves his head from side to side stretching his neck.
“You could sleep with me.” The words spill out before I can think about stopping them.
His head flips in my direction and his mouth forms into a sexy grin. “Sleep with you?” The word you hangs between us.
“Well, yeah. I mean I’m afraid if you have to endure another night of sleep on the pull out bed, you might end up needing physical therapy or something. We can’t have that.”
What the hell am I thinking?
“You sure?”
“Yeah. We’re both adults. I have a comfortable bed and you don’t. It would only be one night. I can stay on my side, if you can stay on yours.”
Fuck, I don’t even believe me.
He takes a long sip of his water and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs up and down. Tension crackles between us.
“After you, then.” He gestures towards the stairs and I quickly move past him. He follows close behind me.
We make our way up to the room and I climb in on the left side of the bed.
“You sure you’re good with this, pixie?”
“Oh yeah. This isn’t weird at all.” I snuggle deeper under the covers. What the hell am I doing?
He makes his way to the other side of the bed and climbs in next to me.
“Can you put my phone on the bedside table?” he asks, handing me his cellphone. I place it next to mine and turn off the lamp. I stay on my side facing away from him. I try to will my eyes to shut, but being this close to this man in the dark shouldn’t be allowed. The spot between my legs begins to throb and I have to squeeze my thighs together. I feel him shift in the bed and his foot brushes mine. A jolt of electricity shoots up my body causing goosebumps to explode across my skin.
I roll onto my back, and when I glance over at him, I can faintly see that he’s also on his back, staring at the ceiling.
“You know we’ve never done this before,” I say.
“We never got the chance before, but I’m glad we’re getting it now,” he says.
Our fingertips brush against each other. We lay there for a few long minutes letting our fingers touch and neither of us moving away. The room is quiet and I wonder if he can practically hear me screaming in my head for him to take me. I wonder if I asked him to kiss me or to touch me, if he would.
I open my mouth to ask the question, but he breaks our connection and flips to his side. “Night, pixie.”
“Night, J.”