Chapter 10
B right sunlight spills through the curtains in my room. I yawn, tired and lazy from a long night. Tim's arms tighten around my naked torso. I feel his breath tickling me along the back of my neck and melt into his embrace. He moans as I snuggle into him. We fit together perfectly, like matched puzzle pieces.
I can't believe we fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms and remained that way. What surprises me even more is that he stayed. I expected after he satiated his hunger for me, he'd go back to his room.
After sex, Corey would hold me for a bit. Then he'd put something on, toss me my nightgown, and retreat to his side of the bed. Or worse, leave unless we were at his place. No snuggling. No touching.
"Morning, beautiful."
I know he can't see it since my back is to him, but Tim puts a smile on my face.
"Good morning."
A loud, brash noise breaks the comfortable calm in the room. I startle at the unexpected sound. The hotel phone. At first, I don't want to answer. Why would anyone call me on this phone instead of my cell?
Only someone here would call. It has to be Francesca. If I don't answer, she'll show up. If she does, I don't know that I can keep her from barging in this time. Against my better judgment, I pick up the phone.
"Where the hell are you?"
"In my room where you called me. What's up?" I look around for a clock to check the time.
"It's three in the afternoon. You were supposed to be in my room for your final fitting half an hour ago."
Bridezilla has arrived.
"Sorry. I overslept."
"Overslept? It's the middle of the day!"
"I'll be there in a few."
"Hurry the fuck up!"
Before I can utter another word, the line goes dead.
"Shit. I'm late," I say to Tim, holding the sheet in front of me.
"Wedding stuff?"
I nod.
"It’s fine," he smiles, and everything inside me feels warm and gooey. "I have calls I have to make."
I hesitate. I know that I should get up and hop in the shower, but I don't want to. Mostly because I don't know what comes next. I want to freeze time and stay in bed with Tim. I don't care about Francesca’s tirade or the fact that she's going to bitch me out for the next hour. I'll take that any day if the tradeoff is lying in bed naked with Tim.
Even though I don't move, he does. He gets up and pulls his clothes on. I'm waiting for a cue, for a signal from him, for some idea of how I should act. He's not looking at me. The man who couldn't keep his eyes off me last night won't even spare a glance in my direction.
"Tim?"
There's a look on his face; it's twisting my heart. He looks worried. Until his eyes meet mine. Once again, I see warmth in them, a slow-burning fire that grows as he looks at me.
"Can I see you tonight?" he asks.
I shake my head. "I have the rehearsal dinner, and I'm not sure what time that will end."
"Can't I come as your date?"
"My date?"
"Unless you have a problem with that."
"No. Not at all, just, are you sure you want to do that?"
He sits on the bed and reaches his hand around the back of my neck. He leans his forehead against mine, reigniting the intimacy between us.
"I want to see you again. I'm not ready to watch you walk away."
"Technically, since you're the one leaving my room, you're walking away."
"Very funny, wise ass." He nips at my lip. "Whether you like it or not, I'm going to that dinner. I'm just asking if you want me to come as your date."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"I'd love that."
"Good. I'll see you there."
He leans in for a kiss. A long, simmering kiss. His thumbs brush across and tease my sensitive nipples as his tongue plunges in and out of my mouth, stroking mine slow and strong.
I can hardly breathe when he pulls away. "Thought I'd start something you'd want to finish later." He kisses me on the nose and heads out the door.
*
"T ook you long enough ." Francesca storms over to the platform in front of the seamstress.
They are the only ones in the room.
"What's wrong?" I ask. Her voice is panicked, frustration on her face.
"Nothing!" She snaps. "Everything! The bridal boutique never altered the length of my dress. I don't know what florist we're using, and I want to call to make sure they deliver the bouquets to my room instead of to the ballroom with the centerpieces. The hotel is asking questions about the ice sculptures that I can't answer because I left someone else in charge of everything. And the wedding planner won't pick up the damn phone!"
I knew she couldn't be completely hands-off. I'm surprised she made it this long keeping relatively sane.
I take a long look in her eyes. "Take a deep breath."
"My breathing isn't the problem."
"I know," I humor her. "But your dress is being worked on right now. If the bouquet delivery is blundered, I'll go down and get them so no one sees you, and do you really care where they put the ice sculptures?"
"That's not the point."
"Hey, it's okay. Everything is okay. And by the way, Fran, you look amazing!"
She closes her eyes and takes a long breath.
“Now, what's really going on?"
"You had me so damn worried. I don't know what the hell you’re doing. It’s my fault for pushing you so hard. I know you're wrecked over Corey, but—"
"I'm not."
"You're not what?"
"You’ve only been the amazing friend you’ve been since I know you. I'm not wrecked over Corey. I'm okay. And now that I’ve had some time and space from him, I agree with you that it's for the best. Corey and I were wrong for each other."
She stares at me with an open mouth and narrowed eyes.
"I know it's crazy, but meeting this guy, he's opened my eyes."
"How?"
Part of me is excited to tell her about Tim. I've been dying to tell someone about him. I want to relive every minute. Every touch. Every kiss. I should leave out what happened in the hot tub. But I want to tell her everything else.
"When he looks at me, it's like he doesn't see anything else. His eyes are so intense."
"You're getting too attached."
She has a point. A good one, too.
"I know this is temporary. Really temporary. That in two days I'll be home, and I'll never see him again, but I just want to enjoy every minute I can with him."
"Between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding, that doesn't leave you a lot of time."
"I know. That's why I invited him to be my date. For both." I close my eyes, waiting to hear her scream at me. After a few seconds of stunned silence, I open my eyes and look at her.
"I think that's a good idea."
"You do?" I don't believe my ears.
"Yes. At least if you bring him, I can keep an eye on you."
"I love you!" I jump up and down and throw my arms around her.
The seamstress scolds us for moving. I look down at the excess material she's cut off, and I have an idea. Formulating it in my mind, I pick up the discarded lace, then change into my dress.
"You're swimming in that! I knew you lost weight. I can't believe you let that son of a bitch get to you like that."
I let Francesca go on without interrupting. I know a lot of this is just nerves, and she needs an outlet. I'm happy to be whatever she needs me to be. Luckily for me, her phone rings and pulls her attention off of me.
"Finally!" She says after answering. "I've been calling you all day. Where the hell are you?"
Ah, the wedding planner finally surfaced. Better her than me. I stand still, doing my best not to get poked by any of the sharp pins the seamstress sticks into the dress as she pulls and tugs, tightening it up on me.