Dire(75)

“Nah, he’ll probably stay out late, and I’m sure he can find another ride.” Chad started heading toward the entrance.

I stared at the floor as we passed by those guys again, but I allowed myself one glance as we reached the stairs. They were still in the same place completely oblivious to my exit. Wow, talk about a strike out.

Reyna noticed the direction of my glance and she leaned in to whisper, “Don’t worry about it. We all have those nights.”

I smiled to make her drop the subject, but I was pretty sure Reyna had never been shot down by a guy like that before. At least I was able to leave.

We made the quick drive back to their house, and I kept a smile plastered on my face when I said goodnight to both of them.

I could already hear Reyna’s giggles as I got ready for bed in the bathroom. I was ready to go to sleep and forget the embarrassment. Most people would have just moved on from it, but I was analyzing every detail. Was I really that unappealing? He hadn’t even smiled.

Oh well, at least I wasn’t sleeping on the couch. I pulled down Shaun’s blanket and checked the sheets. They looked fresh and clean.

Satisfied I wasn’t sleeping in anything gross, I turned off Shaun’s desk lamp and slid into his bed. The mattress was surprisingly comfortable. He must have had one of those ultra-padded mattress covers. I made a mental note to pick one up for myself. Thinking about shopping for bedding accessories was better than thinking about the earlier rejection.

Going to sleep in a strange bed is always a weird feeling, but add in the fact that I knew the bed belonged to a guy I’d just met, and it was even weirder. I wondered why he was so willing to give it up since, as a neat freak like me, he couldn’t be thrilled at the thought of sleeping on the couch. Maybe he had somewhere else to crash.

Eventually after my mind had run a few dozen laps around the evening’s events, I finally drifted off to sleep.

***



Someone’s hand was on my breast. Not just on my breast, but cupping it. My eyes flew open. Where was I? As I felt something hard poking my back I remembered. I screamed and jumped out of bed. “What the hell?”

“Hey, Daisy. Didn’t want to wait up for me?” Shaun’s voice was level like we were talking casually, but he’d said my name which meant he’d known it was me. That ruled out any possibility of him being drunk and forgetting who I was.

I stumbled around looking for the light. I didn’t bother with the lamp. Instead I went for the overhead light.

“Fuck.” Shaun cursed as the light blinded us both.

“What were you doing?”

“I was enjoying the beautiful girl in my bed, what did you think I was doing?”

“You told me I could sleep here.” I wrapped my arms around my chest. Even though my t-shirt provided good coverage, I wasn’t wearing a bra.

“Yes, I did.” He grinned.

“And that offer implied you weren’t sleeping here.”

“No, it didn’t. I’d never agree to sleep on that couch.” His face wrinkled up in disgust.

“I thought of that. I assumed you had somewhere else to sleep.”

“Somewhere else?” Understanding crossed his face. “Oh, no. I wasn’t planning on crashing anywhere else.”

“You somehow got the impression that I wanted to sleep in the same bed as you?”

“You want exactly what I do.” He arched an eyebrow.

“No, I don’t. That’s why I jumped out of bed.”

“You were surprised—that was the point. Now why don’t you come back to bed so we can get things started.” He pulled away the blanket and sheet revealing what I already knew. He was completely naked. And completely aroused.

“Oh god.” I grabbed my stuff as I headed for the door. My clothes from the day slipped off the top of the duffel, so I bent to pick them up where they landed right next to his bed. As I reached for my shirt I came face to face with a picture of a half-naked woman, and from the looks of the rolled-up posters beside it, there were more like it. Of course. This perv had planned this all along. What a creep. I stood up, and did one quick look around for the rest of my stuff. I wouldn’t be stepping foot into his room again. I’d rather sleep on the floor or outside.

I turned the doorknob, and it took an extra turn. “You locked the door?” I said mostly to myself as I opened the door.

“I figured you wouldn’t want anyone walking in on us.” Shaun’s voice came from right behind me.

I didn’t turn around. What if he was still naked? “I’m sleeping on the couch. Stay far away from me.”

“You don’t have to be this way. No one’s going to judge you.”