He takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. “You never cease to amaze me. You know that? Every single time you call me out, I’m just as dumbfounded as the first time. I mean, you’re standing there, only wearing my boxers and looking hot as hell, and all you’re concerned about is setting me straight.”
“I can’t help it if you’re a stubborn ass sometimes.”
“It takes one to know one,” he chuckles and looks up from under his long fringe of lashes. “You want this. You’re sure.” It’s not a question. Just a simple confirmation.
I’m a fan of actions speaking louder than words, so I give the boxers one little tug, which is all the encouragement they need to fall to the floor at my feet. “Are you sure?”
As Wes’ eyes rake over my body, his throat works, fighting for one seemingly impossible syllable. His mouth opens and closes, but there’s still no sound. All I get is a curt nod. Yes, my friends, I can finally say the stone just cracked.
With my bravery fueled by the stunned look on his face, I saunter toward him, but before I can make it halfway to the bed, he jumps up to meet me in a kiss that has me forgetting everything. I forget the ticking time bomb awaiting us. I forget the fact that it’s going to hurt like hell when it detonates. All I can do is live in the now, to let the present consume me. If we only have a short time together, I’m going to make sure every second is worth it.
Lost in his kiss, I barely register that he’s staggering backward toward the bed. He bends and hooks an arm around my back, picking me up, and I instinctively wrap my legs around his waist. I cling to him helplessly until he lowers me onto the bed and settles in beside me. He urges me closer until we’re just a tangle of limbs, and there’s not even a fraction of a space between us.
Wes shocks me by cupping my cheek and kissing my forehead and then the tip of my nose before his gaze finds mine. His eyes hold more than lust. There’s admiration in there. There’s a raw sensuality that I wonder if anyone has ever seen before. And unless I’m completely delusional, there’s a hint of promise hiding in there, too.
Without a warning, I feel it all click into place, and I have to swallow down the lump forming in my throat. He’s made it clear that the moment he starts to feel something, he bolts, so if he’s registering at all what I just felt, tonight is all we’ll ever have.
And given the urgency behind his next kiss, I know he realizes it, too.
MY FEARS ARE confirmed when I wake up alone. Even after being awake into the wee hours of the morning, he’s still out of bed before seven o’clock, but I expected it. I knew he felt what I felt. I could see it. He knew just as well as I did that it would be our first and last night together, and he made it count. Several times.
But just because I saw it coming, it doesn’t make it any less depressing. Then again, I guess I asked for it repeatedly, claiming I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. Yeah, stupid, don’t feel so smart now, do you?
Maybe I’m wrong. He could’ve just had trouble sleeping and is watching television. Or he might be making breakfast for me. Or doing laundry. Or . . . yeah.
“Don’t be so damn ignorant,” I growl at myself, rolling over on my side. The little folded slip of paper on the nightstand is all I need to know that I’ve been right all along. The realization of it settles into my stomach like a lead ball.
Callie,
I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to get out and run some errands. I have to go up to my folks’ house to pick up some stuff, too. I’m going into the office this afternoon, so I’ll drop you by your place on the way. If Shane happens to be going that way any earlier, he will take you. Feel free to find something to wear in my closet if you want. Not sure when I’ll get time to see you again, so if I don’t see you before you go home, have a good week.
Wes
Wow. Well, that’s a brush-off if I’ve ever seen one. He’s even trying to get out of taking me home? I thought this personality was long gone, but it seems like Tall, Dark, and Moody just stepped back into the picture with his walls fully reconstructed.
That’s fine, though. It’s better to deal with all of this now before I really fall hard. Maybe, I shouldn’t fault him for pushing away so quickly because, if he’d let this go on for a few months, I’d be bawling my eyes out instead of just wanting to claw his out. Bastard.
I’m not going to inconvenience him by making him take me home, either. I’ll just give Makenna a couple more hours of sleep, and I’ll call and see if she’ll come get me. She’ll know something is up, but then again, she’ll know anyway once she doesn’t see Wes coming around or calling me. All I can do is try to make her think it was nothing more than a one night stand—which I guess it actually was—and that Wes and I will remain friends, nothing more.