"That would be perfect." Angel smiled brightly.
After my mom wrote down Beverly's address and landline phone number-because she didn't have a cell phone-we said our goodbyes.
Before we could get out the door, my mom loaded us down with leftovers, hugged Angel again, and told her to come visit any time.
*
As we got ready for bed, I didn't even bother with the pillow wall. We both knew it wouldn't keep us apart.
Angel changed into gray leggings, which made her ass look phenomenal, and a plain black tank top.
Hoping the extra layers would help me keep my hands to myself, I put on a T-shirt and baggy sweatpants. I seriously doubted it would do any good, though.
Without thinking, I always gave Angel the side of the bed that butted up against the wall and I took the side closest to the door. I don't know why I did it. For some reason, I felt the need to protect her even when there wasn't any danger.
Leaving a couple feet of space between us, I slid under the covers after I turned out the lamp.
"Your mom is pretty great. She's awesome, actually," Angel said quietly.
The moonlight came through the window, and a silvery glow radiated off her light hair.
"She loved you. I knew she would," I told her.
"Has she ever dated? You know, since your dad?" She turned onto her side to face me.
"No. Colt and I tried to set her up with Hank once. We thought it would be the coolest thing ever to be stepbrothers." I laughed at the memory.
"I take it the date didn't go so well?" she concluded. Even in the shadows, I could see her smile.
"Well, it might've helped if we told them we were setting them up," I said. "We were twelve at the time and I guess we didn't understand what a blind date was. I invited Hank over for dinner one night but I didn't tell Mom about it. We thought we were being so sly." I laughed. "They caught on pretty quick."
"What happened?" she urged.
"We'd all had dinner together before, so that wasn't new. With Colt and me being such good friends and we were neighbors … But this time we lit candles and shit." I cringed. "And we may have put on some Marvin Gaye … "
Angel burst out laughing. "Oh my God! Way to be subtle about it." She poked me in the ribs. I wanted to keep touching her so I grabbed her hand and held it between us.
"I think Hank always had a little crush on her. They had a lot in common-single parents, both widowed."
"What happened to Colton's mom?" she asked.
"Breast cancer. She was only thirty. I never met her because Colt and Hank moved here after she passed away. They wanted a new start," I explained. "Anyway, the blind date … Mom ended up having one too many drinks and she fell asleep on the couch. Hank understood she wasn't ready. He took me aside and told me he didn't have to be with my mom to stay in my life. Told me he loved me like a son."
Angel sighed wistfully. "You're so lucky. You have so much here."
"You're here now," I stated, wanting her to know she had a place in my life, too.
"Yeah. I'm here now," she quietly agreed.
*
Sunday morning started exactly how I thought it would. Lying on my back, Angel's leg was hooked over my hip and her head rested on my chest. This was the first time I'd woken up before her, and it gave me some time to study her without her knowing it. She looked even more innocent when she slept.
I felt something tickling my cheek and realized it was a strand of her hair.
Actually, her hair was everywhere. Last night it had been sleek and straight but now it was a wild, chaotic mess, spanning out in all directions. It tumbled over the pillow we were sharing and covered half her face.
She was beautiful.
Outside I heard the rumbling of thunder, and raindrops pelted the window pane.
Damn. That ruined my plans for today.
I thought about getting out of bed but I didn't want to wake Angel. Her deep, even breathing and the rhythmic pattering of the rain lulled me back to sleep. I drifted in and out for a while, feeling peaceful with her in my arms.
One crash of thunder was particularly loud and it woke Angel, making her jump.
"Shhh. It's just a thunderstorm," I murmured and kissed the top of her head.
She relaxed back into me.
After a minute, she groaned. "I don't want to get out of bed. Rainy days always make me feel lazy."
"We could just stay here all day." I wiggled my eyebrows.
She laughed and playfully smacked my chest. Then her face turned mischievous.
"And what would you do if I wanted to stay right here … " She sat up and swung her leg over me so she was straddling my hips. "All day?" She batted her eyelashes innocently at me.
Fuuuuuck.
Days ago, she'd been shy. Hesitant.
She was getting bolder with me and I liked it. I liked it a little too much. I went from slight morning wood to raging hard-on in an instant.
Without a doubt, we were going to have sex at some point. There was no way I could last three weeks with Angel in my bed, and I could tell she was having trouble controlling herself, too.
I didn't stand a chance. But it wasn't going to happen today.
It was killing me to put the brakes on like this, but I already knew I wanted something real with her. If she was going to be living two-thousand miles away, our relationship would need a solid foundation to stand on. I was determined to make that happen. Unfortunately, we needed time but that wasn't something we had a lot of.
I decided to diffuse the sexual tension with humor.
"I'm a little scared," I told her.
Her face immediately changed to concerned. "Of what?"
"I'm like ninety percent sure your hair has a life force of its own and I might be attacked," I teased, cracking a smile.
She gasped. "I can't believe you!"
Angel picked up a pillow and hit me with it. Scrambling, she tried to make it off the bed but I grabbed her around the waist and held her to me, pulling her back against my chest.
"Kidding! I'm just kidding." I laughed as she put up a half-hearted struggle to get away. "Baby … " I whispered.
As soon as I said that, she melted. Obviously, she liked being called baby. Noted.
Although I gave her a hard time about her hair, Angel was still the most gorgeous girl I'd ever seen, bedhead and all.
"I had big plans for us today, but the rain kind of ruined it," I grumped.
"Oh yeah? What plans?" She looked back at me over her shoulder.
"I wanted to make up for our bad date. I was going to take you fishing."
"I love fishing!" She squirmed until she turned around to face me. "I won a fishing derby when I was eight. I caught the biggest fish," she said proudly.
"We'll have to do that another time, then. I want to see these mad fishing skills." I placed my hand on her side and rubbed my thumb back and forth over her hipbone.
"What do you normally do on Sundays?" she asked, raising her hand up to lightly rub her fingers over the stubble on my jaw.
I shrugged. "Laundry. Sometimes I get some cleaning done."
"I can help with all that."
"I'm not making you do my laundry, Angel."
"You're not making me. I want to. It's the least I could do. Please?" she pleaded.
When she looked at me like that with those big eyes, how could I say no?
ANGEL
Since Colton was gone on a delivery, it was just Travis and me in the apartment. We worked well together as a team. I did the laundry and wiped down the counter tops while he washed the dishes and took out the garbage.
I'm one of those weird people who actually likes doing laundry. There was just something satisfying about taking the warm bundles out of the dryer and folding everything into neat piles.
As I sniffed the clean clothes, I realized the fresh smell reminded me of Travis. The scent of the laundry detergent wafted from the fabric, but so did something else. Something that was distinctly him.
Could I be any creepier?
I'd been reduced to sniffing the guy's clothes.
After all the cleaning was done, Travis suggested we watch a movie since the rain hadn't stopped.
He was sifting through his DVDs when I saw my favorite movie was on TV.
"Fried Green Tomatoes is on!" I said happily and he gave me a look.
"Tomatoes, what?" He made a face.
"Fried Green Tomatoes. It's the best movie of all time," I said, but he looked skeptical.
"It's a chick movie, isn't it?" he accused.
"Technically, yes."
He dropped all the DVDs and came to sit next to me on the couch. "Alright. I'll give it a chance. For you." He bopped me on the nose with his index finger then put his arm around me.
Somehow we ended up cuddled in the spooning position, my back to his front, and I was having trouble concentrating because sometimes his hand would brush over my lower stomach, which sent a jolt of lust straight to my core. Travis seemed completely oblivious to the effect he was having on me.