Chapter 19
Wow.
The only word that rose to mind as Chloe leaned against the door inside her bedroom, a whimsical, warm sensation in her chest. That kiss, albeit short, was a divine ending to what felt like a date with Dylan. Okay, a double date, since Samantha and Liam were present for some of it.
Heart beating a mile a minute, Chloe danced over to the bed, plopped down, and embraced one of the fluffy pillows. She didn’t bother to turn on a light since the lightning was giving off enough illumination. Pure elation moved through her as she recounted their evening. Every word, every detail, yearning for more. The entire day, into the night, was filled with much-needed inspiration. The coffee shop. The time spent running errands with Dylan. Witnessing the loving interaction between Samantha and Liam. The storm.
That kiss…
You need to write.
After she showered, brushed her teeth, and slipped into pajama pants and a T-shirt, Chloe retrieved her laptop out of its bag, positioned pillows to a just-right position, then climbed into bed and typed. She ignored the elements of the storm passing through as she allowed her fingertips to tap dance across the keyboard, meaningful words flowing onto the page, something she hadn’t been able to do for days, weeks, months.
Hours passed—at least two—before she began to feel sleepy and for some odd reason…lonely; the realization she’d never really had anyone even when she had someone, surfaced. Sure, Walter was her boyfriend for five years, but he never did anything that made her feel like he was. Nothing romantic. Not even hand holding. And, when they were intimate, he took off soon after, leaving her to sleep alone.
Wind whipped the window shutters open and closed, the sound making Chloe want to bury herself under the covers until morning. Pushing her laptop aside, she leaned over to the bedside table and yanked on the lamp’s chain to turn off the light. Ten minutes went by as she lay still, thoughts racing through her mind. And before long, Chloe had an idea, an inclination, a need to do something out ofherordinary. She sprang out of bed, a pillow in hand, and slipped her feet into a pair of fuzzy, purple slippers she found buried in the bottom of her suitcase. Then, she calmly opened her door and crept a few steps over to the room next door. Through quickened breaths, Chloe stood frozen, ear pressed to the door.
She internally asked herself…
Girl, what are you doing?
Then internally replied…
What does it look like?Proving, internal dialogue doesn’t only happen in her books.
Tap. Tap. Tap.She knocked, softly.
And when a shirtless Dylan swung the door open, outfitted in a pair of pajama pants, she took a deep breath and said, “Can we sleep together?” By the look on Dylan’s face, Chloe realized she probably should have phrased it differently.
“It was that kiss, wasn’t it? Got you craving more?”
Chloe smacked him across his glorious naked chest with the pillow. “No. Well, the kiss was good, butno. And I didn’t meansleeptogether. I meant sleep together.”
“Yeah, but like in the same bed, though? You and me?” He stroked the stubble on his chin, folded his arms, leaned up against the doorframe. It was clear he enjoyed seeing her all flustered. “Miss Davenport, I like to at least know a bit more about a woman before we hop into bed.”
She wasn’t really in the mood for playful banter. Not when she barely caught the courage to be this vulnerable.There goes taking risks. “Forget I was ever here.”
She turned, took three steps, was almost to her door when he called out, “Twenty questions.”
Chloe paused, pivoted to face him, chin up. “I’m sorry?”
“It’s the quickest way for us to get to learn more about each other. Then we can sleep together without feeling guilty in the morning.”
Chloe shrugged. “Ten. Twenty can take all night.”
“Ten it is.”
As Dylan stepped aside for her to enter his room, Chloe gave him a side-eye once-over as she pranced past him. “Can you please put on a shirt? This”—she hovered her palm over his abs—“is quite distracting.”
“You thinking of abble pie again?”
She giggled. “Shut up.”
Once his shirt was on, so was their game of Ten Questions. “Okay, here are the rules,” Chloe began. “Ask and answer the question. Toss the pillow. Got it?”
“Fair enough. Since you’ve got the pillow, I take it you’re going to toss out the first question and answer?”
“Yep. Why don't you stand over there.” Chloe pointed to one side of the queen-size bed as she moved to the other. And when he was in position she said, “Ready?”
