I nudge him again, harder this time, getting a good whiff of whatever soap he used when he showered after the game.Ugh, he smells so good.
“Hey, Seth…”
Finally, he stirs, blinking heavily, eyes glazed with exhaustion as he tries to focus.
“Oh… hey there.” His voice is low, gravelly from sleep, and way too sexy for this time of the night. He runs one big hand throughhis hair, and the movement has his biceps flexing harder. I swear, Seth could blink and I’d find it attractive.
His big body shifts, stretching out as much as he can in the cramped space, and when he winces, I know he’s in pain. His suit is rumpled, his tie loosened, and his hair is a mess of slightly damp, tousled, dark blond waves.
He looks absolutely delicious.
“We should probably get up and go inside the hotel or you’re going to be in even more pain tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” he lets out an uncomfortable grunt. “That’s probably a good idea. My legs feel like shit.”
He unlocks the door and unfolds himself from the seat, practically falling out into the parking lot. I follow, stretching out my own aching legs and back. Since this trip was so last-minute, I didn’t pack anything. He’s still in his suit, and I’m rocking a Mayhem team shirt and the same grey leggings I’ve been in all day. I need to brush my teeth. I need to wash my face. But all those things will have to wait until tomorrow.
“You good?” I ask as he pops the trunk and grabs the after-game bag he had with him.
He nods. “I always keep a change of clothes in here. I’m not sleeping in a suit.” He slings the bag over his shoulder, looking like a tired, grumpy model who just walked off a shoot. “Do you have a change of clothes?”
“No. But I’m fine.”
Liar. I’d give anything to peel off these leggings and throw on an oversized T-shirt. Preferably, one that smells like him.
Oh well. This will have to do.
We head into the lobby, where a bored girl behind the front desk is scrolling on her phone. She barely looks up as we approach. “Hi, welcome. How can I help you?” she asks in a voice that says she’d rather not.
“We need two rooms,” Seth says at the same time I say, “One room.”
His head snaps toward me, brows raised. “Bri—”
“I’m not going to sleep,” I explain, realizing how this probably sounds. I wasn’t suggesting that we share a bed or anything, just that there’s no point in paying for two rooms. I really need to save my money, and I don’t see the point in paying for a room when I’m just going to be sitting in it for a few hours until Sawyer wakes up and we can hit the road.
“So… what? You’re just gonna sit there and watch me sleep?”
“I’ll read,” I argue. “Or watch TV. I’ll be fine. I swear you won’t even know I’m in the room.”
“You need to sleep. You said you barely slept last night because you were up reading Sawyer’s book.”
Oof. He remembers that.
“I can’t sleep.” I blow out a breath, running a hand through my hair. “That energy drink is still buzzing through me.”
He drags a hand down his face, looking torn and then in the most serious voice he says, “Bri. I can’t share a room with you.”
Ouch. The flush that spreads across my cheeks is immediate. I swallow down the sting of his words. I thought we’d made progress tonight. He wasn’t being as distant. He was asking me questions about my mom and dad. He admitted he chased after me the night of Halloween.He told me he wouldn’t have let me leave if he’d caught me.And now he can’t share a room with me for a couple hours.
I look at him for a moment, trying to figure out which version of Seth I'm dealing with. The one in the car who let his guard down mile by mile, or the one who retreats the second something feels too close.
“Is it me?” I ask quietly. “Or is it my dad?”
He doesn’t answer, which makes everything worse.
The front desk girl lets out a dramatic sigh, types something into her computer, and slides two keycards across the counter. “How are you paying?”
I dig into my purse, internally wincing a little thinking about how much this is going to hurt my already struggling bank account, but Seth’s already there, cutting me off.
