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Truthfully, I’m going to be feeling pretty fucking tired today, but it was well worth it.
Last night was everything I wanted it to be and more.
Not only did Carly and I have insanely hot sex all night long, but I also got to tell her how I really feel about her.
And more than that, I got to hear that these feelings are not one-sided.
We’re both falling for each other.
“Can I just say that I love hotel getaways with you, but…” She pauses to allow room for a yawn. “I really don’t love leaving said hotel at five thirty in the morning.”
I chuckle at that and hold the door to our room open for her. “Yeah, I can’t say I disagree with that one. I’m used to getting up early to hit the gym before work but not while there’s a beautiful woman in my bed.”
“Oooh! Ding! Ding! Someone just scored some bonus points by calling me beautiful and pretending other women don’t exist.” I laugh. “Keep up your streak by agreeing to grab some pancakes on the way home.”
I smirk and wrap my arm around her shoulder, leading us toward the elevators. “Your wish is my command.”
Carly responds by leaning up on her tippy-toes and pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “You’re the best.”
I shake my head. “You are.”
“Oh no, are we going to be one of those couples?” she questions on a fake grimace.
I push the button to call the elevator and tilt my head to the side at her question. “One of those couples? What does that mean?”
“You know, the ones who say stuff like—” she increases the tone of her voice several pitches to repeat our prior words “—You’re the best! Oh no, you’re the best!”
It makes me laugh, but she still has more to say.
“And not only do they say shit like that, but they also have cutesy nicknames for each other, too. The kinds of nicknames that make everyone around them want to puke.”
“I highly doubt we’re like that,” I refute, but when the elevator doors slide open, I pointedly slap her ass and, in a sugary-sweet voice, say, “Come on, my little pookie bear. It’s time to go home.”
“Oh my God, Ryan!” she exclaims as she steps onto the elevator. “That’s so awful!” she adds, slapping a hand onto my chest. “Change of plans. We can’t even joke about cutesy nicknames. Scrub it all. Start over!”
Then she bursts into the kind of laughter that makes my heart expand ten sizes.
Eventually, though, her giggles stop, and she looks at me with her all-business face. “But wait…I know I said start over, but we’re still getting pancakes, right?”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Yeah, Carly, we’re still getting pancakes. There’s no turning back from pancakes.”
The truth is, I’m starting to think there’s no turning back from the woman who wants them either.
Carly
With sleepy eyes and a satisfied belly, I glance at the clock on the dashboard and note it’s nearing seven thirty. My breakfast demands weren’t exactly on the schedule, but when Ryan drove past a Denny’s, I couldn’t help myself.
At first, he tried to convince me to just do takeout, but after a little coaxing, we ended up dining in.
We probably spent a little too much time inside, but since it’s Saturday and I know Stella and Sal have nothing on their agenda, I figure it’ll probably be fine. Worst-case is I’ll have to act like I decided to take an early morning walk or something. Surely my attire would be brought into question, but I’ll come up with something. Hell, I’ll even resort to telling Stella I was working on an idea for a TikTok video if I have to.
The Tok is always a perfect distraction for her.
Ryan takes a right into Sunny Creek Village, passing the big welcome sign and guard shack, and about a mile up the road, he turns onto our parents’ street.
Red and blue lights strobe in the early morning haze caused by the quickly warming temperatures. It takes a moment for the meaning to register, my own happy fog doing quite the job of concealing my ability to think clearly.
It’s chaos in Sunny Creek, and by the look of things as I count the number of houses on the street, the epicenter of the emergency is right in front of my own mother’s house. I turn to look at Ryan with wide eyes.
“Oh my God, Ryan.” My hand leaves my lap and slams into his, clamping so hard around his fingertips, I make his tanned skin whiten. “My mom. Your dad!” My attention whips back to the gaggle of police activity. I try to calm myself, to consider a possibility or two other than the worst, but I admit, I don’t do a very good job. “Why are there so many police? Do you think something happened to them?”
