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I feel his disappointment.
“Um, so I should probably go to my room and get ready,” she says, the bed dipping when she stands up.
“Yeah, we have breakfast in just over an hour.” The upcoming breakfast with Danny is like a cold glass of water thrown on my libido.
“Oh, shit. I forgot. What if he sees me going back into my room?” she asks, looking delightfully mussed in her post-sleep appearance.
Her question is a legit one. If he comes out of his room and sees her sneaking into hers, then he’ll definitely know she lied about our relationship status, or at least about sharing a room. Then I’m afraid it’ll be worse for her than before. He’ll never let it go and will probably tell everyone who’ll stand long enough to listen to him that his ex made up a boyfriend.
I can’t let that happen.
“I’ll sneak in,” I find myself stating.
“What? How? Won’t that be just as bad if he finds me?”
I shake my head. “No, I’ll come up with some excuse, like maybe a work client meeting or something.”
She seems to consider the options. “But then I’ll have to shower and get ready here. We don’t have a lot of time before breakfast.”
I shrug my shoulders. “We’ll make it work.”
There’s definite hesitation when she says, “I guess that would be all right.”
“Great. Give me your keycard and I’ll be right back.”
She heads over to her little purse and pulls the plastic card from within. “I’ll need all of my bathroom toiletries too. I had already unpacked everything.”
“I’ll grab it all,” I tell her, our fingers grazing against each other’s when I take the card. “It’ll be okay, Crick.”
She nods and lets go, severing our touch once more.
Needing a little air and a lot of distance, I quietly exit my room, the door making a distinctive noise when it shuts. Ignoring the fact that a beautiful, sexy woman is still in my room, I move quickly and softly through the empty hallway, to her door, and scan the card. The light flashes green and I’m inside a moment later. I sigh in relief at not getting busted by Danny and then groan as her familiar scent assaults me. Everywhere I look, I see Cricket. Her clothes, her reading device on the bedside table, that familiar bottle of lotion on the dresser.
Her suitcase is in the closet, so I make quick word at filling it. I grab everything from the dresser first, my heart skittering to a halt when I find her panties. I have no business lusting over anything in her drawers—the dresser kind, not the ones she’s wearing—so I quickly toss them into the luggage, trying to forget the fact that they were blue and lacy.
Next, I remove everything from the top of the dresser and nightstand. Satisfied that I have everything from the main room, I make my way to her bathroom. The moment I walk in, I’m surrounded by Cricket. I grab the bag on the counter and fill it with her makeup and other items strewn across the bathroom counter. I unplug a flat iron thingy, as well as a blow dryer, and clear out the product left in the shower. I find a mesh bag on the floor and grab that too, which contains her dirty clothes.
Finally, I go back to the bed and toss everything in the suitcase. It’s definitely full, and not even close to being the proper way to pack a bag, but time is of the essence here. My last stop before heading back to my room is the closet where the bag was kept. There, I find a gold sparkly dress that makes my cock twitch in my pants. There’s also a pair of strappy black heels, and all I can think about his how fucking hot those will look on her feet later this evening. I throw them in the suitcase, grab the skirt and shirt set hanging beside the dress, and toss the garments over my arm.
With all of Cricket’s possessions in hand, I slowly exit her room, grateful to find the hallway once more Danny-free. I don’t need to knock on the door for admittance, as Cricket opens the door the moment she spies me in the peephole. She pulls open the door, grateful to see me with all her things.
Just as I start over the threshold, a door opens somewhere in the hallway, and Danny’s familiar voice fills the silence. I’m not sure if he’s talking to someone in his room or on the phone, but I don’t hang around to find out. I dive inside, past Cricket’s wide eyes, and hold my breath until the door shuts behind me.
Damn, that was close.
We both stand there, waiting to see if Danny knocks on the door, but it never comes. Panting a little, I say quietly, “I think I got everything.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
I take her bags and set them on the bed, ignoring the rumpled bedding and the divots in the pillows. Stepping aside, I let Cricket open the suitcase and start sorting her haphazardly tossed clothes. “Why don’t I jump in the shower first while you unpack. Take all of the space you need. I think I only used the top dresser drawer, and there’s plenty of closet space,” I tell her, heading over and hanging up the gold dress and other outfit I took from her own closet.
“Thanks, Rueben,” she says behind me. When I turn, she looks a little nervous and uncertain. “I’m really sorry I got you into this mess. If you want to tell Danny the truth, I’m okay with that. I don’t want to force you to lie to your friend, even if that friend is a massive jerk.”
I shrug. “Listen, Cricket. Things with Danny and me haven’t been the same since graduation. I wasn’t very happy with him when I found out what he did to you, and to be honest, we haven’t spoken that much since, even after I drove his shit out to LA. It been years since I’ve seen him and don’t exactly consider him my friend as I do someone I used to be friends with in school.” It’s the truth. Danny and I have been cordial since our time together in school but haven’t kept in touch the way true best friends would. I guess you can say we grew apart since college. “My point is, I consider you more my friend than I do him, so if you need my help, I’m here for you. Even if it’s pretending to be your boyfriend for a few days to fool a massive jerk.”
She gives me a small smile, one that makes my heart gallop in my chest. “You’re a good guy, Rueben Rigsby.” Then she steps forward, into my personal space, and wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me.
I toss my arms over her shoulders and do the same, trying—unsuccessfully, mind you—to ignore the way she fits so perfectly against my body. “I’d do anything to help you, Cricket. I hope you always remember that.”
