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CHAPTER NINETEEN
WhenIwake,theroom is dark. I flip my phone over on the floor, clicking the side button to light it up and check the time. It’s a little before seven and Dean is still sleeping. I have no idea why I’m awake, possibly because I’m in desperate need of a glass of water. I roll off the bed quietly, in hopes I don’t wake him, then slide my bra under Dean’s shirt in case I run into Marcus. The six inches of height Dean has on me makes his shirt long enough I’m comfortable leaving the room without putting my jeans on. I doubt he’s up anyway.
As soon as I walk into the kitchen, I immediately regret that decision and feel self conscious when I see Marcus sitting at the kitchen table. He looks up from his phone, his surprise evident. It would be more awkward to change now, so I decide to go with it. “Oh, hey, Marcus. I was looking for a glass of water.” I tug on the edge of Dean’s shirt, as if it’ll make it longer. Thank God I put my bra on at least.
He sets down his phone, walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a glass for me. As he hands it to me, he smirks. “Hey, Maci, didn’t know you were still here.”
“Umm, yeah.” I turn on the sink and fill my cup. Uneasiness washes over me with the expression on his face. “Is that okay? Sorry about my lack of pants. I didn’t think you’d be awake already.”
He laughs. “I’m not surprised about the lack of pants so much as I’m surprised to see you here at all.”
“Oh, why? I was here last night.” I shift back and forth on my feet, waiting for him to clarify.
“Oh, I know. That was weird too.” He can see my confusion. “There usually aren’t girls staying over.” He pauses for a beat. “It’s good though. I mean, the dude won’t shut up about you.” It comes out more playful than annoyed.
“Oh, really?” I wouldn’t be able to hide my surprise if I tried, but I take a sip of my water in an attempt.
“Didn’t expect him to act on it. It’s just weird…”
Right before he finishes his thought, Dean walks in the kitchen. He’s shirtless, only wearing forest green basketball shorts and his blond hair is sticking in every direction. He’s sexy, especially with the way his eyes are raking over my body in his shirt. My cheeks heat as he stares like he can’t decide if he wants to keep admiring the way it fits, or rip it off me. The moment he’s close enough, he wraps his arm around my waist, on a mission and confident about what he wants, even in his half awake state. I can’t help but smile at his gentle possessiveness, but I’m still a little confused about whatever Marcus was saying. He tries to hide his smile, but I catch it as my feet slightly skid across the floor as he pulls me into him, the water in my glass nearly splashing over the edge. I take another small sip before reaching behind us and setting my glass on the counter. Once he has my full attention, he kisses my hair before whispering, “Good morning.”
“Morning,” I say under my breath, and he squeezes me a little tighter into him.
“Morning.” He looks up, directing this one toward Marcus. “What’s weird?”
“You, dude.” He shakes his head at Dean before turning to walk out of the kitchen.
Dean runs his hand through his hair, like he knows Marcus is calling him out on some secret I haven’t been told.
As soon as Marcus is out of the kitchen, Dean shakes his head like he’s shaking away a thought. Then he turns to me, his arms draping over my shoulders. “Hi,” he whispers as if we aren’t alone.
“Hi.” I match the volume in his voice.
“Sooo last night…” He doesn’t finish his thought like he’s waiting for my reaction first.
It occurs to me he could regret what we did. Feelings can get distorted when it’s late. I can hear the insecurity in my voice. “It’s okay if it was a one time thing.”
His brows pinch together. “I mean, I was thinking one time wasn’t enough. But is that what you want?”
My teeth rake over my bottom lip.
“What is it?” His eyes meet mine, and his fingertips brush against my skin as he sweeps a strand of hair away from my face, leaving his hand to rest at my neck.
I shake my head softly. “I don’t want it to be a one time thing. I just didn’t want to misread the situation.”
“You didn’t misread anything.”
“Okay, I don’t want you to think I expected anything since we haven’t talked about it.”
He pulls me into him before he brings his mouth to my ear. “Well, we could talk about how I want it to happen again…or we could go do it again, you know, to confirm we are on the same page about how great it was.”
I can’t help but smile and start to nod against him, but something catches my eye, distracting me. I pull away from Dean to walk to the counter, running my fingers over the cover of the book. It has a picture of a beautiful mountain surrounded by jungle. It’s titledGuide to Central America. “Is this yours?” I pick it up, and turn back toward him.
He nods and eyes me for a second before he speaks. “I’m going on a trip with my family in a few weeks.”
New energy flows through my body at the mention of travel. My eyes must light up because the edge of his mouth tugs into a smile as he watches me. “That’s so cool. My parents are in Croatia right now. Where are you going? I really want to go to Costa Rica. It’s at the very top of my list.” I’m rambling and remind myself to take a breath. When I look up and let my brown eyes meet his, I notice the smile is gone from them. That’s weird. What could I have said?
“We are going to Honduras.” His eyes flicker across mine like he's debating whether or not to tell me whatever else is on the tip of his tongue.
