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“I think your aunt replied.” Trisha pointed at my phone, her eyes widening slightly as she looked at my torso.
Right. I didn’t have a shirt on.
“I didn’t read it,” she added quickly, her face turning red. “But I saw her name.”
“Thanks.” I sat on the edge of the bed as I read my aunt’s reply. As expected, she told me she’d rather I arrive late and in one piece than put myself in danger.
“Is everything all right?”
I glanced at Trisha as I set my phone down and slid under the covers, careful to keep some distance between us, which wasn’t easy considering I was a fairly big guy and this bed was only a double, not king or queen-sized.
“Yeah, it’s all right. Why?” I folded my hands behind my head to remove the temptation to have my fingers wander over to her side, just to see what would happen.
“You look annoyed. I didn’t do anything, did I?”
I looked to see Trisha stretching out on her side, her head propped up on her hand.
“It’s not you,” I reassured her. “I just like things to go as planned. Switching to a road trip instead of another flight isn’t typical for me—I’m not an impulsive guy.”
“I see the value in a solid plan,” she nodded. “But you have to roll with the punches sometimes. Adapting can lead to great experiences and new people in your life.”
She had a point, and part of me agreed. If everything had gone as planned, I’d be in San Ramon, but I wouldn’t have met Trisha. Still, no matter how much I valued meeting her, I couldn’t shake the desire to manage the surrounding chaos.
And she deserved to know why I might get snippy if our trip kept hitting roadblocks.
“I get what you’re saying,” I said, forcing myself to meet her eyes as I spoke. “But in my life, even the good parts of an unexpected change come with pain.”
Her expression softened. “Your parents?”
I nodded, my throat suddenly tight. “Losing my parents wasn’t just about losing them. We had to move out of our house, leave our neighborhood, our friends, everything we’d known.” My chest ached with the memories that wanted to surface.
“I put my aunt and Patrick through a lot. And they never held it against me. I miss my parents, but I do love my family. I know how lucky I am to have them.”
“But you still hate it when things get out of your control.” Her voice was gentle. “Still see change as something negative.”
I could feel the hint of sadness in my smile. “I guess I haven’t had enough good memories associated with unexpected change to push aside the bad ones.”
I had a moment to register a heated glimmer of mischief in Trisha’s eyes, and then she was leaning over and pressing her lips to mine. I froze for a split second before cupping the back of her head, holding her in place as I took control of the kiss. With a moan, her mouth opened, her teeth scraping along my bottom lip. I groaned, sliding my tongue against hers.
Just as I prepared to roll her underneath me, she surprised me by moving first. With her knees on either side of my waist, she pressed her core against me, and my hips jerked. I grabbed her hips, grinding up against her so she could feel me hardening under her. She smiled against my mouth and ran her hands up my stomach, my muscles jumping and twitching under her palms. When she flexed her fingers, the pinch of her nails jolting me, I cursed, reaching up with one hand to grasp her braid. With a tug, I pulled her head back so I could look at her.
Her pupils were blown wide, leaving only the thinnest ring of that electric blue visible. Her lips were swollen, her face flushed. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“What are you doing?”
She grinned and rocked against me, the layers of cloth between us chafing us both. “Giving you something good to associate with change?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Just how good are you planning on making this memory?”
She straightened, that mischief on her face again as she unbuttoned her top, letting it hang loose for a moment so that I could see a strip of fair skin leading from her belly button up to the valley between her breasts and then to her collarbone. When my eyes met hers again, she shrugged the shirt off her shoulders and let it drop.
“Go ahead.” She winked at me. “You can look. Wouldn’t have taken off my shirt if I didn’t want you to.”
My gaze dropped, taking in the view of her hardened coral-hued nipples standing out on her chest. They seemed to be begging for my touch, my lips, my tongue. My eyes traveled downward to her flat stomach, where goosebumps rose as if they were playing a symphony.
“May I?” My voice was rough, my hands flexing on her hip and around her braid with the effort of not moving.
“Please.”
