AllFreeNovel
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I learned a long time ago not to expect real from women. Real isn’t something a man like me finds. Real isn’t—well, fuck, it’snotreal.
“Can I sleep out here?”
Is she trying to seduce me, now? Breaking her no-sex rule so fast?
I want to test her. “You want to sleep out here?”
She nods excitedly. She looks younger than usual with that flash of hope in her bright eyes. “Yes. Oh my God, yes!” When she tips her head to angle her face to the sky, a dreamy expression masking her face as she looks up at the dark sky, I don’t think she’stryingto seduce me. Doesn’t mean she’s not doing a fantastic job of it, nonetheless.
“It’s early October,” I tell her. “It’s cold.”
“I can bring blankets out.” She points to the lounge chairs. “And you have those. And the hammock. And it’s—” She twirls under the twinkle of strung lights, head tipped back—a soft smile touching full lips. “Cash, this is a dream.”
Fuck, I love it when she says my name.
I feel myself softening for her. I don’t like it. “I don’t know.”
She looks crushed, then asks softly, “Please? I mean, I’m not asking you to freeze with me.” She laughs, sounding a little embarrassed. “You can sleep inside. I don’t mind being out here alone.”
Not without me, baby.“Thought you were excited to sleep in a real bed?”
She gives the chairs a longing look. “There are moments in life that you just don’t pass up. Opportunities to experience wonder and magic. Dad always says daily life is dull. The days begin to blur the older we get and before we know it, years have passed. He says it’s important that we keep our eyes open formagic, that we soak it in and store it away deep inside.”
Her green eyes land on me, slamming into my chest like a physical blow.
She continues, “I might be here with you now, in this crazy, once-in-a-lifetime place, but that’s just it. It’s once-in-a-lifetime. Tomorrow, you could decide you don’t want to do this—don’t want me here—and I’ll have lost the opportunity to know this magic. So, yes, I want to sleep out here tonight. In the cold, tucked under a warm blanket. I want to experience this magic so that I can store it away.” She laughs softly, breathily.If someone bottled magic, it would be her—this girl.“I have a feeling there will be a few different mattresses in my life. I doubt I’ll ever experience another rooftop wonderland.”
“Stay here.” The words come out rough. Guttural. Raw.
Exactly how she made me feel.
eight
Wrenlee
Cash returns dressed in sweats and a pullover sweater, carrying an armload of blankets and pillows. He drops them on the lounger beside me before handing me a pile of clothes. “Use the washroom in the gym and change.”
I frown down at the clothes, and he explains, “They’re mine. Might be a bit big, but you’ll freeze in jeans.”
Warmth floods my chest. “Thanks.”
I get changed fast, returning to find that Cash has made our beds.Our beds.He’s also pushed the chairs a bit closer together, not touching, but closer. The realization heats my skin and I clear my throat, lookingdown at his clothes on my body. “They’re a bit more than big, but they are warm.”
When I glance back at Cash, he swallows hard, throat bobbing. His voice is coarse as he commands, “Under the blankets, Kitten.”
I do as he commands eagerly, snuggling under the warm fabric as the cool night settles around us. Then I turn to him. “Why do you call me Kitten?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “Your eyes.”
I blink said eyes, surprised. “Sorry?”
“They remind me of a cat. So green and big.”
Why do such simple words have such a big effect on my heart? It stutters in my chest like hopscotch gone wrong.
I ignore the mishappening in my chest and shift onto my back to look up at the twinkle of lights against a dark sky. New York is so far below us; I can’t even hear it. It’s like we’ve gone through a portal to another planet far, far away.
“When I was little, I used to want so badly for a sibling. I was around five or six when I asked the office lady who worked the front desk at my dad’s shop if she would marry my dad, because she had a son, and I wanted another kid in my lifesobadly. I didn’t care that he was a boy, I just wanted someone there to share my life with. The quiet moments, you know? A brother or sister, didn’t matter to me.”
