Page 85 of Skate the Line

Or maybe I just stayed up too late.

I tug on the blankets again, but they’re unmoving.Ugh.I turn to my side and press myself onto the warmth radiating behind me.

A gush of something hot brushes against my neck, and then something heavy lands on my waist.

My eyes flutter open. The dim morning light filters through the window and—wait.This isn’t my bedroom. I’m in the living room.

I arch my back to peek over my shoulder, and our eyes snag.

Rhodes’s eyebrows cave, like he’s trying to figure out what’s going on and why I’m cuddling against him. His hand never leaves my waist. It tightens for a second before he relaxes. A swallow moves against his neck.

“I either need you to get up or stop moving like that.”

The rasp of his sleepy voice does something to my body. Heat brews in between us, and I pray that it’s just my head playing tricks on me.

“We fell asleep?” It comes out like a question instead of a statement.

Rhodes nods curtly.

I shift, and he hisses. He presses farther into the back of the couch, but he can’t go anywhere.

“I need you to let me up,” he says under his breath. “Please.”

He sounds pained, like I’ve hurt him. Concerned, I sit up quickly but not before being forced to brush against him again. Another hiss flies from his mouth, and his hand falls to his lap. I crawl over to the other cushion, a chill wrapping around my legs.

I peer over my shoulder, and Rhodes’s lips are parted. He’s staring at my backside with a tight jaw.

My eyes widen.I’m still pantless.

I flop to sit and pull the blanket to my lap. My cheeks are warm. “I’m sorry.”My god.“You just keep finding me in the most embarrassing situations,” I mutter.

“Embarrassing?” He chokes out a laugh and shakes his perfectly messy hair. “I’m not sure what’s embarrassing aboutthat.”

He drops his lazy gaze to my mouth and then squeezes his eyes shut. He curses under his breath, “Fuck, I should not have said that.”

My body heats again, but this time, it’s not from embarrassment.

His long legs swing until his feet hit the floor. He glances at me briefly. “I’m sorry, I’mobviously”—he glances to his lap—“not thinking clearly.”

Oh.

Oh.

“It’s fine. We just fell asleep…toSesame Street.”

He snickers, and I grin.

Rhodes sits for a few minutes with his eyes trained to the floor. I stare at the side of his jaw, counting how many times he clenches it.

“Are you okay?” I finally ask.

He snaps his attention to me, and it definitely shouldn’t have stolen my breath. “No.”

I clear my throat. “I’m sorry?”

A chuckle slips into the quiet living room, and he drops his head. “Stop apologizing.”

“Well, I fell asleep and somehow ended up lying on you, and then I move, and I don’t have any pants…”

---