Page 102 of Wildest Dreams

I breathe out a shaky exhale, eyes on my hands as they twist into his jersey.

“Tanner…” I can’t meet his eyes when his gaze is so dazzling and hopeful. “We have to take this slow, remember? We can’t rush into this like we did last time.”

He nods and tucks two fingers under my chin, making me meet his eyes as he looks fervently into mine.

“I know that, Aisling. And I wanna take it slow. But we can still, you know… cuddle and shit.”

I thump my forehead against his jersey as I laugh out loud, and when I peek up at him again he’s got this proud smile on his face. He rubs his palms into me harder, looking way too pleased with himself when I give him another giggle.

“Who knew that the biggest player on campus would be such a softie?” I say teasingly, tugging on his shirt so that he can help me do a final lap of the rink.

He checks over his shoulder to see that no-one is looking and then he grabs me by my jaw, crushing me into a rough hungry kiss. I laugh against his mouth until he pulls away, sparkly-eyed and grinning.

He gives me a little squeeze over my freckle and warmth surges through my heart.

Softie, I mouth at him, and he mouths back,Only with you.

Chapter 25

Tanner

Present day

I heave my body down onto my bed in the cabin, shoving my hands through my hair as I exhale deeply and close my eyes.

Hunter has had his girlfriend cuddled up under his sheets for the past half hour, so with the two of them asleep the only sounds are coming from outside – the gentle rhythmic lapping of the lake as it brushes up against the shore and retreats back into its moonlit swells.

A quiet vibrating sound comes from the small dresser next to my bed and I drop my hands from my face, eyes flashing over to it. As soon as I realise that the sound is coming from my phone, I practically fall off the bed in my haste to reach it.

I grab it and throw my shoulders back down against the mattress, chest pumping hard as my eyes race across the screen.

My heart pounds in my chest as more messages pop up, and I tap on the little bubble, taking me across to our message thread. A thread that, before this exact moment, had been entirely one-sided.

AISLING:Hey.

AISLING:It’s Aisling.

AISLING:Are you still awake?

I shove my free hand through my hair as I prop my body up on one elbow, turning to face the wall so that I can give these messages the privacy that they deserve.

My thumb flies across the screen as I tug at my fringe, suddenly more wired than I’ve been all day.

TANNER:Yeah, baby, still awake.

I press send and watch the message go from Delivered to Read in the space of half a second.

“Oh my God, oh my God,” I murmur, voice low and hoarse as I watch those three dots appear, vanish briefly, and then reappear again.

Unable to lie still I kick my legs off the bed, planting my feet on the floor and dropping my elbows to my knees. I hunch over my phone and wait to see what she’s typing.

I swipe one of my palms down my thigh, knees bouncing at a thousand miles per minute, and when Aisling’s message finally surfaces I’m instantly shoving my feet into my boots and grabbing my shit from the dresser.

AISLING:Do you still want to come over?

I rip the quilt and under-sheet from my bed, shoving them over one of my forearms as I quickly type backYyesxsd fucdk yes pleasxe.

My thumbs are shaking so hard that I can’t even fix my typos, so I hit send, tripping over the blankets as I quickly shoulder my way into the small bathroom. I give myself a brief check in the mirror, wanting to look the best that I can for when I break down Aisling’s front door in one minute’s time.

---