Page 10 of October

“You keep a bag of clothes in the truck for your shifts at the station, right?”

“I do. It’s in the back seat. Why?”

“Since we were planning on driving straight back home today, I didn’t pack anything. Do you have an extra T-shirt or something in there that I can wear to sleep in?”

“Yeah, of course. Let me grab it quick then you can change while I’m finding us something to eat.”

“Thank you. I’m actually going to hop in the shower. Just leave the shirt on the bed. I’ll grab it when I get out.”

She then disappears back into the bathroom. I take a breath and head out to get the T-shirt. After I leave it on the bed, I hear the shower turn on and I can’t help but picture her standing under the spray naked, with her head tipped back and her eyes closed. The fantasy builds in my head until I hear her begin to hum a soft tune from the other side of the door.

God, I’m a creep. Stop eavesdropping on the girl and go get her something to eat, Ash.

Fifteen minutes later, I come back into the room with my arms full of a variety of things that we can eat tonight and a few bottles of soda and water.

Before I can even unpack everything onto the bed, Wren steps out of the steamy bathroom wearing my firehouse T-shirt and, what I assume, are her shorts underneath. The shirt is so long though, all I can see are her long, perfect legs.

I audibly gulp. This is going to be a long night.

Wren

I hold my face under the hot water for so long I think I zoned out for a while. My mind is filled with anxiety and terror over the fact I’m going to be sleeping in a bed next to a man who I’ve wanted for over two years. A man who makes me so nervous I can’t even form coherent thoughts sometimes.

Now I’m slipping his shirt on and it feels so… intimate.

It smells like him. It’s so soft. I love the way it feels against my skin.

I stare at myself in the mirror and take a few cleansing breaths. My cheeks are red and my hair is wet and a bit wild, so I run my fingers through it in an attempt to tame it just a bit. It’ll have to be good enough.

I open the door just as he’s unpacking his haul onto the bed and I smile.

“Wow, that’s quite the spread you’ve got there.” I cross my arms and lean my shoulder against the doorframe.

“It’s somehow better than I thought it would be but also worse.”

“I told you; I’ll eat anything. I’m not picky or complicated.”

He smiles and I nearly go weak in the knees.

“I know.” He clears his throat then focuses back on the food. “We’ve got some chips, a variety of them actually. I grabbed a few Rice Krispy Treats, some beef jerky, a pack of doughnuts, some cookies, and the vending machine by the front deskactually had a couple cups of ramen,” he holds up two Styrofoam containers. “We can microwave them.”

“Perfect. That all sounds great to me.”

“And I got you a pack of Reese’s for dessert,” he grins proudly.

“It’s like you know just the way to my heart,” I say jokingly, placing my hand on my chest… even though I know, without a doubt, I would let him claim my heart in an instant.

“I feel like I’m back in college,” I say, leaning back on the bed, patting my now full belly.

“Why? Did you survive on cups of noodles and vending machine doughnuts like I did?”

“Absolutely. Doesn’t everyone make it through eating like broke goblins?” I stare up at the ceiling, thinking about a college-aged Ash.

“Broke goblins?” He laughs. “I’ve never heard that before but that sounds exactly right.”

I sit up to help him clean the mess from our motel room picnic, making quick work of it before we are standing awkwardly beside the bed.

“Are you tired?” he asks me, sliding his hands into the pockets of the sweatpants he changed into. Another win for the on-the-go duffel bag from his truck.

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