Page 109 of Never Left You

“Yeah, let’s head on up.”

We said goodnight to the guys, threaded our fingers together, and then made our way up to our room, my body nowhere near tired yet.

“Can you call down to the front desk?” I heard Abi shout from the bathroom.

I sat on the edge of the king-sized bed, removing my boots and kicking them to the side, furrowing my brow at her request. “Um…why?”

“Well, you need a sleeping cot.”

I stood, folding my arms over my chest. “Excuse me?”

“There’s one bed.”

She appeared from the bathroom, sticking her toothbrush in her mouth. Her hair was let down, covering her shoulders. She had removed her plaid, button-down shirt, leaving just her tank top on. Her jeans still hugging her every curve as she leaned against the door frame.

“Yeah…and?”

She tilted her head, raising a brow.

“Come on Abi, we’re adults.”

“You planned this,” she mumbled through her toothpaste.

Truth be told, I made the booking for the hotel before Abi asked if she could come on the trip. I just didn’t change it once I knew she was coming. The idea that Abi would be sleeping beside me, in my arms if she let me, set my entire body on fire. Nothing needed to happen to make this night a perfect night. I just wanted to be with her.

I inhaled and stood, taking the few steps towards her. “You caught me.”

Shaking her head, she spit the toothpaste into the sink and washed her mouth. “I can’t believe you,” she muttered, a smile sneaking through.

“You absolutely can believe me.” I leaned against the door frame and crossed my arms. “So no, I will not be calling the front desk.”

Running her fingers through her hair one last time, she stood up straight and looked at me, “Well fine then. Just so you know, I snore.”

“Snoring would have been an issue even if I was on a cot.” I pushed myself off the door frame and followed her to the bed. “Hey.” I chuckled, grabbing the belt loop of her jeans. “Come here.”

She fell back into me, her hands sliding against my arms as I wrapped them around her waist. She leaned her head to the side, a soft sigh leaving her lungs once my lips touched her skin there.

“I’m teasing,” she admitted, making my heart skip a beat. “If there were two beds in here, I’d plan on sleeping next to you.”

“Well, that’s good. I promised Stetson something,” I whispered.

“Oh yeah…what’s that?”

“That I’d come back as your boyfriend.” I kissed her shoulder again.

“We’ve had this discussion before. This is your trial period, remember?” She turned her body to face me, lifting her arms to rest on my shoulders.

“I think I passed the trial period.”

“Really, what makes you say that?”

“A few reasons…one, pretty sure when I saw you with Zeke, I felt a small surge of jealousy.”

Abi’s chin tilted up as she laughed. “You were not jealous. Plus, he’s married. And—how is that a justifiable reason?”

“Two,” I ignored her comment, “Sitting next to you at the rodeo was the best experience I’d ever had. Three, I can’t stop thinking about you, even when you’re twenty feet away. And four…” I took a deep breath, swallowing, trying to keep the words from staying down, not sure if it was time to really tell her how I felt. They were fighting to get out, and I was going to let them win the battle. “I’m falling for you.”

Abi froze, her hands sliding down to my shoulders, resting on my chest. “What?”

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