Page 73 of Away We Go

James snorts from his seat next to us, and I whip around to glare at him. Whose side is he on, anyway?

Clearly not mine.

“Cherry, please.” I’m not above begging, it seems.

“No.”

We sit in silence and I watch her determined face, working my jaw back and forth as I battle with the devil and the angel in my mind.

If I don’t agree, she won’t get any sleep and risks getting sick again. If I do agree, we’ll be sharing a bed.

“Fine.” The word isout of my mouth before I can stop it. Clearly, my need for her to get some rest has trumped all the millions of other concerns I have about us lying in the same bed.

The. Same. Bed.

“Great.”

The very picture of casualness, she strolls down the aisle to the bedroom, while I drag my feet, following her. I stop at the open door and watch as she builds a wall of pillows down the middle of the bed. “In case you’re worried I’ll get too handsy in my sleep,” she announces with a wink.

Sheistrying to kill me.

“Really, Nicky. This isn’t a big deal,” she says as I remain frozen in place, my eyes stuck on the bed in front of me.

“I mean, we almost slept in the same bed in Imola when I was sick. This is basically the same thing.”

It’s really not. That night in Italy, I’d laid beside her listening to her breathe, panicked at how sick she was. This here right now, this is…not that.

I swallow hard and nod to ease the frown lines around her eyes, and her shoulders relax. She gives me a small smile, a mere uptick of her lips, and escapes into the bathroom.

The minute she’s out of the room, I sink onto the edge of the bed and drop my head into my hands. This is not good. I can barely keep my hands to myself when I’m conscious and have all my wits about me. Who knows what unconscious Nicky may do? I’m pretty sure my arms will be wrapped around her the minute I enter dreamland.

Because that is the very thing that happens between me and Cherry in my dreamland. And that is so not something I should be thinking about right now.

“Thebathroom is free.”

My head jerks up at the sound of her sweet voice and I take in an audible gulp. Because standing in front of me is Cherry wearing aVortex Motorst-shirt with my name and number on it, long socks—and nothing else.

The world is out to get me.

“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” I mutter, getting up to pace again. It’s good to keep moving. To keep movingawayfrom her.

She scoffs, flicking back the covers before lying down and making herself comfortable. “Don’t be silly, it’s just a few hours. It’ll be fine.”

Nothing about this is fine.

I watch as she scoots down further under the duvet and closes her eyes. It’s like the idea of sharing a bed with me has her unfazed, while I’m here on a knife-edge, close to losing my sanity at the mere thought of her body next to mine.

She peels one eyelid open and gives me a long look, before staring pointedly at the blank space next to her.

“Fine,” I mutter. I toe off my shoes and sink onto the very edge of the bed. After several long moments of quiet, with just the sounds of my heart thumping in my ears, I give in and switch off the lights.

“Nicky, please try to get some sleep.” She rolls onto her side, her blue eyes pleading up at me.

My answering sigh sounds pained, even to my own ears, and I clench my fists to stop from reaching for her. She’s so close and the scent of coconut is so overwhelming; I just need to remain still and awake until she falls asleep. Then I’m out of here.

I listen as her breathing evens out and as a soft sigh escapes her lips, signalling she’s finally asleep, I bolt upright and almost run out of the room like the devil is chasing me. Though in this, mynightmare, my devil is a red-haired beauty who’s currently dressed in a shirt with my name on it and nothing else.

An absolute nightmare, indeed.

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