Page 95 of Away We Go

“I just need to be near you.”

Her soft words drift over me and I understand what she’s saying without saying. Ever since the crash, things have shifted between us. I’d thought it was coming from me, from my brush with mortality and the realisation that I could have died without ever telling her how much she means to me. But perhaps the accident has shaken something in her as well. This, her needing to be close to me, to make sure I’m really okay, may be saying she feels the same way.

My chest pinches at this thought and I hold her gaze with mine as I weigh what I’m about to say. “There’s only one way we both get what we want here.”

She tilts her head, her long hair falling over one shoulder and tumbling down over her chest. “How?”

I pat the spot next to me. “Stay here with me.”

Her breath catches, loud in the quiet room and my heart thunders as I wait for her response.Did I just ask my best friend’s little sister to stay in my room with me? To sleep in my bed?

“Are you sure?”

No.

“Yes.” I run my hand through my already messy hair. “I’m sure.”

Before I can blink, she’s crawling into the space in my bed next to me, settling against the pillow beside me. “This way I can check on you throughout the night,” she says.

I swallow thickly and nod, my eyes roaming over her lovely face and down her neck and shoulders to where she’s pulled the blanket up. I’ve dreamt many nights about having Cherry in my bed, but the reality of it, of her across from me looking at me with those ocean-blue eyes, is better than anything my imagination has fed me.

“Okay,” I croak, forcing my gaze away from her and back to the ceiling. I stay lying on my back, the only vaguely comfortable position for me, and feel her watching me. The heat of her gaze doing all sorts of things to my insides.

“Cherry, this will not work,” I say after a moment of silence. It’s proving impossible to have her close like this but not touch her.

Her lower lip juts out. “Why? I’m on my side of the bed. I won’t move. It’s like I’m not even here.”

“That’s the problem.”

Frowning now, she shakes her head. “What is?”

“You’re too far away,” I admit with a groan.

I watch her muddle through my words, a blush travelling over her cheeks as she scoots her small body over to mine.

“Closer,” I order.

A smile blooms on her face as she moves all the way over, tucking her body right up next to mine. She feels like heaven pressed up next to me, and with a contented sigh, I put my arm around her back and pull her closer still.

“Better,” I say as she melts into me.

She huffs out a small laugh and grins up at me. Nuzzling her face into my side, she rests her hand softly on my chest before placing her head on my shoulder.

“Is this okay?” she whispers.

She has no idea how okay this is. How many nights I’ve wanted her here in this exact position.

“It’s more than okay.”

A yawn escapes me, my eyelids fluttering closed. Cherry snuggles deeper into my body and presses a gentle kiss against my chest, lighting my skin and my heart on fire.

“Goodnight, Nicky,” she murmurs into the darkness. I squeeze her to me as my body relaxes, and I fall into the deepest, most peaceful night’s sleep I’ve ever had.

• • • • •

“This is the life,” Cherry sighs from her sun lounger next to me. She’s just emerged from a swim in my infinity pool, water streaming from her body and hair like she’s a mermaid. Today she’s wearing a small white bikini that rivals her pyjamas for the skimpiest award, and I’ve been shifting in my chair near her, keeping my hands, my eyes and my thoughts to myself.

It’s been four days since the accident and I’m feeling well enough to be up and about. My bruises are now a yellowish colour that Cherry swears is a good thing, and now the pain is dull rather than a breath-stealing burn. I’m sleeping better at night as well, though not as well as I’d slept that first night with Cherry next tome, but I’ve yet to find a way to ask her back in my bed without giving away how much I feel for her. How much I need her. And how much I’m done denying it. If there’s one thing the accident did for me, it was to give me clarity. I’m no longer willing to live my life without this woman in it. If she’ll have me…

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