Page 106 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

“I love this part,”Sadie said in my ear through my headphones as we watched the second Twilight movie in separate locations.

I tilted the screen of my laptop so I could see the movie better. “What’s with the bad wig?”

She let out a peel of laughter and my chest warmed. “I knew you’d notice. She cut her hair for another movie so they put her in a dollar store wig for filming.”

I stretched out on the hotel room bed and listened to her talk about Twilight.

I didn’t care about the movies. I just liked hearing her voice. I wanted to be near to her in any way I could.

I’d spent the week in Victoria, the biggest city on Vancouver Island, a three-hour drive from Queen’s Cove. It had been days of negotiations with a potential client who wanted to build a dozen apartment buildings in neighboring towns to Queen’s Cove. It was a big job, and it seemed like we’d get it. Worry flared in my chest at the idea of taking on more work, but I pushed it aside.

All week, I missed Sadie. The meetings started Monday morning so I left Sunday afternoon but I regretted it, since I had to cut our day together short.

I pictured us fucking in the front seat of my truck and my eyes closed as I sighed. Fuck. Every night, I pictured her riding me, gasping and tucking herself into my chest as her wet pussy fluttered around my cock.

The inside of my truck was covered in paint, but every time I saw those splashes of color over the seats, I grinned and thought about what we did in there. No way was I getting it detailed.

“What’s the bed like in your hotel room? Did you jump on it?”

I smiled. “I think I’d break it if I jumped on it.”

“I’d jump on it for you then.”

“I should have brought you.”

I pictured it. We could go for dinner together, explore the city, find a little Italian restaurant and order a bottle of wine. We could walk back to the hotel through the sidestreets. Maybe she’d slip her hand into mine.

My heart squeezed.

Maybe I’d take her back to the hotel and we’d fuck in the shower again. I stiffened in my pants.

“But who would irritate Olivia at the bar all week?” she asked.

“I’m sure we could find someone to bug her.”

There was a pause on her end before she spoke. “I, um. I’ve missed you this week.”

I smiled openly in my hotel room. “I missed you too, honey.”

Fuck, it felt good to say that to her. There were a thousand things I wanted to say to her but held back. Our conversation at that art rave changed things, but I didn’t want to rush her. She had let me stay over that night. That was a big deal for her.

My mind wandered to the next morning. Waking up next to her was heaven. I had snuck out early to pick up coffee and breakfast for her before slipping back into bed to cuddle. The surprised smile on her face when she woke up to see me before she relaxed into my chest made me feel like everything was right in the world, and I was exactly where I should be.

My chest pulsed with something warm and languid.

This had to be it, right? This was love.

I was in love with Sadie.

Anxiety weaved and dipped through my stomach. She was leaving, so there was no point in saying anything.

The thought of her leaving made me sick, so I tried not to think about it.

“My parents want you to come for Christmas dinner,” I told her. “I wasn’t sure what you were doing for the holidays, whether you were flying home or not.”

“I’m staying here. My parents are staying in Mexico for the winter, and Willa’s going on some art retreat. I was going to order takeout from whatever’s open and watch movies.”

I pictured her sitting alone, curled up in bed, eating takeout and watching Christmas movies while I sat around my parents’ dinner table, talking and laughing with everyone.

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