Page 16 of Not Your Basic Love Story

His gaze connected to mine, and a smile lit up his face. I grinned, an elated bubble in my chest.

I had no idea that in losing my luggage, I’d find something so unexpectedly wonderful.

CHAPTER FIVE

I woke up with a salty breeze stirring the white curtains through an open window, the sun streaming in. Dev was still asleep, one arm above his head again, mouth hanging slightly open. Looking at him, my heart felt heavy and my stomach light.

We’d made good use of the condoms, having gone through three before finally collapsing, exhausted and spent. The first time had been rushed, overeager as if we couldn’t wait even a second longer.

Afterwards, we’d taken our time. We spent a lot of time kissing, exploring each other’s bodies with our mouths and hands. I’d been on top, his hands on my hips, sitting up at first but then folding over top of him, my face tucked into his neck, allowing myself the pleasure of losing control.

The final time, we’d been asleep for a while. We’d woken at some point, the hour unknown, our lips meeting soft and tender. He was on top of me, and for a while, we moved together without kissing, simply gazing into each other’s eyes, abandoning our thoughts of whether we were moving too fast or too slow, the pleasure of each other’s company more than enough.

I squeezed my legs together, recalling every moment, every touch, every kiss.

A guilty feeling crept up again, glancing around my suite, knowing I’d planned for someone else to be here, not him. All the things we’d done the night before, had it been meant for someone else?

For a moment I imagined my ex lying there instead of Dev— practically a stranger. He was kind, funny, and extremely attractive, but a stranger, nonetheless.

Even if my ex had been there, the sex wouldn’t have been near as good. Dev was… incredible. Surprisingly amazing, in every way.

I got out of bed to pee and checked my phone.

Angelina: ‘Where r u?! Hair and makeup rm 1573! Tell ur Indian prince to put it back in his pants!’

Oh. My. God!

Miranda’s wedding!

I checked the time. It wasn’t too late. In a flurry, I jumped into the shower and rinsed the smell of sex off me, avoiding my hair; there was no time. I pulled on my clothes and was about to burst out the door when—

“Good morning, beautiful!”

“Dev! Shit, I’m sorry, I forgot you were here.”

“Aw, that’s nice.” He rested on one elbow, chuckling good-naturedly.

Hovering by the door, I shrugged my shoulders up to my ears. “It’s Miranda’s wedding today. I have to go get ready with the other girls. I’m really sorry, I forgot to set an alarm.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Go, don’t be late.”

I turned to leave but stopped, thinking about what Miranda had said. “I told my friend about you, and she said you are welcome to come to the reception. If you want to.” I hoped I didn’t sound like a weirdo.

Dev mulled it over for a moment. Then he raised his eyebrows, wrinkling his forehead. “Do you want me to be there?”

A smile met my lips. “Yes. I do.”

“Then I’ll be there.”

I stepped away from the door and leaned across the bed to smooch him quickly, the temptation far too great to crawl back in for more. “I’ll text you!” I called over my shoulder after pulling away and darting out the door.

I ran down the halls, berating myself for not setting an alarm, and burst into the room, huffing and puffing. Everyone looked to me simultaneously, in various states of readiness. My face warmed. They knew exactly why I was late. I was really giving myself a reputation.

“There you are!” Miranda said in a sing-song voice, smiling at me through the mirror while a girl attended to her hair.

“Miranda! I am so sorry. I thought my alarm was set!”

Nicole, having her makeup done, raised an eyebrow at me. I ignored her.

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