Page 10 of Buy Me, Love
Something tugs at my heart and I feel my lips poutout.
“So sweet,” I say, taking a seat across fromhim.
“We can eat while we watch the movie, if you’d like,” he says. He sits on the bed next to mine, sliding over so he’s in the center with his back agains the headboard. He grabs the remote and takes a fry, and I can’t help but watchhim.
Biting my lower lip, I slip onto my bed. It would be nice if we were in the same bed together - right? Right. Would benice.
The silence in the air between us is so thick you couldn’t get a truck through it. It’s like there’s a big brick wall between us, and I can only see a little bit of him through a tiny crack init.
“What kind of movies do you like?” he asksme.
“Horror,” I reply with a big smile. “It’s a tradition I have. Every Valentine’s Day, I curl up with my old VCR and tapes of all the horror movies I bought on clearance from the video store when they were going out ofbusiness.”
“Hm,” he says thoughtfully with a sexy little smirk on his face. “That’s one way to spill yourguts.”
It’s too bad I only have this man for one night. Something tells me I’m going to remember this night for a very, very longtime.
Max flicks over to the channel where you can rent movies and we settle in for the flick. As he reaches over to turn the lamp off on the nightstand between us, he puts a finger into his collar to loosen his tie. Oh dear. I bite down on my bottom lip as the light flickers off next to us and we’re left with nothing but the cool blue light from theTV.
I feel my panties dampen when he lets out a stretching groan. I washed them in the sink and then dried them with the hair dryer. Whole lot of good thatdid.
“Thanks, Mr. Armstrong,” I say to him in a small voice without looking over athim.
“Please, Kit,” he replies in his dark, husky voice. “Call meMaxwell.”
I let out a long, deep breath. The movie starts, opening on an SUV driving down a long highway, a dotted line of trees rolling by. The occupants of the car are quizzing each other on what’s in the CD player. I’ve seen this one before. The road becomes more narrow, the shots become tighter, and a sense of doom starts to cage in around the family on the screen. I feel my eyelids slip closed and that’s when the first jump-scare hits, jolting me in thethroat.
“Holy shit,” I yell, letting out a fit of laughter, my eyelids flying open. I was right in that stage between asleep and awake where the slightest thing can make you pop straight up in bed. “I think my soul just got sucked out of mybody.”
Maxwell shoots me a stern look and grabs the remote to hitpause.
“Too scary foryou?”
“No, no,” I tell him. “I likeit.”
I bite my lip and watch as his eyes change, new darkness casting overthem.
He gives me a stern look and pats the bed next to him. I bite my lower lip and raise an eyebrow athim.
“Get the hell over here, girl,” he says. I grin at him, grab my foil container and scramble over, tucking myself against his chest as his arm wraps around my shoulder. Oh god, the way I slid down next to him so easily, so naturally, has goosebumps plumping up over my skin. I put my hand down on his chest tentatively and he folds a hand over mine. The swirling heat inside me settles behind my belly button as he rubs one thumb against myshoulder.
We fit so welltogether.
It’s going to be a good night. I just wish I had him for more thanone.
* * *
I’m wokenup suddenly from a dream. I open my eyes and stretch my arms over my head, feeling relaxation settle into my limbs. I glance over at the TV to discover that the movie’s over and Maxwell is next to me on the bed, ankles crossed, hands stamped behind his head. I smile over at him and he sends a glance myway.
“You fell asleep,” Max says, flicking the TVoff.
“I was dreaming,” I say sleepily, letting my eyelids flutter closed and putting my forearm over my face. “It was one of those dreams that feels so real. It felt like I could do anything. I could grow wings and fly if I wanted to. All I’d have to do is wish it and it’dhappen.”
“What was the dreamabout?”
I tuck a hand under my head and prop myself up, still half-asleep.
“It was warm. I think I was running? Maybe I was running toward the ocean, or maybe I was running away from it. And the sand kept rushing away from my feet every time I looked down. But it was so detailed. It was like I could feel every single grain of sand between my toes, every molecule in the water in thewaves.”
