Page 58 of Fall With Me
“Ready to start?” he asks.
“You promise this isn’t scary?”
“I know how you feel about scary movies. Do you really think I’d lie to you?”
“What if you worried about how to get me close and putting on a suspenseful movie was the only way to ensure I’d hang onto you for comfort?”
He laughs. My head bounces with the movement of his body. “That worked in high school. I don’t need to resort to such methods now.”
“Why not?”
“Have you seen me?”
Dawson’s features make most people do a double-take when he walks by. So yeah, I definitely haven’t missed taking him in from head to toe. “Yes, B. I have.”
“I rest my case.”
I push myself up, staring at his face. “So. Dang. Cocky.”
He grins, shaking his head. “Confidence, 007.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Start the movie, you goof.”
He pushes play, and I settle back into my spot, using Dawson as my pillow. How is he this soft, considering the hard planes and edges of his physique? “Even with big muscles, you’re comfy.”
“Glad I meet your approval.”
“You highly exceed expectations. Don’t let it go to your head, though.”
He chuckles. The sound rumbles in my ear pressed to his chest. “Too late.”
I smile, focusing my attention on the movie. Dawson’s right, it’s not scary. I’m trying to figure out who committed the murder as clues are slowly revealed. My brain hurts putting all the pieces together.
Throughout the movie, Dawson and I make comments about the plot or characters, but otherwise we’re engrossed in what’s happening. We’ve been watching for a while now, neither of us saying anything. My muscles are like wet noodles. Loose, limp, and content to just be. My eyelids grow heavy. Fighting to stay awake, I blink rapidly.
The last thing I remember is two of the suspects meeting at a restaurant.
Chapter 27
Dawson
“Dad? Chloe?” Finn’s loud, childlike voice screeches. “You had a sleepover without me? That’s not fair! I asked for a sleepover with Jackson the other night and you told me no!”
My eyes fly open. Staring down at me with a crease between his brow and a scowl on his lips is Finn.
What is he talking about?
Movement to my left makes me stare at my body and the one pressed next to me.How did we end up here?My heart rate skyrockets and sweat breaks out on my back. A dozen curse words filter through my head.
I’m lying on my back. Chloe’s on her side, squished between the back of the couch and my body. Her head is on my chest, her arm slung over my stomach. One of her legs drapes over mine. My left arm is around her side, holding her in close.
Even though we’re on the couch, I haven’t slept this well in ages.
I go back through my memories, determining when we switched from sitting to lying down, and when we fell asleep. No matter how hard I rack my brain, I honestly can’t remember. I’m not mad we accidentally fell asleep and spent the night together. But I am freaking out about Finn finding us.
Congrats, man. You handed Finn a grenade. Either things work out with Chloe and the pin never gets pulled, or you just gave him the ammunition to destroy his heart completely.
Gently shaking Chloe, I say, “Wake up, sleepyhead. We have a visitor who’s mad he was left out.”
