Page 34 of Bliss: Part 1
He glanced at me. “You think so? You want me around more?”
I didn’t answer at first. I just looked at his hand, at the way his fingertips had started brushing the inside of my knee. He hadn’t noticed how sensitive that spot was. Or maybe he did. But if he noticed the goosebumps crawling up my thigh, he didn’t say anything.
“I like when you’re around,” I admitted. “When all of you are.”
He smiled a little, then leaned his head back against the wall behind the bed. “Then I’ll be around.”
That simple. Like it didn’t cost him anything to give me that. I tucked my legs under me and shifted closer until my shoulder brushed his arm.
The movie kept playing in the background, but neither of us was watching it. The room was quiet, and I was starting to get tired.
“You can stay here tonight, if you want,” Tripp said suddenly.
I looked up at him.
“In my bed, I mean. Instead of going back to Dash’s.”
He didn’t say it weird. There wasn’t any heavy implication behind it, not in his tone. But my stomach flipped anyway. God, I was the sick one here.
“You sure?” I asked.
His eyes met mine. “Yeah. Unless you’d rather be in Dash’s bed.”
I swallowed.
He didn’t mean it like a challenge. But my mind made it sound like one.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “It’s...comfortable with him.”
“And it’s not with me?”
“No, it is. Just…different.”
Tripp let out a quiet breath. His hand moved again, just once, up and down my thigh, slower this time. “It doesn’t have to be weird,” he said. “You’ve always slept in my bed before.”
Yeah. Before. Before all of this started to change. Before I let myself do things with Rhys, Dash, and Ashby. Before I knew how deep this could all go.
I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I reached for the remote and turned off the TV. The screen went black, leaving us in a thick kind of darkness.
“Okay,” I said.
He moved over and pulled back the sheet. I slid down beside him slowly, feeling his warmth radiate against my side. I settled on my back, and he turned on his side to face me.
I looked at him for a while before letting a heavy yawn take over, and my eyes closed automatically, my body telling me that I needed to get some sleep.
There was silence, and I was letting my mind drift off. But the second I was about to fall asleep, he said, “When is it my turn to kiss you?”
I froze, and my breath caught in my throat.
I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right. Maybe I was already half-asleep and dreaming. Maybe my brain twisted his words into something they weren’t. But when I opened my eyes and looked at him, he was watching me. His expression dark.
“What?” I whispered.
Tripp didn’t repeat the words. He just stared at me, not taking it back, and awaiting a response.
He knew? How long had he known? And if he knows, why has he not said anything until now? So many questions rushed through me as I kept my eyes on him, unable to think straight.
“I know, Bliss,” he said quietly. “About the blowjobs. The makeouts. So, tell me. When is it going to be my turn? Or do you not feel the same about me?”
