Page 50 of Breakout
Kellan shakes his head, getting into one side of the car. Wyatt moves to the middle, patting the seat next to him. I slide into the seat, helping Peyton to settle on my lap.
Then she looks up at me. I mean, really looks at me, and for the first time, I have hope. Hope that she feels even a sliver of what I feel for her.
She looks at me in that moment like I am the end-all and be-all in her world.
God, don’t let this be a dream, please. I beg of you.
She nestles in closer, her nose nuzzling my neck. Within minutes, she’s out.
“Am I taking her to her dorm?” Clay asks, glancing at me in the rearview.
I shake my head.
“You can all crash at ours then. You cool with that?” Clay asks Kellan.
“Yeah, man. I’m cool with that.”
It feels like it takes even less time to get back to our place than it did to get to the club, but that might also be because I didn’t want the ride to end. I wanted to hold Peyton forever.
“I’ll come help you,” Wyatt whispers to me.
I nod, waiting for him to get out and come around. He takes Peyton from me so I can stand. Then he slides her back into my arms.
When we get inside, Clay says, “I’ll get the air mattress.”
“No need. I’m worried she might get sick, so I’ll let her have my bed and take the floor so I can watch her.”
“You sure, man?” Clay asks, holding a swaying Grace to his side.
Kellan already has Cora on the couch and is moving toward the kitchen.
“Yeah. It’s not a big deal.”
Carrying Peyton up to my room, I shut the door behind me. I lay her on the bed, taking her shoes off and then her bra. She always complains about how bad it hurts to sleep in one, and I don’t want her to be in any more pain. I grab a bottle of water from my mini fridge and set it next to the bed along with some aspirin. Then I tuck her under my covers. I go to walk away to turn off the light when I hear her whisper.
“Stay. Please, Beck.”
Looking back, I see her eyes open wide yet a little glassy.
She might ream me out tomorrow about it, citing the rules, but I could never deny her anything.
So I turn off the light, toe off my shoes, then I climb under the covers, holding my wife.
eleven
Alight caress on my ring finger slowly pulls me from my slumber.
“Mmm,” I hum before wincing.
My head is killing me.
Memories from the night before slowly filter back.
Gabe. The girls. Shots. Lots of them. Beckett.
Oh god.
I got off on Beckett’s leg in the middle of the club.
