Page 19 of The Note
It was a miracle the guy passed his exam, with me for a tutor.
And yeah, later on, I’d cursed the fact that I’d noticed so much because I couldn’tun-notice. But now, somehow, here I was, finding out for certain that they were every bit as soft as they looked, and that they tasted like a combination of vanilla Chapstick and wine.
It was bizarre and amazing, and I really wanted it to be real and permanent. So much that I needed to put a stop to it.
I rested my hand on his waist, my thumb stroking lightly over his hip bone and pulled back slightly, licking his lips one last time.
“You’ve been drinking,” I reminded him.
“Yeah.” He bent one elbow up under his head, cushioning his head on his arm, but otherwise didn’t move. “And you’re gonna be all chivalrous.”
“I’m gonna be cautious,” I corrected him. “Because this is important.”
His mouth twisted up on one side, and he looked at me with a combination of heat and affection that I’d never imagined seeing on his face. The combination was heady. I was freakin’ drunk on Tyler.
I took a deep breath. “Besides, we have a big day tomorrow. Or, you do, anyway, right? Man of Honor? Gotta be a hundred things to do.”
Tyler rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Not too much, actually. The next day, the actual wedding, will be insane. But tomorrow’s supposed to be pretty laid back. The bride is doing spa treatments with her bridesmaids. Mani-pedis and waxing. I was invited, but it’s not my thing.”
“So we could spend the day together? Find someplace to get pancakes for breakfast?”
He nodded happily and bit his lip, so obviously I couldn’t help leaning in to taste it one more time.
“I’ll call you in the morning, then,” I said, pulling away. “And I’ll grab you a glass of water on my way out.”
“Gus?” Tyler clutched at my hand. “You could stay.”
I shook my head, but he barreled on.
“No, not anything like that. Just to sleep. We could watch videos on your phone until we get sleepy.”
I smiled. His eyelids were at half-mast already. “You’re gonna be asleep in ten minutes,” I predicted.
“Then… we’ll be together for ten minutes.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Please?”
If there was a choice to be made, I sure as hell couldn’t see it.
We got undressed as quickly as we could, me stripping down into my boxers and undershirt, Tyler into soft cotton sleep pants and a Dartmouth tee. Tyler let me borrow his toothbrush. It was cozy and domestic andnaturalin a way I didn’t want to think about too much, for fear it would disappear.
We climbed back into the bed and propped ourselves up on pillows to watch an old episode ofLucifer. About ten minutes in, Tyler’s head hit my shoulder. Fifteen minutes in, his breathing evened and I was pretty sure he was asleep or nearly there. But when the end credits rolled and I turned off the screen, Tyler snuggled closer and said, “You cansomiss a thing you haven’t had yet. This is exactly what I’ve been missing.”
As I closed my eyes and pulled a blanket over us both, I knew exactly what he meant.
What felt like ten seconds later, church bells rang and woke me from a dream about Tyler. I squeezed my eyes more tightly shut and stretched, groaning when my stretching brought my morning wood in contact with the plush, resilient curve of a warm ass curled up against me. It took a second for my mind to process that this was veryrealbut once it did, my eyes flew open, and I found Tyler looking over his shoulder, grinning at me.
“Well,hello. Good morning to you, too.” He pushed back against me, his eyes half closing as he bit his lip around a moan.
I groaned again and buried one side of my face in the pillow. “Tyler,” I warned. “Don’t start something.”
“Why not?”
“Tyler.” I shook my head.
“No, seriously.” He turned over to face me and regarded me steadily. “I wanted it last night, but I get why you didn’t. I’m not drunk anymore, though. I’m not even hungover.” He frowned. “Unless. I mean. If you’re not sure you want to, that’s… understandable.”
I lifted a hand to card through the messy blond bedhead and curled my fingers behind his ear. It was all kinds of bizarre that I got to touch him like this. I couldn’t believe he wanted me to, and I swore I would never take it for granted. “Tyler, other than sleepand oxygen, there’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more.”
“Sleep?” he said, outraged, but his happy smile said he didn’t mean it.
