Page 90 of A Lot Like Adiós
“Oh?” Michelle leaned over to move the pillows around, and he was momentarily distracted by the way her shorts rode up. “For what day?”
“Soon. I’ll talk to Fabian tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Her tone was deceptively breezy as she peeled the blanket and sheet back, and Gabe realized he was talking to the old Michelle. The Michelle he remembered from their teen years, who appeared unconcerned by the actions of others, who took everything in stride or turned it into a joke. Now that he’d seen another side of her, he recognized this for what it was: a defense tactic. She was hiding her feelings from him.
And maybe from herself.
Over the past week, they’d managed to build something new on the ashes of their old friendship. It was fragile and undefined, but it was real.
Whatever it was, it would be demolished when he left. It would hurt both of them, and he had no idea how to avoid it. Hehadto go back.
“Let’s go to sleep,” Michelle said, sounding tired.
Side by side, they brushed their teeth at the mirror in the adjoining bathroom. Michelle wore the same pajama set from their first morning together, and Gabe couldn’t help watching her tits jiggle in the mirror as she brushed her teeth.
She spat and rinsed, then gave him a smirk. “Were you looking at my boobs?”
“Always,” he admitted, and she laughed. The tension in him eased, and as they returned to the bedroom, things didn’t seem so bleak.
Michelle adjusted the ceiling fan setting and pushed back the blankets.
“Do you have a side of the bed you sleep on?” she asked.
“Well, since I sleep alone, I sleep in the center.”
“That’s fair,” she said, grinning. “I’ll probably have to get up to pee in the middle of the night, so I’ll sleep on the side closer to the door.”
“That works.”
Gabe climbed in first, moving over to make room for her. Michelle sat on the edge of the bed and turned off the lamp, then stretched out under the covers next to him.
Gabe lay quietly for a moment, barely breathing. Every one of his cells was hyperaware of Michelle beside him. The night before, they’d fallen asleep sprawled together on the big hotel bed, exhausted by their sexcapades. There hadn’t been time in the morning for awkwardness, because they’d had to hurryand hit the road. He should take Nikki’s advice and put space between them. Let Michelle sleep on her side of the bed and above all, don’t touch her.
But he didn’t want to.
Rolling onto his side, Gabe found her in the dark and kissed her shoulder. “I want to cuddle with you.”
“Okay.” Michelle’s voice was soft in the darkness, but she turned her butt toward him so he could be the big spoon. Gabe pulled her closer, pressing his thighs against hers and tucking his knees into the backs of her legs. Her hair was in his face, but he didn’t mind. The sweet herbal scent of her shampoo soothed him. There wasn’t an inch of space between them.
And it felt so, so right.
He tried to sleep. He really did. But it was hard.Hewas hard. How could he not be with her gorgeous ass pressed into his crotch?
Her parents were down the hall, so sex was out of the question, but maybe...
Gabe raised his head to whisper in her ear. “I want to make you come.”
Michelle’s breath caught, and he felt her tense. “Now?”
“Right now.”
She parted her thighs to give him access. Her immediate acceptance of his offer showed how much had changed between them in a few short days.
He dragged his hand down her body, traveling over her hip to the waistband of her sleep shorts, where he slid his fingers underneath and into her panties.
When she made a little noise, his hand stilled. “Shh. You have to stay quiet, babe.”
She huffed. “I’ll try.”
