Page 24 of Silent Count
“No slacking, I promise. I’m a good student.” He gives me a flirty smile.
“Mmhmm.” I nod, smiling. “Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I stand, my phone in my hand. “Good night, Bo. Thanks for letting me sleep in your bed.”
“Anytime, Chelsea.” A slow smile stretches across his face.
I turn and walk toward his bedroom, feeling his eyes on me until I know he can’t see me anymore. When I get to his room, I turn on the light, close the door behind me, then sit on the bedand text my sister to see if she’s still awake since it’s an hour later in Florida.
Chelsea: You awake?
Torie: Yes, but I’m in bed.
Chelsea: Okay, just call me tomorrow when you get home from school. I’ll be in class, then work until around four p.m.
Torie: I’ll call you then. I just wanted to see if you had made plans to come home yet for my birthday next weekend.
Chelsea: I’m planning to. Let me just check flights tomorrow and see what I can find.
Torie: Try to come on Friday morning if you can!
Chelsea: I’ll see what I can do.
I smile, thinking about how excited she is about her birthday. All I’ve ever wanted is for her to be happy, to not have the same memories I have, and live her life with only what she knows now. My aunt gave us a great life, and all her birthdays should be celebrated.
Which is why I’m going to have to bite the bullet and travel to Florida to see her.
Torie: Love you, Chels.
Chelsea: Love you most.
I reach over and pull my charger out of my bag. I stand up and look around the room for an outlet to plug it in. I find onebehind the nightstand next to the bed. After I plug it in, I grab my makeup bag that has my face wash and toothbrush.
When I open the door, Bo is coming out of the bathroom across the hall.
“Hey. I put some towels on the counter for you. There’s a washcloth, hand towel, and a bigger towel for when you want to shower.” He leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms, which makes his biceps look even bigger than they already are.
“Thank you. That’s perfect.” I walk across the hall and stand with him in the doorway, our bodies close. I look up at his face, then trail my gaze down to his tanned chest, then to his stomach and further to his dick. I could be wrong, but I swear I see it twitch in his shorts.
He leans down slightly, forcing my eyes to look back up at him.
“You okay? Looks like you have something on your mind,” he asks.
“Who doesn’t? Between school, work … or for you, sports … there’s a million things on our plates, right?”
“The joy of being a college student. You’re gonna be helping me out a lot with tutoring, but you know if there’s anything I can do to help you, all you have to do is ask.”
He’s doing it again. In the living room earlier, I felt like he knew I was uncomfortable with the sleeping arrangements and came to my rescue. Now, it’s as if he can read my mind.
Has he always been this way and I’m just now realizing it, or is this new and we suddenly have a connection that sparked somewhere in the last forty-eight hours?
“Night, Bo.” I look at his face again. So handsome. So astute.
I kinda want to kiss him.
He sucks in a deep breath and looks toward the bedroom. “I’m gonna grab my stuff out of my room while you’re in here,so I don’t bother you in the morning. Night, Chelsea,” he says, brushing against me as he leaves.
I run a hand across the back of my neck and try to cool my body temperature. Something has gotten into me lately. And by something, I mean Bo.
After I finish in the bathroom, I go back to his room and change into a T-shirt and shorts for bed. I flip off the light and walk to the bed, pulling the covers back and crawling in. His bedding smells just like him, and I want to be wrapped in it. I drift off to sleep, thinking about his eyes and the way they looked at me in the doorway. Like he liked what he saw too.
