Page 61 of Loud Unspoken Memories

I open a bottle and pour her a glass, then pour one for myself. Setting another chair next to hers, I sit down and pull her feet up onto my lap, keeping them off the cold floor.

She shakes her head over and over, clearly tormented.

“Your boy must be pretty torn up,” I say.

“No. I mean, yes, of course he’s sad. But I’m not sure he understands the finality of it. That’s not why I’m so upset.” She shoves her phone at me. “Look. I googled it. Did you know that a person can only survive hanging upside down for a few hours?Hours, Dallas. You would have been dead if I hadn’t been there. And you would have died had you sent me back here to call for help.”

I take a drink, then set down my glass, rubbing her feet through her thick socks. “Well, it’s a good thing neither of those things happened.”

Concern pinches her forehead. “You need people, Dallas.”

“People?” I ask, watching Bex circle around the base of the fireplace, finding a spot to sleep after his meal.

“Yes. People. You know, friends or family you can count on if you ever say… find yourself hanging upside down from a cell tower.”

“Doyouhave people?”

“I do. I have”—she closes her eyes—“hadCharles. I have Asher. I have Bug. Who do you have all the way out here in the middle of nowhere? Don’t try to sit here and tell me you have your siblings or your parents. They aren’t here. Who’s going to help you the next time you climb the tower? You don’t have anyone.”

I squeeze her toes. “I have you.”

She tilts her head, her gaze homing in on me.“Do you?”

I swallow. I shouldn’t have said the words. It’s too much too soon. I try to brush it off. “You want to know the truth? That wasn’t even the most precarious place I’ve ever found myself. Once, Blake and I got trapped upside down on a roller coaster. It took a long time for them to rescue us.” I nod to her phone. “I guess now I know why they sent about a dozen fire trucks. I had no idea you couldn’t hang upside down for that long.”

She eyes me strangely. She knows I’m dodging her question. But she doesn’t push. She sips her wine, watching over the rim of her glass as my hands massage her feet.

“I can’t seem to get warm,” she says, tugging the blanket around her.

“Same.”

“What do you suggest we do?”

My eyes dart to the bed. “What doyousuggest we do?”

The intense depth of her gaze lets me know we’re on the same page. I take the glass from her, put it on the ground, then gather her in my arms and carry her over. Laying her on the bed, trying hard to keep the blanket around her, I peel off her clothes. Then I undress and climb in next to her. “Thanks for saving my ass today.”

She smiles playfully as her fingers wrap around my lengthening cock. “It wasn’t just your ass I was saving.”

We make love for hours. My total loss of control around her is as unexpected as it is unbelievable. We work up a sweat untilneither of us are the least bit cold. I give her four orgasms. She graces me with three.

Eventually, completely satiated and worn out, neither of us having the energy to cook dinner, we lay side by side, our fingers entwined.

“I have an important question,” I say. “One that’s been burning inside me all afternoon.”

She looks worried. Or excited. Or maybe intrigued is the better word. Sometimes I can’t read her at all. Other times it’s as if we’re connected telepathically.

“What’s the question?”

“Who’s Grumpy?”

She cocks her head.

“Earlier on the phone, when you were talking with Charlie, you said Grumpy was with you. I thought it was possible you were talking about me.”

She giggles. “I could have been. Youarepretty prickly at times. But no, Grumpy is his favorite stuffed animal.”

“That makes a lot more sense.”

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