Page 92 of Blind Luck

This trip was one hell of a ride. Rusty had figured he’d come to Vegas, snap a photo of Kelsey with her sidepiece, play a couple of games of poker, and head back to California. Instead, he’d ended up as an extra in a home movie, and with all the make-up, he’d felt as if he were in Hollywood or some shit like that. Plus he’d managed to turn Mav’s house into a hotel, and he’d found a girl he saw himself spending a significant amount of time with.

And he’d almost ruined everything.

That wasn’t the first time he’d acted out a vivid dream, but it was the first time he’d molested a woman in his sleep. Previous nocturnal pursuits had included waking up outside in his underwear, leaving the freezer open after a quest for ice cream, and breaking a toe when he stubbed it on a radiator. But the last incident had happened years ago. And this… This was a hundred times worse. Erin might be able to forgive him, but he wasn’t sure he could forgive himself. Too many men had taken advantage of her in the past, and he’d sworn to himself that he wouldn’t be another.

He’d failed.

“I’ll sleep in Mav’s room tonight,” he whispered as they walked up the stairs.

“Hello, cover story?”

“Then I’ll sleep in the race car bed.”

“Might be a tight fit with the two of us.”

“Erin…”

When they reached the bedroom, she closed the door behind them and turned to face him.

“Stop.”

“I will, I swear. I’ll never do that again.”

“No, I mean stop with all the apologies. Look, I get it. You made a mistake, but you weren’t entirely conscious when you did it, and I didn’t mind anyway.”

“But—”

She put her hands on her hips. “Unless you’re telling me youwereawake?”

“No, I would never?—”

“Do you always beat yourself up like this?”

“I’m not?—”

“Did she make you do this? Florence? Grovel yourself into the ground? I get that I come from a place where men didn’t apologise, ever, but this is a lot. I mean, it’s cool if you want to buy me flowers or something, I’m not gonna say no, but can we just agree that you can put your fingers wherever you want but maybe do it when you’re lucid next time?”

Rusty was still processing the first part.Did Florence make you grovel yourself into the ground?He’d just…never looked at it that way. Never unpacked the baggage from the relationship and seen where the issues lay. But since high school, every mistake had led to her giving him the cold shoulder until he’d crawled on his knees over broken glass and usually bought her a gift he couldn’t really afford as an apology. That was normal. Wasn’t it? When things were good between them, life had been great, but when he’d screwed up…

“You okay?” Erin asked.

And she wanted him to put his fingers wherever?

“I think I’m falling a little bit in love with you,” he blurted.

She just stared at him. “So, I have a pile of stuff I’m sorting through in my head.”

“I’ll wait. I’ll wait a really long fucking time for you, Erin Kealoha.”

“Awesome. Now can you…” She glanced down. “You know, take the pants off again?”

“Uh, sure? Erin?”

“Mmm?”

“How far do you see this going tonight?”

“Pretty far?”

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