Page 2 of New York Love Stories: Vol. 1

That smirk would totally get me into bed, given what it’s doing to me while dreaming. I close my eyes again. “I’m ready.”

“For what?” His deep, dulcet tones vibrate through my body.

“Resuscitation. I’m ready. Resuscitate away.”

When nothing happens, I peek one eye open. He’s still staring at me with the smirk I’m ready to kiss off his sexy face, and whispers, “I don’t think you need me?—”

“Trust me.” Opening both eyes, I also run my fingers through his shiny, chestnut-hued hair, taking in the feel of the soft strands. “I really,reallyneed you.”

When he leans down, I prepare my lips with a quick lick before meeting his . . . or at least, that’s the direction I hope this dream is going.

“I was thinking?—”

“Yes?” My gaze floats from his mouth to his eyes again.

“We’ve been at this a while. Maybe we should get you off the floor?” His head tilts to the side, and the industrial lights above him shine bright in my eyes, almost like a place of business, a restaurant, or a bar would hang. My senses begin to return, starting with the stench of old beer scenting the air.

“Yuck.” Next comes a wave of cedar-y cologne and salty air. That’s a scent I approve of, but that’s when something else hits me.What if I’m not dreaming?

“Up you go,” he says, shadowing me again as he tries to lift me to my feet.

I don’t budge. “Dream or not, I quite enjoy being horizontal with you.”

“Are you always this,should we say, flirtatious?” he asks, laughter punctuating his question.

“Not when I’m awake, no.”

As if he couldn’t be more gorgeous, little lines whisker from the outer corners of his eyes, enticing me to drag my fingertip along each one. I don’t, but I want to. “Are your eyes hazel or brown? It’s hard to tell in this light.”

“Brown.”

“Brown does them a disservice. A kaleidoscope of colors is trapped inside them. I’m going to need a closer look in the sunshine.”

“The sun will be setting soon.”

“Then we should hurry.”

A restrained chuckle wriggles his lips. “You can stare into my eyes, but I have to warn you, once you do, you’ll fall madly in love with me. And I’m leaving tomorrow, so if we’re falling in love, you better get to the loving part since you’ve already fallen.”

“Good point.”

“Get up, Natalie,” my best friend says, rudely barging into my fantasy and peering at me from beside his shoulder. “The floor is filthy! Now you’re going to have to wash your hair.”

My eyes shift her way. “Please go away and let me have this one little dream, Tatum.”

Snapping her fingers twice in front of my face has me jerking my head back. “You’re wide awake and making a fool of yourself.”

Noise from the crowded bar filters into my consciousness. Instead of looking around to confirm, I stare into Dreamy’s eyes a moment longer and then exhale as embarrassment becomes reality, returning me to the present. “You’re real, aren’t you?”

A slow nod accompanies a smug expression.

The heat of my cheeks has me pressing my hands to them in hopes of cooling my skin down. “Do you mind helping me up?”

“I need to know something first.”

“What?” I ask, knowing I should leave before I’m sober enough to realize how absurd I’ve been behaving.

Still holding me in his arms as if I’m light as a feather, he leans closer with his eyes on my mouth. When his gaze rises to meet mine, he asks, “Did you fall in love?”

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