Page 53 of Stuck on the Slopes

“Are you warm enough?”

“Mhm. You?”

“Yeah.” The fleece blanket above the comforter warmed my skin right up, especially when paired with my long johns. “G’night, Rach.”

Rachel rolled over onto her side, her back now facing me, and was asleep almost instantly. I envied her ability to conk right out as I tossed and turned, struggling to get comfortable. My hip and lower back felt extra tight in the cold, even with the blankets and my tincture helping relax the surrounding muscles.

But my mind silenced, focused on only one thing: Rachel beside me. I hadn’t shared a bed with someone in four years, not since the accident. It was difficult enough to find a sleeping position that helped ease my leg pain, never mind with another person in the bed. Typically, I’d hike my leg up over a bundle of pillows, allowing it to stretch out as sleep won me over. If I didn’t know any better, I’d be tempted to replace the pillows with Rachel right now.

As she turned back over to look at me, eyes blinking open, I wondered when my chamomile tea and medication would kick in. When combined with my tinctures, I usually fell asleep much faster than this—still not as quickly as she had, but not this long. Rachel reached out and brushed some of my hair back, fingers combing my bangs out of my face and running along the top of my head. My body betrayed me and nuzzled into her touch, yearning to feel the pads of her fingers against my scalp once more.

“Trouble sleeping?”

“What else is new?”

Rachel gave me a sad smile. With those doe eyes of hers that made my heart stop, looking at me through her long lashes in the dark, she asked, “Can I help?”

I cleared my throat and smacked my lips. A familiar tightness formed in my groin as I felt butterflies flutter in my stomach for the first time in years. I was scared to speak, afraid that somehow a literal butterfly would fly out of my mouth if I were to open it. My mind screamed no, to not get close to her or to anyone, but my body betrayed me as I nodded an affirmation.

Rachel’s hand moved from my head to my chest. Once it landed right in the center, her hand drifted down the front of my body, making each of my hairs stand on end.

“You don’t want me to stop, do you?”

Still unable to speak, I shook my head, no longer denying myself what I truly wanted. Rachel’s hand reached for the waistband of my thermal pants and slipped beneath it, causing the elastic to lightly snap against her knuckles. Her hands were so warm that I couldn’t help but crave her touch, needing more as I gave in to desire instead of my logic and reasoning. Her name played like a mantra in my mind, but I still couldn’t bring myself to say anything. At least it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for me to be this quiet.

Then I jolted awake. Rachel was still next to me, but with her back turned like it had been when she went to sleep. The sun streamed in through the thin sliver the blinds didn’t cover, illuminating the room and making her hair shine with an almost reddish glow.

It had been a dream.

But to my horror, my erection carried over from my dream into reality—and apparently, I had hiked my leg over Rachel’s body as if she were the stack of pillows I typically piled beside myself.

My breath hitched and felt stuck in my throat. I had two options: either stay like this and try to play it off when she wakes up or move immediately and hope she doesn’t notice my boner when my shuffling inevitably wakes her.

Before I could decide, a third option happened I hadn’t considered: Rachel woke up. She stirred with a little wiggle, her rear rubbing against my morning wood. To my surprise, she said nothing about it directly, but there was no way she hadn’t felt it. Words caught in my throat, and I was almost certain my heart stopped.

“Who would have thought that you were such a cuddle bug?”

“Rachel, I am so sorry.” The heat rushed to my face, unfortunately not leaving my groin in the process. I began to pull my leg back, but she wrapped her arm around my thigh to hold it in place.

Her touch certainly didn’t help my predicament.

“Are you comfortable like this?”

“Huh?”

“Your leg. You’ve got sciatica from your back surgery, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Is your leg comfortable like this? Be honest.”

I nodded and wished I could tug it back, but her grip on my thigh was too tight to risk a worse flare-up fighting her on it. “Again, I’m so sorry. I usually fall asleep like this but with a bunch of pillows. Habit must have taken over.”

“It’s okay. If this is comfortable, leave it like this.” She shifted beneath my leg so she could face me now, though my knee kept its place hooked over her hip. I swallowed as my erection pressed against her thigh now, mere inches away from the space between her legs. She was close enough I could see every eyelash.

This proximity is going to be the death of me.

“Are you sure?”

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