Page 101 of Rewind It Back

Is he asleep? Maybe. Did his inability to sleep rub off on me? Possibly.

I want to call him. This is my turn after all, to do the thingsIwant to do. But this also feels reckless, when I should be protecting myself.

Screw it. Neither of us was all that eager to say goodbye earlier when I left his room, so I grab the landline off the nightstand and dial his number. Well, his room number.

He answers on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Are you asleep?”

“Well, if I was, I sure as hell wouldn’t still be after this phone just started blaring next to my bed.”

I chuckle under my breath. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. Why areyouawake?”

“I don’t know.”

He doesn’t say anything, waiting for me to elaborate.

“Would you...” I stumble. “Would you maybe want to come to my room and sleep here?”

“Yeah,” he exhales quickly. “Yeah, I would. I’ll be right there.”

There’s a moment, right after I throw the comforter off, that I slightly panic. My room is a mess. Clothes are everywhere. I purposefully packed my least sexy sleepwear to keep myself from doing exactly what I just did, so I am by no means prepared to have a man sleep in my bed.

There’s a part of me that wants to clean up my room, to shove everything in my suitcase, to jump in the shower and see if I can find something cuter to sleep in, but then I remember this is Rio that’s coming over and every muscle in me begins to relax.

His knock is quiet, just a rap of his knuckles. I open the door, the light from the hallway illuminating the room with just enough for him to see where he’s going before he closes the door behind him, blanketing us in darkness once again.

He’s standing close by, I can feel him, and once my eyes adjust again, I can see him reach out, fingers toying with the hem of my sleep shorts. Once he finds me, he trails that hand up my side, along my ribs, until he wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his chest for a hug.

“Hi, Hal,” he whispers softly, before placing a kiss on the top of my head and leaving his lips to linger there. “Thanks for letting me get some sleep.”

He says it as if I was dead asleep and woke up only long enough to realize that he was probably still awake. As if I took pity on him by allowing him to come get rest, when in reality, I was tossing and turning thinking of him.

“Am I taking the floor?” There’s an edge of humor in his tone, but knowing him, if I told him yes, he’d happily create a makeshift bed on the floor.

“I’m pretty sure you stoppedtaking the floorwhen you were about seventeen.”

He laughs lightly, and the sound vibrates through every inch of my body. Warm and comforting and familiar.

Letting me go, he takes the side of the bed that’s unused, and while still wearing his hoodie from earlier, I slip back under the covers with him.

My knee knocks his and his foot brushes mine as we try to get comfortable. I scoot back to create a bit of distance, keeping myself entirely on my side of the bed. Lying on my back, I cross my hands over my middle, not allowing any part of me to touch any part of him.

I shouldn’t let any part of me want him here either, yet I do.

I really do.

“Since when do you sleep like that?”

Turning to look at him, I find he’s lying on his side, facing me, stupid knowing smirk on his lips.

“Since when do you sleep in a shirt?” I say in retort.

“Well, I didn’t think we were having that kind of sleepover.”

“We’re not.”

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