Page 27 of Lakesides and Longing

“Where?” Lukas had mentioned these trips before.

“Mackinac this time. We wanted to keep it local this year with all the pregnancies and stuff.”

“How long will you be gone?” She’d gotten used to his company and even though she fought it at first, she didn’t want to be alone in the house again.

“Just the weekend.”

She couldn’t go a whole weekend without him now, go back to no sleep again. This was not good at all.

“Um, yeah, I think I’ll come. Mom and Dad have wanted me to visit anyway.” She rarely went back to the island. She loved her family, but they were overbearing.

“Then it’s settled.”

* * *

Paige createda wall of pillows between her and Blake. She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea. Not that it would be the wrong idea. She’d finally admitted to herself that her feelings for him went beyond just enjoying his protection. She was falling hard for him.

Which was strange. She’d never really fallen like this. Sure, she was in love with Emery, but that had been such a gradual thing she’d barely even noticed. But he never made her skin tingle the way Blake did or made her heart race when he walked into the room.

However, she couldn’t get a read on Blake at all. She knew he was attracted to her, but she figured that was more in the vein of “I’d like to sleep with you and never see you again after the summer.” Which would crush her. That was not her style at all. She’d only ever slept with Emery, and she just wasn’t the person for one-night stands and such. Although she’d joked early on with Blake about summer flings, she hadn’t meant it. But she’d just never considered truly staying celibate for the rest of her life.

No. Definitely, not. That thought was ridiculous at her age.

So either she had to get comfortable with casual sex, or she had to let her guard down and fall in love again.

Neither one of those sounded appealing to her.

She slid into bed and felt it move as Blake did as well. She flicked off the light on her nightstand and tried to close her eyes. But instead she stared at the wall of pillows.

“Is this weird?” she asked. It was totally weird. Her best friend, Stormy, would totally laugh at her for this. It’d been a long time since she confided anything to Stormy.

For some reason though, this didn’t feel that weird. Because it was Blake.

He poked his head over the pillows, and she could barely make out his features in the moonlight. She would die and go to heaven right now if he leaned over and kissed her.

But he didn’t.

Again.

And she was surprised at how frustrating that was.

“A little. You’ve been through something that I can’t even comprehend. I’ve been through my own crap. Remember I can’t watch horror movies because of my parents. It’s okay. I get it.”

“Thanks again.” She was grateful he didn’t think this was too weird. She was just glad she was getting some sleep.

“Don’t mention it.”

He dropped back down on his side of the pillows, and before long, she heard his breathing change to long deep breaths.

* * *

Blake didn’t knowwhat happened to the pillow shield in the middle of the night, but he woke with Paige’s head on his shoulder, her hand resting a little too low on his stomach, and a leg flung over his.

She would be embarrassed if she realized she was practically on top of him, but he couldn’t wiggle out from underneath her without waking her. He let his fingers absentmindedly play with her hair.

This was something he never had before. Debbie was not a cuddler. After sex, she always stayed firmly on her side of the bed, and if he tried to get close to her, she’d shoo him away. Even when they watched movies together, the most she would do was hold hands.

Not that Debbie had been the only woman he’d been with, but the others were short, one-night-type things.

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