Page 40 of Just One Bite
Chapter Thirteen
Parker
There’s a hand in the water, reaching toward the sky.
I fall to my knees, grasp it, and pull with all I have.
You have to live.
You have to keep going. Please don’t leave me here alone.
I wake with Olivia lying across my chest. My leg rests between her thighs, and one of her legs is draped over my lower half. Her scent greets me, and I don’t want to move. She looks so peaceful even though the headphones I gave her have fallen off.
I close my eyes to fall back asleep, but the remnants of my dream stir in my mind. I don’t remember my dreams. Except this one. It’s always the same one. The dream I’ve had since I was a boy—a frozen lake spans before me with a break in the ice, a hand stretched to the sky, and the shadowed outline of someone beneath the frigid water. I fall to my knees and grab the hand that’s sinking into the depths, desperately pulling to save them while screaming for help.
They never come up. I never see the conclusion, always waking in a panic.
But not today with a beautiful girl lying on my chest. The echoing of student laughter and movement in the hallway startles her.
She shoots up. “I’m going to be late.”
I turn on my lamp and check the time on my nightstand. “Relax, it’s only sixthirty.”
There are no windows in my room, so it’s basically a dungeon if there’s no light on.
“That’s late. I should have gotten up to dance. I still have to—”
I drag her back down to my chest. “Let’s take a few more minutes before all chaos breaks out, okay? I need some time to wake up first.”
She settles into me with a hand over my heart, and I bring it into the light. I want a little more time to inspect her and hold her in my arms. And now she is relaxed, fully open in the safety of my room. She’s different when she isn’t intimidating every man with that sullen stare. Everything is softer: her eyes, her skin. We should be separating, but instead, we choose connection.
“Did you sleep all right?” I ask.
“Yeah. I didn’t wake up at all. Normally, I will even with headphones.”
“Is this a pretty normal occurrence for you?”
I was shocked to see her perched in my doorway last night. When she jumped at the thunder, it was obvious.
“You mean knocking on a man’s door and asking to sleep in his bed? No. I’m usually more prepared or my sisters help me. When I was little, they let me sleep in their beds, now I just use headphones. We all slept in the same room anyway. I called them last night, but they didn’t answer. They’re probably blowing up my phone.”
She doesn’t make a move to get up, so I run my hands through her hair. It’s like we’re in a bubble. The kind where we aren’t just friends enjoying the sensation of each other’s skin. Olivia feels familiar. Her skin. Her scent. Her hair. When I stroke her and squeeze her next to me, it’s like I’ve done it before a hundred times.
It’s never been like this for me, and I know once that door opens, it’s over. She chose me last night, and I’m happier about that than I expected.
“Have you always been afraid of thunderstorms?”
“Yeah … since I can remember. It’s embarrassing.”
“No it’s not.”
“It’s a child’s fear most people grow out of. Sometimes, it sends me into a panic attack if I’m caught off guard. I was going to go to the common room if you didn’t answer.”
“You mean with the huge windows where you can see the lightning and hearthe rain hitting the grass in unison with the thunder?”
“I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“That’s okay.” I rub her arm. “You can lay in my bed with me whenever you want, and I’ll hold you.”
