Page 15 of Crewe
She steeled herself to look at the room as they passed a nice bathroom, then an alcove with a small refrigerator and a one-cup coffee pot. A nice dresser with a television sitting on it was to the right, and to the left, Ry just stared. A queen-size bed was in the room. Where she guessed another queen was supposed to be was just carpeting. She could see on the wall where the headboard was still mounted. The room also had two nice chairs to sit in. Their luggage was sitting on the luggage rack near the closet. The room also had a glass sliding door leading to a balcony with chairs and a round table.
She looked back again, and no extra bed had miraculously appeared. She and Crewe were sharing a hotel room with only one bed. If it were in one of the romances she read, the hero and heroine would jump into the bed, but Ry wasn’t into just having sex for the sake of having sex. If she didn’t count her vibrator, it had been four years since she’d had sex.
She was at the age where a hookup just left her feeling empty afterward.
“Umm, I could sleep on the floor. They have an extra blanket in the closet if you’re not comfortable sharing the bed,” Crewe said.
“You’re not sleeping on the floor. We’re adults and can share a bed without anything else happening. Besides being cold, the floor will hurt your neck,” she said.
Crewe had talked about how he had to be careful because looking down and prepping food over the years had left him with a sensitive neck.
“It’s late. How about I get a quick shower, then put on my pajamas, and you can go next,” Ry said.
Maybe being away from Crewe in the shower would help her not think about the man she’d be lying beside all night.
“Sounds good,” Crewe said.
Ry practically ran into the bathroom to get away from Crewe. His shirt stretched tight across his chest just did something for her.
She stared at herself in the mirror, wondering if Crewe could possibly want a woman with twokids and the body of a woman who was past forty. Did she dare to dream of him for real? Sure, he was the one she imagined in bed at night, but could she actually take this chance? She’d been brave in the car, thinking for sure she could do this, but now, when he was going to be lying beside her, it was real.
She quickly undressed, turned the shower on, and imagined the heroine in one of the novels she read. What would they do?
Would they take a chance knowing that if it didn’t work out, their hearts could be broken? She was positive what her dad would say. He’d always supported everything she did and dried her tears when her heart was broken. He’d remind her that love wasn’t easy. It was messy, down-and-dirty work to get to the beautiful everyone wanted.
She quickly showered so Crewe could have his turn. Change required taking a step outside what she’d been doing. She and Crewe could stay friends, and she’d be content with her kids and her life.
But what if, instead of content, she could be wildly happy? Was she willing to take the chance?
Crewe lay on top of the covers with his shoes off while Ry was in the shower. He was having a tough time keeping his mind from envisioning Ry nude in the shower, with the water sliding across her body. He wondered if her nipples were the same color as her lips or if they were a darker rose color.
His phone beeped with a text.
Whiskey: How’s it going?
Hennessy: Anything interesting happen tonight?
Halligan: Hanging out with the MC. These guys are great. What’s up with you all?
Crewe: It seems there was a problem with the rooms. Ry and I are sharing a room with one queen bed.
Quinton: Bow-chicka-bow-bow.
McClure: Take this gift you’ve been given and sweep her off her feet.
Gaines: Don’t overthink this. Kiss the woman and make her yours.
Schaefer: How come no one made sure I got a room with a hot woman?
Dillon: You have to come out from behind the computers to get a woman, dude.
Whiskey: Vivi and Ellie, along with us, want you to take the opportunity they’ve gifted you and give them another sister-in-law soon. (This is Vivi because you buttheads don’t let us in the group chat.)
Crewe chuckled and put his phone away as Ry came out. Her lush hair was down and partially dried. It had so many shades of brown and gold that it begged him to run his fingers through it. She had on a T-shirt along with pajama pants. Her nipples were hard, and he was positive she didn’t have a bra on. She didn’t have a stitch of makeup on, and he’d never found her more beautiful.
“Your turn,” she said, smiling at him as she picked up her e-reader.
“Thanks,” he said, getting some sleep shorts and clean underwear. He’d never figured on sharing a room with anyone. He’d brought shorts because Halligan had a story about sleeping nude in a hotel that had a fire alarm in the middle of the night. He’d had a hard time finding clothes because theelectricity went off. More than one person had seen more than they needed to of Halligan. His cousin, who you’d think was up for anything, had cautioned all of them about making sure they wore sleep shorts to bed in hotels. He smirked, thinking about not wearing shorts and feeling Ry against him in the bed. Thank goodness it was a queen. They’d be relatively close to each other.
