Page 60 of Shutout
So, is she dreaming about her ex, whatshisface?
A pained groan lodges in my throat. I’m such an asshole. Who cares if I want her now, when she’s still dealing with her feelings for her ex?
Sighing, I grab her shoulder to shake her awake—and my phone starts going off at the same time.
Liv jolts. She pushes slightly against my chest, but instead of jumping the hell away like I thought she would, her nose brushes against my jaw as she looks up.
We blink at each other. My phone still rings on the nightstand. Realization about what kind of position we’re in falls on her slowly, her lips parting to form a small circle.
My voice is raspy as I mumble, “Aren’t you getting off me?”
But it’s like her brain’s short-circuiting because all she can manage to say is, “I—I?—”
And I guess mine does too, because all I can think about is: she’s not running away. She knows exactly what all is pressed against her and she’s not jumping away like I’m burning her.
Licking my lips, I hold the back of her head with one hand, and her back with the other. Her breath hitches as I roll us over. It’s not my fault her thighs ended up spread apart, or that it’s so easy to kneel between them and stretch over her to grab my phone. Or that it puts us right where I want us to be, our hips against each other, her thighs around my hips, and when I look down at her I could kiss her so easily.
But Liv doesn’t seem to be breathing. Either I’m too heavy or she’s in shock. So this is enough teasing for today.
I push up onto my hands and lean back on my haunches. While I glance at my phone screen, I feel the mattress shift with Liv sitting back up. I will murder Dane later but for now I cancel his call. It’s two in the morning and I could’ve enjoyed sleeping with Liv for three more hours if it hadn’t been for him.
“Sorry about that.” I murmur, watching her fold her leg so she can scoot over to the edge of the mattress. “It’s just Dane, but we can—” My phone starts going off again.
Liv clears her throat, her back to me as she lowers the sweater that had ridden up. “It’s okay. Maybe pick up the call.”
She sounds normal. Too normal.
I narrow my eyes as I watch her head over to my desk chair, but pick up Dane’s call. “What?”
“Dude, you finally give signs of life. We were worried.”
“I’m okay, just taking a nap.” Liv’s eyes flash to me for a second as she shrugs her jacket on. “Let’s talk later,” I say, hanging up before he can get another word in. Jumping from my bed, I grab Liv’s arm before she makes it to the door. “Hey, let me get dressed and I’ll take you home.”
“It’s okay, I can just grab an Uber?—”
“Liv, please.” I sigh heavily. “It’s the least I could do, okay? Let me.”
“Okay,” she whispers, folding her arms but keeping her eyes downcast to the side. Like she’s embarrassed.
Shit. I pushed her too hard.
I make record time of putting my socks and sneakers back on, and shrug on my shirt fast enough that it catches on the bandage stuck to my cheek and makes me wince. I grab the jacket, my phone and keys, and we walk out of my room in silence. This one’s worse than during the drive.
Should I apologize? But she’s the one who was all over me. I should apologize anyway. I could’ve just crawled over her to get my phone.
“Liv, I’m?—”
“Sorry,” she says before I finish. “I didn’t meant to, like, grope you in your sleep.”
I rub the back of my head. “If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me,” I say as we walk down the stairs with her leading the way. “I’m the one who made you stay and fell asleep all over you and I’m sure you could, uh, feel stuff.” I don’t even have to say what stuff.
The fact is that I went to sleep with her in my arms, and she was in that same spot in my dreams. The other fact is that I’m a healthy, red blooded male. Things happen. Things that are going wild because of her.
She keeps her attention forward, back to me, and I can’t take the awkwardness anymore. “Listen—” But before I fess up aboutthings, we pass the kitchen and two people there freeze me in my steps.
“Well, well,” Dane says, his mouth curling into a smirk as he eyes Liv and I. “Looks like we had nothing to worry about. Right, Jamie?”
The other stooge looks equally smug. “Yep, seems like someone kissed the poor, injured guy better.”
