Page 47 of Victorious: Part 2
Phoenix pulls back instantly, his breathing ragged, his eyes wide with anxiety. “Shit. Clover, are you okay?”
We spring apart as if we’ve been electrocuted, and I automatically reach for my watch, not able to stop the heart rate monitor from going off this time. I slap at it like the fucking thing is the devil incarnate, while trying to catch my breath.
Phoenix looks at the display and starts laughing. “Jesus, Clover. What’s your heart rate right now?”
I check the screen, my face burning with embarrassment. “One-fifty-two.”
“From an orgasm?”
“Shut up,” I mutter, but I can’t fight back my smile. “You’rebad for my cardiovascular health.”
“Pretty sure the feeling’s mutual.” He grins, that slow, devastating smile that makes my knees weak, but I also don’t miss the giant tenting erection in his jeans. “Maybe we should head back down before your watch starts a full medical alert.”
Clearing my throat, I straighten myself out as I move off him and nod. “Probably a good idea.”
Glancing up, I spot Dracula sitting back, watching like the pervert he is. Shaking my head, I stand, putting out my hand to help Phoenix up, and we pack up my equipment, making our way back down to the truck, Dracula trailing behind us.
The mood between us has shifted again, still charged, but lighter somehow. It’s as though we’ve finally acknowledged what’s happening and decided to stop fighting it quite so hard. When we’re almost at the bottom, Phoenix notices me shivering and wordlessly shrugs out of his leather jacket, draping it around my shoulders.
“Thank you,” I say softly.
“Can’t have you getting hypothermia on my watch. Maverick reallywouldkill me then.”
I tilt my head in acknowledgment as the last light fades, making our way carefully down the dune in the gathering darkness. It’s slower going, and more than once, Phoenix has to steady me when my foot slips in the sand.
“Careful,” he murmurs, his hand on my waist. “Last thing we need is you twisting an ankle out here.”
“Thanks,” I reply, but I don’t pull away from his touch.
By the time we reach the truck, darkness has fallen, and the desert sky is blazing with more stars than I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Phoenix, look up.”
He follows my gaze and goes completely still. “Jesus.”
“No light pollution out here. This is what the sky actuallylooks like when humans aren’t fucking it up with cities and smog.”
We stand here for a long moment, necks craned back, trying to take in the infinite expanse above us. The Milky Way is visible as a bright band across the sky, and shooting stars streak past every few minutes.
“We should camp here tonight,” I say impulsively.
Phoenix looks at me in surprise. “Camp? Like, actually camp?”
“Why not? We could drive straight through to Vegas, but…” I gesture at the sky. “When are we ever going to see something like this again?”
He considers it, and I see him weighing the practical considerations against the magic of the moment.
“You have camping gear in the truck?”
“Some. Sleeping bags, some food. Nothing fancy, but enough.”
“And you want to sleep on the ground in the middle of the desert because the stars are pretty?”
“I want to sleep under the most beautiful sky I’ve ever seen in my life with someone who—” I stop myself before I say too much.
“Someone who what?”
The question hangs in the air between us, loaded with possibility and danger.
