Page 25 of Dating the Boss
“Stop arguing with me and get in that bed,” I said, a growl mixing with the words.
Reed put his hands on his hips. “No.”
“Reed…”
“You’re not the boss of me,” he spouted off, then erupted into a laugh. “I mean, I guess you are. But not in this instance.”
A smile tried to form on my lips, and I forced it away. He was just too damn adorable. I hated it. Ignoring his feisty little attitude, I unfolded the fitted sheet and started putting it on the cot. Reed came over to help, saying nothing. But the annoyed huffs leaving him said more than words ever could.
“You’re gonna wake up with one hell of a crick in your neck,” he said once the sheet was on. “And that’s if you don’t fall off the damn thing first.”
“Will you stop fussing over me?” I fluffed the pillow and tossed it down on the cot. “Get in bed, Reed. We’re leaving at first light.”
“God, you make it sound like we’re leaving for war in the morning,” he muttered, stomping over to the large bed. It rose up higher because of the antique frame, and I fought another smile as he had to hop up to get into it. He flopped on the mattress and pulled the thick comforter over him before turning his head toward me. “You sure you don’t want the bed? It’s amazing.”
“Turn off the light,” I said.
The cot creaked as I put my weight down onto it. For a second, I was afraid it would collapse. Reed wasn’t wrong when he’d said I was too big for the thing. It was the size of a twin bed, and my feet hung over the edge just as he’d said they would. My shoulders were a bit too wide to lie flat down, so I had to lie on my side.
Heaving a sigh, Reed flicked off the light, sending the room into darkness. And silence. It was so quiet that I heard the wind rustling the branches outside the window. He shifted around before settling. But after a few seconds, he shifted again. Then again, releasing another sigh.
“Will you stop moving?” I asked, annoyed.
“I can’t help it,” Reed whined. “It’s too quiet for me to sleep.”
“Well, try.”
“Iamtrying.”
“Sounds like you’re talking to me.” I pulled the sheet up over me, each small movement making the cot creak and groan.
“Do you think the roads will be clear enough to go home tomorrow?” Reed asked, his voice a little rough. “What if it keeps snowing and doesn’t stop? We could be stuck here for forever.”
“It’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow,” I told him. “We’ll be home in no time. Now go to sleep.”
Reed faced the wall, and I stared at his back in the darkness. He stayed still for a full minute before moving again.
“Christ,” I said, sitting up and grabbing my phone.
“What are you doing?” Reed peeked at me over his shoulder.
“Putting something on so you’ll settle down and sleep.” I scrolled through my Spotify until I found a playlist I’d made a while back that was for deep sleep. It was filled with instrumental music that was meant to put the listener in a deep state of relaxation. I had listened to it during the nights when my brain wouldn’t shut off.
“I can’t listen to music when I sleep. I get distracted by the words.”
“There aren’t any words. Now shh.” I hit Play and placed my phone on the bedside table, turning down the volume so it wasn’t too loud but loud enough to hear.
Within minutes, Reed was softly snoring.
I gave a self-satisfied smile and closed my eyes.
After tonight, we’d return to Blue Harbor and everything would go back to normal. And hopefully my desire for him would stay in Ivory Falls.
***
“Um.” Reed turned from the window the next morning and cringed, letting the heavy curtain fall back in place. “So, the snow didn’t stop.”
“What?” I walked out of the bathroom after brushing my teeth and went over to him, peering outside. The snow was so thick that it covered the entire walkway and nearly reached the bottom step of the porch. And it was still coming down. Hard. “Goddammit.”
