Page 34 of Uncharted Desires
“Don’t be. As you can see, they fixed me. Well, almost.”
My brows furrow. “Almost?”
He shrugs. “The surgery went fine.But,”he takes another hit, “I couldn’t play football anymore.” He lets out a self-deprecating laugh. “Funny how something so… trivial can change your entire life.”
I sit up and scoot closer to him. “It’s not trivial. It’s your heart.”
I do my best to control my voice, but it comes out shaky anyway as pieces of the puzzle start forming in my brain in an image I’ve never wanted to see.
How drastically he had changed after that summer. How he no longer played sports. No longer cared about school. How he lost his scholarship. How he pushed everyone around him away.
“Hey,” his voice snaps me out of my musings. “Cheer up. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It’s your heart!”
He pulls on the joint again, holding the smoke in his lungs for far too long before exhaling. “Yeah, well. Sometimes a heart is just a malfunctioning muscle.”
I don’t argue. Instead, I give him a tiny nod, lay back down, and close my eyes, hoping that way he won’t be able to see the tears that threaten to fall.
Chapter Six
Sawyer
UNFORGIVING SUNLIGHT STINGS my eyes before I even open them and I throw my forearm over my face to prolong the bliss of the night for a little longer.
I don’t need vision to know he’s in my bed—his presence is apparent in the soft, even breaths filling the space. In the heat radiating on my left, cozy and inviting.
I fucked up. I fucked up big time.
It has been years since I woke up next to someone. And for good reasons.
But when he curled up by my side last night, spent and exhausted, and immediately started snoring, I just didn’t have the heart to kick him out. I decided it would be tomorrow’s me problem.
But now that tomorrow is here, and judging by the overwhelming brightness, has been here for hours, I sigh and slowly open my eyes.
Blake is lying on his stomach next to me, one hand under the pillow, my comforter only partly covering his naked body.
It would be so easy to roll to my side right now, wrap my arm around him, and go back to sleep. In fact, it would betooeasy, and that’s exactly why I slide from under the covers, and with my bones cracking, I crawl out of bed.
I’m not even halfway to the bathroom when a soft rustling from behind is followed by a groggy, “Morning.”
So much for not waking him up.
I turn on my heel and fold my arms over my chest. “You snore. Did you know that?”
Blake yawns and stretches, the comforter sliding low down on his body. “Liar.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “Fine. Keep living in your bubble.”
“Are you trying to sneak out on me?”
“From my own place? Hardly.” I swipe my gaze along his exposed frame, and even though I know I shouldn’t, I find myself walking right back. I lean down, place my hands on the mattress, and hover above him. “I was thinking we could go and get some—” I glance at the clock “—well, lunch.”
He shoots me a toothy grin. “Trying to get rid of me?”
There’s no accusation in his voice, but I immediately feel guilty. That’s exactly what I’m doing. “Fine. Starve away, then.”
I lean in to give him a quick peck, careful as not to get dragged down by the sheer sexiness of his barely awake self. “I’m gonna hit the shower.”
