Page 105 of The Vacation Mix-Up
“Ow! For fuck’s sa?—”
“Stop whining.” She pats my cheek for good measure, and I have the mind to haul her cheeky ass over my shoulder and throw her onto her bed. I almost do, right before she places her hands onmy shoulders and says, “Thank you for trying not to wake me. But next time, maybe just give me a gentle shake.”
“A gentle shake?” I ask, bemused.
“Yes. I live alone now, remember? I’m not used to someone poking something in my ear while I sleep.”
Good point.
“Noted,” I grumble.
She bites her lip, face scrunched. “Do you need me to get you some ice?”
“No. Like you said, I’ll live.”
“Good. Because I couldn’t handle another person I care about dying.” She turns back to the sofa, collects her bedding, and climbs into bed, pulling the covers over her shoulder.
My mouth falls open.
“Turn off the light,” she adds.
Ignoring her, I instead stand there and grin. “You care about me?”
She groans. “Yes, Riley.”
“What do you mean bycareexactly?”
“Light!” she grumbles.
I do as I’m told, switching it off before lowering onto the edge of my bed, waiting for her answer, nothing but darkness and the distant sound of waves lapping the ship. The cabin softly shudders as the stabilizers work to reduce the opposing motion of the swell, my mind shuddering along with it. When Riles still doesn’t answer, I climb under the covers and try to settle myself, uncomfortably twisting and turning.
“What?” she grumbles again.
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
Her bed creaks as she rolls over or sits up. I’m not quite sure; I can’t see shit.
I sit up too, blinking as I lean forward.
“Riley?”
“Yes?” I blurt.
“Thank you for today. It meant a lot.”
“No sweat.”
She inhales, long and deep, before exhaling again. “And yes, I care about you. Perhaps more than I should.”
A fuzzy excitement warms and tremors my chest in unison with the quaking cabin, my heart’s own stabilizers kicking in. “I care about you too,” I say, thrilled as fuck to also reveal how I feel. “Perhaps more than I should.”
Desperate to go to her and press my lips against hers, to show her exactly how much I care, the deafening silence instead chains me to my bed.
“Riley?”
“Yeah?” I blurt again.
“Goodnight.”
