Page 62 of Truth or Tequila (Grand Slam 1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

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I haven’t been able to sleep all night. I’d like to blame it on the storm that’s still raging outside, but I know it’s because Sophie’s sleeping fifty feet from me. I can’t quit thinking about how I’d like to be holding her tightly to me right now. As another clap of thunder shakes the windows, I see the bedroom door open a crack.

“Soph?”

She opens the door wider and peeks in. The light in the hallway’s backlighting her so I can see her hair flowing down over her shoulders and onto the T-shirt she’s wearing. It doesn’t look like she’s wearing pants.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she whispers.

“The wind’s picking up again. It’s getting pretty loud.”

“Yeah.” I can barely hear her.

“Sophie, nothing’s going to happen. It’s probably just the last bands of the storm. We’re safe here.”

“Okay.” She starts to take a step into the room but then leans against the door frame.

As I turn on the lamp next to my bed, she shifts around a little bit. She’s definitely not wearing pants. I see a little bit of her lacy underwear peeking out from underneath her T-shirt.

“Do you want to sleep in here with me?” I can already see in her eyes that she does, but I’m not going to push her. “I promise I won’t touch you.”

“What if I want you to touch me?” she says, smiling a little bit as she looks up at me.

“Is that the wine talking?” I say.

“The wine wore off an hour ago.”

“Is it the storm talking?” I motion toward the window as another clap of thunder breaks.

“Why can’t it just be me talking?” she says, scrunching up her face. God, I love when she gets that pouty look.

“It can,” I say, scooting over to the side of the bed. “Is it?”

“Yeah. I kind of like you.”

“Kind of, huh?” I say. “Well, that’s a start.”

She looks down. “I didn’t mean it like that. I really like you.”

“I really like you, too. Really, really.”

She looks up and smiles again, but doesn’t move from the door.

“Come here, Sophie,” I say, opening my arms.

She starts to walk over slowly, but when a howling gust of wind shakes the walls, she shrieks and throws herself into me.

“The storm’s going to go away, Soph,” I whisper into her hair as I wrap my arms around her. “You don’t need to be scared.”

“The wind sounds like a train’s about to crash into the house,” she says, rubbing her forehead against my chest. “I remember that from the last time. The sound is horrifying.”

“I promise the apartment isn’t going to blow apart.” I start rubbing her back. “And we’re upstairs, so no flooding. We’re safe.”

She nods but doesn’t say anything. As more thunder explodes, she jumps into my lap and curls into a ball against my chest. I pull her body closer to mine.

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