Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

I woke up the next morning with my head resting on Callum's bare chest and his arms draped loosely around me. The memories of the night before washed over me. It had felt like something out of a dream, not something that belonged in my real life. But then, everything since Callum had gotten into my car had felt like a dream. I wanted to stay there.

It was too bad that he was only coming to King's Bay for a vacation.

But what if he gets the job? A small hopeful voice broke through my pessimistic thoughts.

Callum's arms tightened around me. "Morning," his sleepy voice muttered into my hair.

I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head, and I let out a contented sigh. "Morning."

"What time is it?"

I turned my head to the digital clock on the bedside table. "Just after ten. Should probably hit the road soon." It was later than I'd planned on leaving, but after the previous night, it was no surprise we'd slept in.

"Probably." Neither one of us made a move to get up. We just laid there. The more I woke up, the more I could feel the night before. Every part of my body ached in the best way. "You okay? About last night, I mean?"

I didn't have to think on my answer. "Yes. Last night was…" I paused, trying to think of the best way to describe last night. There were so many adjectives that could work, but none of them felt exactly right.

In the end, I didn't need to say any of them.

"Yeah." He understood.

Not for the first time since I'd met him, not even twenty-four hours ago, I felt known in a way I never had before.

We laid there for a few more minutes before we finally got up. We gathered our things, and he took our bags to the car while I checked out. A few minutes later, we were back on the interstate.

We didn't talk much at first. We just sat in comfortable quiet, Ryan's road trip playlist the only sound in the car. Sometimes, I'd catch him singing along quietly to a song he'd mentioned he liked the day before. He was off key, but I smiled anyway. We drove for less than an hour before he broke the silence. "Food?"

My stomach grumbled in response. We found a fast food place and grabbed a quick lunch.

We were both more awake when we got back into the car. As soon as we were on the interstate, the conversation began to flow. We talked about nothing and everything. My cheeks hurt from laughing at a story about him and Silas in college. In return, I told him a story about me and Ryan when we were kids, the one season our dad convinced him to join Little League. (It had been a disaster.)

We were passed Nashville before the night before came up, brought on by me wincing when we hit a bump. "You doing okay?"

I stole a glance at the man in my passenger seat. "Huh?"

"After last night. Physically, I mean. Already checked on you mentally, but I know I was a bit rough on you."

His concern brought a smile to my lips. "Little sore, but in a good way. Pretty sure I'm going to be feeling that for a few days." It was too bad he wasn't moving to King's Bay. I would have loved to experience it again. Play through some of the other fantasies we'd shared in the hotel room the night before. I would have loved to find out what he was like when we weren't playing a game. "I'm going to be thinking about it a lot longer than that." My voice was small at my admission. It made me feel more vulnerable than I'd felt in a long time.

"Me too," he admitted. "Gotta admit, it was the hottest night I've ever had."

I laughed. "Same."

"But no regrets?" His voice was soft as he asked the question. Maybe he felt as vulnerable about it as I did.

I rested my hand on his and squeezed it lightly. "No regrets. Not about anything that happened yesterday." A mile passed between us in silence before I spoke again. "Actually, no. One regret." He hummed thoughtfully, prompting me to continue. "You realize we've hooked up twice in the past twenty-four hours, and we still haven't kissed? I regret not kissing you good night last night. Or good morning even."

"Not too late for that." I lifted my hand from his and indicated the road in front of us, the passing cars. It wasn't like the nearly deserted roads in Illinois or Missouri. It required more of my attention. "We still have," he paused as he checked the GPS, "about eight hours left to drive. Pretty sure that's enough time for me to steal a kiss."

"What if I steal it first?"

"Let the games begin."

I remembered those same words the night before, and they sent chills down my spine. Would those words always have that affect on me, or would it only be for the next eight hours when I could hear them from his lips? I smiled. "Let the games begin."

When we pulled into a gas station a few hours later, neither of us managed to steal a kiss from the other. I kept trying to catch him off guard, but it was proving to be an impossible task. At least that meant I was aware enough to keep him from catching me off guard. Not that I would have minded. We played the same game when we stopped at a truck stop in North Carolina for dinner around five. When he stepped outside to call Silas and give him an ETA, I hatched a plan on how to catch him off guard and get that kiss.

I put it into motion when he came back. He excused himself to the bathroom. I counted to thirty in my head before following him. I stood flush against the wall outside of the bathroom and waited. A few minutes later, he walked out. I grabbed him from behind, trying hard not to laugh when he let out a yelp. When he turned and saw me, I went in for the kiss.

The first kiss was barely more than our lips pressed together. The second one was longer. I pulled him closer, and slipped my tongue past the seam of his lips. He tasted like the burger he'd just eaten, which might not have been the sexiest thing for a first kiss, but I didn't care. After he got over the shock, he began to dominate the kiss. He kissed with as much skill as he'd shown when he'd fucked me into the mattress the night before. It took everything I had in me not to moan as he pushed me back against the brick hallway wall.

We didn't stop kissing until we heard someone clear their throat. We sprang apart and tried to look sheepish at the truck driver who had interrupted us. Callum slipped his hand into mine, and we walked back out to the car. I filled up the tank, and we hit the road again.

Easy conversation flowed between us for the last four hours of the trip. We kept up our game of stolen kisses every time we stopped.

After one bathroom break, he'd nudged me and whispered that there was a glory hole in between two of the stalls. For a moment, I considered suggesting that we go back and make use of it. I'd never used one before, and I trusted Callum enough to try it. The only thing that stalled the suggestion was the crowded parking lot. There was no way we wouldn't get caught, and while I liked the idea of people knowing what I was doing, watching, all of that, I didn't think a truck stop in rural South Carolina was the best place to play those games.

I regretted it fifteen minutes later, when he admitted that he'd always wanted to use a glory hole. It lead us back to conversations about fantasies which turned into other deeper conversations. It passed the miles between us, and for the first time since I'd hit the road in Missouri, I wished for more miles. For another night in a cheap roadside motel, even one as bad as Illinois had been. Hell, I'd take a second night at that motel if it meant a second night with Callum.

The mood in the car changed when we saw the first sign for King's Bay. It grew more somber with every passing mile. By the time I pulled up in front of his friend's apartment, it felt like there was a dark gray storm cloud in the backseat.

"I don't want to get out of the car," he admitted as I pulled in front of the building and hit the blinkers.

"I don't want to let you out of the car."

I sighed and leaned over the center console to get one last kiss. He met me in the middle. The kiss was bittersweet, so full of longing that my heart ached. I didn't want this to end. I wanted to stay in this moment with him, frozen in time forever. I didn't want this to be a fleeting thing, a memory that only lived in my dreams.

I wanted more. I wanted to see him again. When we pulled away, I studied him. I wanted to memorize every detail of his face.

"Can I have your number?" Callum asked.

"Only if I can see you before you go back to California."

The smile that lit up his face was blinding. "Fuck it. I'll see you every day that I'm here if you want. I'll come over every night, and we'll hang out. I don't want this to end."

"Neither do I."

Callum pulled his phone out of his pocket. He navigated to his contacts and passed the phone to me. I put in my number, and then I sent myself a quick text so I could have his. Our fingers brushed when I passed the phone back to him, and I felt electricity racing through my blood. We shared one final kiss before he climbed out of the car with a promise to call. I didn't feel sad as I watched him walk away from the car and disappear through the doors of his friend's apartment building.

I felt hopeful. This might have been the end of our road trip, but I felt certain that it was the beginning of something else.

Something much greater than one night.

THE END