37. Hannah: Saturday

THIRTY-SEVEN

HANNAH – SATURDAY

"Bunny."

The whispered word has my eyes blinking open. And I'm greeted with sunlight.

It's faint. Early morning. But it's light.

"Morning." My voice is quiet and scratchy.

"Morning," Maddox says back. He sounds just as sleepy.

I start to lift my head, then groan, my body protesting the movement.

The shoulder under my head shakes as Maddox laughs. "I know. I feel like every joint I have is going to crack as soon as I try to move."

"I can't believe we actually slept here all night." I stretch out my top leg, realizing neither of us moved an inch.

Maddox lifts his watch hand. "A solid five hours."

A disgruntled sound comes out of me, causing him to chuckle.

"I know, Babe. Not nearly enough time together." He tightens his arm around me.

I snort. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going back to sleep as soon as we find our way out of here."

"Speaking of." Maddox points his toes and stretches his legs. "We should probably dismantle our base camp before anyone finds us."

"Agreed. I have to be back here to work this afternoon, and I'd rather not have everyone talking about us."

Maddox groans, then he rolls away from me. All the way off the edge of the benches, thumping onto the floor.

"Oh my god," I laugh and scramble after him. "Are you okay?"

Shaking his head, he climbs up to stand. "Meant to do that."

I press my lips together and nod. "It was real smooth."

He rolls his shoulders out with a wince. "I am impressive."

My eyes drop to the front of his jeans. He left them undone while we slept, and they're doing nothing to hide his bulge.

"Like I said." He reaches down to zip up.

I roll my eyes, but he's right. He's impressive everywhere.

Maddox bends down and picks my bra up off the floor. Sleeping in jeans was bad enough, no way was I wearing an underwire to bed.

"Want to go put this on while I put the furniture away?"

I fight the urge to blush. Maddox holding my bra is hardly the most personal thing we did over the past twenty-four hours.

"Yes, please." I climb off our bench bed, bringing the hoodie with me.

Before I can grab the bra, Maddox lifts it out of reach.

My eyes follow the movement, my head tipping back, and he uses the angle to tip his face forward and kiss me.

His lips are firm against mine.

It's just one kiss.

A simple press.

But it feels like so much more.

He pulls back. "If we do that any longer, I'm going to want to put these benches to use again."

I dart my hand up and grab my bra. "Maybe we can use an actual bed next time."

Too late, I realize what I just said. But instead of looking smothered, Maddox looks smug.

"Agreed."

Before I can get us both in trouble, I hurry to the bathroom.

I return two minutes later, wearing my bra and his hoodie, and while Maddox straightens the last cushion, I slip my backpack onto my shoulders.

With everything in place, I take his outstretched hand, and we walk toward the front entrance.

The silence between us is… comfortable. Familiar.

Our steps slow as we reach the doors.

"Any ideas on how…" Maddox trails off as we watch an older man in a jumpsuit approach the doors from the other side, pushing a custodial cart. "Well, that was easy."

The man unlocks the outer door and is halfway through the vestibule before he notices us.

He jerks to a stop, eyes widening.

Maddox lifts his hand and projects his voice. "Morning!"

"Morning," he says back, sounding confused. Then he narrows his eyes on Maddox's face and points at him. "Aren't you the Mad Dog boy?" His voice is muffled through the glass.

Maddox grins. "That's me."

"That was a good scoop and score on Thursday. Fun to watch."

"Appreciate that. It was fun to do." Maddox gestures to the door. "Mind letting me and my girl out of here? We lost track of time studying and got locked in last night."

My girl. Gah.

The man lifts the keys. "You mind signing something for me?"

Maddox laughs. "Yeah, man. I sign it, and you pretend this never happened. Deal?"

"Deal." The man nods and unlocks the door.

Notebook signed, Maddox and I walk out into the fresh morning air.

We stop and turn to face each other.

"I'd like to do that again." Maddox searches my gaze. "And not just the naked part. Everything that happened before it too."

I bite my lip, his words filling me with a lightness I didn't know I needed.

"I'd like that, too," I tell him.

Maddox takes a step closer. "After your shift?"

"Today?"

He nods. "I can't wait longer than that."

"Today." I breathe my agreement.

He leans down. "Promise?"

I set my free hand to his chest, lifting onto my tiptoes.

"Promise." I whisper the word against his lips.