Chapter 55

When Asher had invited me to spend the night in his hotel room, as mine was occupied by the cheerleaders’ party, I had expected my own double bed. Walking over the threshold, I found not two beds, but one.

I froze, unable to move forward or back. It’s not that I didn’t want this, but… But…

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” Asher said, urging me forward so he could close the door behind us.

No. This was his room. How could I barge in here and force him to sleep on the hard ground?

The bed was large, king-size. If we stayed on opposite ends, we wouldn’t even need to touch.

“It’s fine,” I said nervously. “The bed’s big enough… It should be fine.”

“You sure?”

I wasn’t really, but I nodded anyway.

I would have to watch myself, making sure I stayed on my own side so that the past didn’t repeat itself. No sexy dreams tonight, no matter what.

Asher accepted my answer at face value. He crossed the room to his suitcase and pulled out one of his t-shirts.

“Here,” he said, holding it out for me. “You can sleep in this.”

The shirt was soft cotton, warm from being in his suitcase. As I went into the bathroom to change, it smelled like him, too. Wearing it, I was engulfed by him.

The shirt was big on me, and hung so low on my thighs that I didn’t need to worry about pants.

As I exited the bathroom, Asher had changed into a pair of plaid pajama pants, with no shirt.

His gaze snapped to me, down to his t-shirt I was wearing, then away.

“We should get some sleep,” he said.

I agreed.

We moved to opposite sides of the bed and slowly slipped underneath the blankets.

A massive valley of space stretched between us, but my heart still raced. No matter how big it was, Asher and I were in the same bed. If I reached out, I could touch him.

I kept my arms firmly at my sides and stared at the popcorn ceiling. Asher clicked off the light.

In the safe cover of darkness, my familiar fantasies pushed to the forefront of my mind. The last time I had been in a bed with Asher, I had been on top of him. I’d dreamed of grinding against him.

I’d woken up before I could get off.

Facing my edge of the bed, I curled up into a ball. Apparently I got clingy in my sleep. I had to make sure to keep my hands to myself this time, or Asher wouldn’t like it.

He was nice enough to let me sleep in here to avoid the party in my room. The least I could do was respect boundaries.

Though, last time he had said it wasn’t a big deal that I had clung to him.

He would forgive me this time too, if it were to happen, I was sure.

But still…

Being that close to him would only hurt me in the end. Since he didn’t want me.

Close your eyes and forget he’s there, I told myself.

But it was impossible. His presence filled every corner of every room he inhabited. I didn’t have to see him to know he was there.

Yet as alluring as that presence was, it also meant safety. And as tired as I was, even plagued by horny thoughts, I couldn’t keep my eyes open for long.

Sleep pulled me under quickly. I didn’t dream, but I woke up warm and comfortable, surrounded by the soothing scent of leather and pine.

I slowly, tiredly blinked open my eyes. I was no longer curled on the edge of the bed, but in the center of it. And I wasn’t alone there.

I had turned toward Asher in the night, and he had done the same. Now, we were together in the middle of the large mattress. My face was pressed into his bare chest. His arms were wrapped around me. Our legs were tangled.

I should have been mortified, maybe, but this didn’t feel like it was my fault entirely. His limbs were just as clinging as mine, holding my back firmly.

I couldn’t move if wanted to, so I stayed put and enjoyed the moment. This was a fantasy. When he woke up, he’d pull away and pretend it didn’t happen. But here, on the cusp of sleep, I could imagine that his closeness had been intentional.

I could convince myself that he held me so tightly because he wanted me near, not because I was the closest warm body.

Looking up, I studied his handsome, sleeping face, half-pressed into the pillow. Some of his dark hair had fallen down, covering his eyes. Gently, I reached up and brushed it back.

My breath caught at how peaceful he looked in slumber. He usually carried so much tension, or hid behind a mask that made it impossible to discern his true feelings. But like this, he was content.

I wished I could see him like this more often.

Yet that thought gripped too tightly around my heart, waking me from the fantasy I was creating for myself. This situation likely wouldn’t happen again.

Saddened, I started to pull away from him, careful not to wake him. I worried I wouldn’t be able to escape his tight hold, but as I thought it, that hold loosened, and he rolled onto his back.

I stilled, afraid I had woken him, but after a deep sigh, his breathing evened out again. He was still asleep.

After sneaking out of bed, I grabbed my clothes and changed in the bathroom. Then I quietly left his room to return to my own.

Yet right as I reached my door, Elena popped out of hers. She looked at me with a raised brow.

I made quite the picture, not showered and wearing last night’s clothes.

Elena closed the door to her room and approached me before I could escape inside my own. My room was a mess of discarded cups and mysterious stains. But fortunately, all of the people had cleared out.

Except Elena, now hovering in my doorway.

“You disappeared on us, Cynthia,” Elena said. “Where were you all night?”

Like she didn’t know why I had left. “Since my room was so crowded, I had to find somewhere else to sleep.”

“I thought the hotel was sold out last night,” Elena said. “Some of the boys wanted to get a room to crash, but couldn’t. Don’t tell me you stayed with a stranger.”

“No. I… no. Of course not.” I didn’t want to tell her I stayed with Asher. Who knew what she might think!

Behind Elena, out on the corridor, footsteps came closer.

“Elena? What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

“I’m already ready, Coach,” Elena said, stepping outside.

I quickly followed, squishing myself between the doorframe and the door, to hide the inside of my room – and the evidence of last night’s party – from Coach’s view.

“I just had something to talk to Cynthia about,” Elena said, glancing at me.

I nodded. “I’ll be ready soon, Coach.”

Coach looked between us. He wasn’t as put together as usual. He had dark bags under his eyes and his hair was rumpled like he had only dragged himself out of bed.

Maybe he couldn’t sleep last night, worried about the competition.

Curiosity filling her eyes, Elena kept looking from him to me and back again. I didn’t know what she was thinking.

When she caught my gaze, she smiled like she knew a secret.

I stared back, confused. What did she mean by that?

Did she know about Asher? How? He wasn’t out on the corridor. Maybe she had spotted his car? But I hadn’t seen her look at the parking lot.

Still, she seemed positively giddy.

“Guess you had fun last night, after all, Cynthia. Honestly I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Somehow, she had to know about Asher!