Page 30 of Weather the Storm
“All right, let me grab Desi and we’ll roll out.” There’s rustling as he calls to his daughter in Spanish. I hear Desi yell back at him, rapid fire, but finally Mateo lays down the law and she relents. “Sorry about that, Simon.”
“Teenagers—what can you do?” I joke, trying to lighten the mood. I can’t imagine raising a teenage girl by myself; he’s fucking Superman in my mind, though Desi is a good kid—stubborn, but good.
“We’re on our way. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”
I end the call and relay our conversation to Magnolia, since she only heard my side of it. Once the truck is in gear, I take her left hand in mine, stroking the top of her wrist gently with my thumb the entire drive.
About two minutes in, Magnolia’s exhaustion gets the better of her and she passes out cold with her head against my shoulder. Not wanting to wake her, I make the turn into my driveway as slowly as possible to keep the jostling to a minimum.
I throw the truck in park and lift her into my arms, cradling her. I keep my footsteps light and my gait even, shifting her just a bit to get the front door unlocked. I head down the hall toward her bedroom, and right as I go to set her on the bed, she blinks awake and throws her arms around my neck. A small whimper passes her lips and my soul aches for her.
“Y-your bed?” Magnolia rasps out, and I’m helpless to tell her no.
Chapter Fifteen
SIMON
Changing course, I carry Magnolia to my room. Since the covers are already kicked down to the foot of the bed, I softly deposit her right in the center so she can choose the side she sleeps on.
“Do you want me to run to your room and grab you something to sleep in?”
“I’ll just t-take one of your sh-shirts, if that’s okay with y-you?”
“That’s more than okay with me.” I walk to my dresser and grab her a soft, worn, cotton T-shirt that I’ve had forever. “Here ya go. You can get changed while I go grab your stuff from the truck and lock up.”
“Thanks, Simon.” Her voice is so damn soft, I hardly hear her. I let my stare linger, making sure she’s okay—as okay as she can be, given the circumstances.
Keys in hand, I walk out to my truck and grab her shit before hitting the lock button. Back inside, I hang my keys and deposit her purse and bag onto the couch. I take my time heading back to my room in case she needs a few minutes to herself. After double-checking the locks and grabbing a sip of water, I finally make my way back to her.
Despite the heavy events of the night, my cheeks split into a wide grin when I see Magnolia’s sleeping form snuggled up on the side of the bed I usually sleep on. There’s something sorightabout her being in my bed. Hell, if I could, I’d never let her leave it, even if all we ever did in it was hold one another.
Flicking open the button of my jeans, I shuck them off, along with my shirt and socks. I do, however, throw on a pair of sweatpants, as I’m not sure Magnolia would appreciate me hopping into bed with her while clad in only my boxer briefs.
The second my head hits the pillow, she turns over to face me, seeking out my comfort in her sleep. She wriggles around until her head is resting on my chest with her arm thrown over my middle.
Fuck.Lying here with her wrapped around me feels like everything—and I mean everything—I’ve ever wanted. Watching my friends fall in love has been nothing short of amazing, but deep down I was slightly jealous of their connections. Here, now, I feel like I’m floating on cloud fucking nine.
The sound of Magnolia’s deep breathing fills the room, and slowly, I drift off to sleep.
§
MAGNOLIA
I don’t remember falling asleep. I wanted so badly to wait for Simon to climb into bed beside me, to talk to him about everything that’s happened, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open long enough to do so.
However, I’m starting to think waking up next to Simon is far better than watching him get into bed with me. Since I was already asleep, we skipped over the awkwardness and apparently jumped right to cuddling.
Now, here I am with my head nestled into that space between his shoulder and his neck with his chest acting as a pillow. Our arms are wrapped tightly around one another, and one of my legs is tucked between his.
I tilt my chin and press a soft, hesitant kiss to Simon’s skin. The contact causes him to stir a bit in his sleep. Feeling braver, I drop my lips to his chest again, firmer this time.
Simon grunts. “Feels so good, Magnolia.”
Oh crap! He’s awake. But, he seems to like it…
“Don’t gotta stop,” he says, his voice thick and rough with sleep.
His words spur me on, and I press closer to him, gasping when his now very obvious hardness brushes against my leg. The knowledge that I can turn him on like that makes butterflies take flight, swooping down low in my belly.
