Unwrapped (8 page)

Our eyes lock and God, the look on his face
makes my heart stop: the naked desire there, worshipping. Adoring.
He’s all I ever wanted, and in this moment, we belong to each
other. Right here, only now.

Mine
.

I pause, wanting to hold onto this, needing the
fragile moment to last — be something real, something solid I can
treasure forever, but Daniel rocks up against me, hard, hitting me
so deep I can’t take it anymore. I come, shattering into stardust
with a scream as pleasure slams through me, over and over again. I
hear an animal roar echo as Daniel thrusts inside me, and then he’s
shuddering, clinging to me, coming undone in my arms.

I fall against him, into the velvet darkness,
and I know, I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life.

He’s all I’ll ever want. Only him.

And he’ll never be mine.

***

I wake up in a haze, feeling like I just run
a marathon. Every muscle aches, and for a moment I wonder what the
hell happened to me. Then I roll over, yawning, and there she is:
curled up asleep in my old college T-shirt, her hair splayed out
across the pillow, her chest rising and falling with steady
breaths, looking so beautiful it takes my breath away.

Lacey.

Everything that happened last night slams back
into my brain. The bar, the shots, the skinny dipping …

The sex.

My god, the sex.

I sit up, careful not to disturb her. My mind is
reeling, remembering what we did, just how fucking good she felt.
The slide of her body beneath me, the taste of her skin, the wild
sound she made, begging me for more. The look in her eyes when I
surged inside her, and she couldn’t hold herself back from the edge
anymore …

I’ve never felt anything like it.

I catch my breath, turned on all over again just
from the memories of what was, without a doubt, the single greatest
night of my life. I can’t understand it, the whole thing couldn’t
be more out of character if I tried, but maybe that’s the point.
Something about her set me free; shut off all my logic and
planning, and stripped me down to the most basic essence.

I wanted her, I needed her, and God, I took
her.

Lacey lets out a soft, breathy noise beside me,
pulling me back to reality. I watch her for a moment, feeling an
unexpected tightness in my chest. Like this, she looks innocent and
free, a world away from the wicked temptress who set my world on
fire last night. But that’s Lacey, I’m beginning to realize: she’s
not just the wild party girl, spontaneous and up for a good time.
She’s smart, and brave, and fiercely loyal too. Hell, she would
have walked to Beachwood through the blizzard if she could just to
be there for Juliet.

Remembering Lacey’s panic over missing the
wedding, I slide carefully out of bed. I check her phone on the
nightstand to see if the car rental place has called, but the
screen is black. No battery life. Damn, I remember, she loaned me
her charger last night, and forgot to plug her own phone in. That
means she could miss out her only chance to get to Beachwood in
time. If there are any cars, they won’t be able to reach us.

I shoot another look at her, still sleeping. It
would be so easy to slide on back in bed with her, and ride out
Christmas right here in this hotel room, alone and naked together.
But Lacey needs to get to Beachwood, and I realize with a flash,
that I’ll do anything to make that happen. To make her happy.

I grab my clothes and pull them on, closing the
door behind me with a silent click.

Outside, the 6am world is dark and silent, but I
trudge through the snow back to the airport terminal, and find the
same guy from yesterday just opening up.

“You again,” he sighs, but that frown quickly
disappears when I present him with a steaming cup of coffee I
picked up in the hotel lobby. “For me?” he blinks, like he can’t
believe it.

“Sure,” I think about giving him some bullshit
line, but then I figure the truth can’t hurt, so I shrug. “I figure
a friendly bribe might help get us that car.”

There’s a pause, and I wonder if my plan has
backfired. Then the guy laughs. “You’re right,” he crosses behind
the counter and grabs a set of keys. “We had a return, waiting for
me in the lot when I arrived. I have a whole list of people to
call, but it’s yours right now if you want it.”

“Oh, we want it!” I say quickly. “You’re a
lifesaver.”

“And you’re a smart man,” the guy slurps his
coffee with a contented sigh. “Those fools will be stuck here until
noon. Here, fill out the paperwork, and you’re good to go!”

I sign my name and pay the rental fee, then take
his directions and navigate to a gas station nearby. I figure Lacey
will want to get straight on the road, so I fill the tank and grab
a handful of road snacks, and head back to the hotel. I’m feeling
damn good, imagining how happy she’ll be to make it to the wedding
on time, when I arrive back at the hotel room and carefully open
the door, not sure if she’s still sleeping.

The bed is empty.

“Lacey?” I pause, looking around. There’s a
beat, then she strolls out of the bathroom, already dressed in her
jeans and T-shirt from the flight. She looks fresh-faced and
gorgeous, and I feel a warmth roll through me, just at the sight of
her. “Oh hey, there you are. Good news: I got us a car!”

I move towards her to kiss her good morning, but
Lacey turns her lips away and slides past me. “Good, I can’t wait
to get out of here.”

Wait, what?

Lacey sits on the edge of the bed and pulls her
boots on, avoiding my eyes. I stare at her, confused. “Uh, is
everything OK?”

“Sure,” Lacey finally looks up and gives me a
breezy smile. “Why wouldn’t it be? I’m all packed, so, ready when
you are.”

Rejection hits me hard. Lacey couldn’t make it
clearer if she tried: last night was a one-time, drunken hook-up
thing. That’s all.

“Sure, just give me a minute.” I try and collect
myself, looking around the room.

“Take your time,” she shrugs. “I’ll be
downstairs.”

Lacey grabs her case and makes to leave, but
something makes me stop her. I reach out and take hold of her arm
as she passes. “Wait.”

Lacey freezes, and our eyes catch. I pause. Her
skin is soft under my touch, and I can feel the warmth of her body,
smell that drift of scented shampoo … It scrambles my brain a
second, and I fight to think straight. “About last night …” I
pause, awkward. Just a few hours ago, all my inhibitions were
unbound with this woman: I felt free, and confident, like I could
do anything in the world. Now, in the cold morning light,
everything is wrong. There’s a stilted energy between us; Lacey’s
gaze is guarded and detached, and I don’t know what the hell put
that expression on her face.

“It’s nothing.” Lacey cuts me off, before I can
say anything else. “Just two old friends, blowing off some steam,
right?” She flashes me another smile, but this one doesn’t seem to
reach her eyes. “It was fun, but, come on, we both know this isn’t
a thing. I mean, you and me? Please!” She gives a little laugh,
like it’s the craziest thing she’s ever heard.

I open my mouth to protest, but nothing comes
out. What can I say? I realize bitterly. She’s right, isn’t she?
That’s what I was thinking all last night, how me and Lacey
couldn’t be more different. She’s nothing like the woman I pictured
ending up with, my ideal mate. Lacey is loud and spontaneous and
inappropriate; she would drive me insane in five minutes if we ever
tried dating for real.

That was before you knew the real her;
before you discovered what it felt like to hold her in your arms
…

I realize that Lacey is still standing there,
like she’s waiting for a response. “Right!” I blurt, loudly. “Sure,
one night. Uh, thanks!”

Lacey narrows her eyes. “You’re welcome.” she
mutters, “Oh, and Daniel? Merry Christmas.”

Before I can wonder what the hell just happened
here, she leaves, slamming the door shut behind her. I hurry to
grab my stuff and pack, but the whole time, I feel a sharp stab of
frustration in my chest. I can’t believe Lacey acted so breezy,
like I was just another one of her casual flings, like last night
didn’t mean anything all.

Well, did it?

I grit my teeth, angrily shoving my laptop and
files back in my case. Everything we said makes sense, I remind
myself. We’re adults, we had one crazy night together, and now
we’re just going to be mature and move on.

So why do you feel like you just got slapped
in the face?

I push the voice aside and take a final look
around the room. If Lacey wants to act like last night never
happened, that’s just fine with me. As far as I’m concerned, we’re
just old friends stuck together by force beyond our control. I just
need to get her to Beachwood Bay, then get on with my life like I
planned.

No more distractions. No more crazy, impulsive
games.

Simple.

***

We make most of the drive in silence, with
the radio drowning out the awkward tension between us in the car.
Daniel keeps his eyes fixed on the road, like I’m not even here,
and any time I try and make small-talk to break the mood, he
reminds me that the roads are still icy from the frost.

“You don’t want us to wind up in a ditch, do
you?” he asks, when I ask a simple question about his job, and how
he likes New York.

“No,” I sigh, turning away. I press my head
against the cool glass, watching the blur of grays and white speed
by, trapped inches away from him with no escape.

I want to cry.

I wasn’t expecting this, to feel so shaken and
off balance. I told myself it was just one crazy night together,
but waking up to find Daniel gone this morning was one of the worst
moments of my whole entire life. I knew I was making a mistake,
letting things go so far, but I couldn’t help it. A small part of
me hoped that maybe, just maybe, our night together was as epic and
amazing for him as it was for me; that he’d never want it to end. I
woke up still enveloped in the feeling of his arms around me, our
bodies moving as one, our very souls connected—and then I rolled
over and reached for him, and found empty sheets instead.

I’ve never felt so stupid.

Of course he didn’t mean it, I was crazy
thinking he could ever see me as girlfriend material, when he’s
made it clear I’m the last thing he wants in a woman. Thank God
that by the time he arrived back at the room, I had myself pulled
back together. If he wants to act like it was just a one-time
thing, then I can do that. Easy, breezy, no problem. After all,
Lacey Andrews is the queen of casual hook-ups, I can play this in
my sleep.

Except it’s killing you, pretending like you
don’t care.

I swallow back the ache and keep my eyes fixed
on the winter landscape blurring outside the windows. It shouldn’t
hurt so much, but it does. Because the truth is, last night with
Daniel was the first time I’ve ever connected with someone like
that: bared my heart and soul to them, without trying to stay
distanced or detached. I showed him everything, and now, it kills
me to see him turn away. At least when he was with Juliet, I had a
good reason to know we’d never be together. I could tell myself it
wouldn’t work, anyway, that we wouldn’t have any chemistry or
spark.

Now I know, we have enough to light the world on
fire, but it’s still not enough.

The worst part is, I wouldn’t take it back, a
single second. I could wish it had never happened at all, except
that would be a lie: I’d do it all over again, even this pain here,
right now. Just to have shared that moment with him, and seen the
look in his eyes: like I was everything he wanted, finally his.

One moment of believing we could be real, that’s
all I had.