In the morning, I’d watch her walk away.
But I couldn’t do it now.
Even if I knew I should.
Chapter 4
Elise
I slowly opened my eyes and sank into the warmth behind me. Strong arms tightened like a band around my waist, and a very hard, very thick part of him pressed against my backside.
I froze, but the person holding me didn’t tighten their arms, didn’t move. Instead, he just breathed a little deeper along the back of my neck, sending shivers I didn’t want to think about too hard down my spine.
I had just had my first one-night stand.
And now we were creeping into the morning, and I would have to do that walk of shame pretty soon. If I didn’t, it would end up being a full-day stand, and that wasn’t what I had signed up for. Besides, I didn’t think a one-day stand existed.
I let out a breath and tried not to let the memories of the night before slide to the forefront of my mind. And yet, there they were, coming full force.
Much like I had the night before.
I held back a groan at the horrible joke. I knew that if I was making silly puns, even in my head, I was well on my way to a nervous breakdown.
I tried to move, knowing I needed to get up, find my clothes, and get home. I had texted Corinne the night before so she knew where I was. But she would come to find me if I didn’t get out of here soon. There were reasons you checked in with your friends, and though Dillon seemed like a nice guy and knew how to bring a woman to orgasm not once but four times in a row—maybe it was seven, I couldn’t remember—that didn’t mean he wasn’t a serial killer.
He might just be an excellent, people-pleasing murderer.
That time I did groan, knowing I needed to get out of bed. Dillon’s arm tightened around my waist.
“Elise?” he whispered, his breath warm against the back of my neck. I swallowed hard, not liking how I wanted to sink into his hold. We’d made no promises, and I would not let myself get all starry-eyed over a cute guy who happened to sleep with me after treating me with respect. He’d probably done this with more girls than I could count, and I was just another on a long list that I didn’t care to dwell on. The first time I had seen him, he had been with another girl. He was allowed to be a player or whatever the hell he wanted to be. I wasn’t asking him for promises, and I didn’t have time for them. I just needed to get out of here before I looked him in the eyes and found myself wanting more.
“I need to head home. I have to study, shower, and make sure Corinne knows I’m okay.”
Dillon kissed my naked shoulder. I shivered and bit my lip. I could not do this. This had just been one night. I didn’t know what came next. This was my first time having a quick fling, but I knew that wanting more would break the spell and complicate things. And, as all evidence had shown, I wasn’t good at complicated.
“Sounds like a plan.” He cleared his throat and kissed my shoulder again. “I can help you get ready. Do you want coffee or anything?” He sat up, and I looked at him as the sheet fell, showing off his waist and naked hip. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and then pushed his dark brown hair away from his face. He looked way too damn sexy with the slight beard coming in since he hadn’t shaved for at least a day. I needed to stop looking at him, or this would become a problem.
“No, I can get coffee at home. Or pick it up along the way.”
“Did you drive here? Hell, I didn’t even think about that last night.”
I winced and then sat up, tucking the sheet under my armpits to cover myself. He raised a sleepy brow, but I tore my gaze away from him. Even though he’d had his mouth on every inch of my body last night, it still felt awkward this morning, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to show him everything from the night before. We might not have been drunk—far from it, actually—but there had been an intoxicating mix of something else. Lust? Need? Bad decisions? All of the above? I didn’t know.
But this had been my one night with Dillon, and now it was over. It was time for that walk of shame.
“I was just going to call a ride.”
“I can drive you,” he said and looked around the room. “Let me just grab my jeans. And a shirt. A shirt would probably be good.”
I let out a hollow laugh, feeling as if I needed to run, but I wanted to maintain some dignity. “No, it’s okay. I think it’d be best if I just called a rideshare to get home. It was my plan last night anyway. That’s how Corinne left.”
He frowned at me, studying my face far too hard for my liking. Or maybe it was exactly to my liking, and that was the problem. “You don’t regret last night, do you? Shit, Elise. I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
My heart broke just a little, and I softened. I reached out, made another mistake in doing so, and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead, away from his eyes. “Last night was wonderful. I had a great time. And you didn’t hurt me. But we both said this would be our one-night stand. All cliched and the like. That means I get to go home alone. And we don’t have to deal with a potentially awkward car ride where we say we’ll see each other, maybe be friends, and then never actually see each other again.”
“So, we’re going to have this conversation when we’re both naked in my bed?” he said dryly.
I stilled. “Or we can say we’ll see each other around. Maybe at the coffee place again. I had a great time, Dillon. But you explicitly said that you didn’t have time for a relationship.”
He met my gaze, searched my face. “You said the same thing,” he said softly.
I swallowed hard, hating myself a little, but knowing it was easier to just rip the Band-Aid off. “You’re right. Now, I am going to go make use of your facilities and get dressed. I hope that’s okay.”
He snorted and then smiled softly. “I had the perfect time last night,” he whispered and leaned forward, brushing his mouth across mine. I didn’t pull away. Instead, I parted my lips and soaked in his taste. It might be morning breath and all the other things that came with waking up, but none of that mattered. Because this was Dillon.
I was me.
And I had no idea what that meant.
He pulled away, searched my face again, and I quickly pulled the sheet off him. He laughed, then tugged the comforter over himself so both of us maintained some semblance of modesty. I wrapped the sheet around me, picked my clothes off the floor, and practically ran to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. My heart raced in my chest, and I looked at my reflection in the mirror, wondering who I was.
I hadn’t been a virgin before last night. I’d had sex before. With more than one person. And yet, I felt different. My hair was a tangled mess but looked sexy, haloed around my head. My eyeliner had smudged a bit, but it gave me the perfect smokey eye that I could never attain when I tried. My lips were swollen, and I had a little bit of beard burn on my chin.
I looked sated, pleasured, and scared out of my mind.
I let out a deep breath and whispered, “You’re fine. Just get home.”
And as Cinderella had to deal with a pumpkin and losing her glass slipper, I needed to get my business done, get dressed, and leave.
When I came out of the bathroom, Dillon stood near his loveseat where we’d had sex the first time, and I blushed. He seemed to know exactly where my mind had gone, and a smile crept over his face. A knowing grin. One that made me want to press my thighs together until I told myself I needed to stop thinking about things like that.