Adam kisses my shoulder and traces his tongue up the curve of my neck.
“Adam,” I say quietly, still not quite awake. The four drinks I had are keeping me in a fog. “Don’t.”
“Why?” he replies just as quietly, kissing my neck again.
“We’re friends.”
His soft fingers trail lightly up my arm, giving me goose bumps all over as he plants soft kisses against my sensitive skin. “Really, really good friends.”
I giggle and roll away, onto my stomach. With my cheek smushed against the pillow, I gaze over at his gorgeous moonlit face and let out a deep breath. “I like you.”
He props himself on his elbow and reaches over to brush the heel of his thumb sensually over my lips, freezing me in place. “I like you too,” he says, and then he drops his hand to the pillow before I find the strength to pull away from him.
I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t stopped touching me just now . . . What would I have done? Probably something stupid. Something really, really stupid. Frowning at him, I say, “Then let’s not ruin things, okay? I don’t want to mess around with you and have to hate you in the morning.” And I mean it. Adam wouldn’t think much of hooking up with me tonight, but I would. And then he’d get over it, and I wouldn’t.
“I don’t want that either . . .” He stares at me for a long moment. His grayish green eyes are impossible to look away from. “Okay,” he says, leaning down to kiss my shoulder one last time, even more softly than before. And then he rolls away from me. I’m not sure if I just did the right thing, but I know he did.
“Thank you, Adam.”
“Don’t thank me yet. There’s still a few hours ‘til sunrise and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to fall asleep now.”
I chuckle and flip away from him, onto my side. “Sweet dreams.”
I feel the bed shift as he rolls back toward me. Knowing he’s right behind me is bittersweet torture, but soon, his breathing gets heavy, and eventually, mine does too.
The next morning, something is tickling my face. I smack it away, almost back asleep when it feathers across my cheek again. I crack one eye open and see Adam’s smiling face right in front of mine. His lips are stretched excitedly over his pearly teeth, his eyes sparkling with amusement. He’s crouched next to my side of the bed, looking freshly shaved and showered, his hair still damp. He smells like expensive body wash and a morning cigarette, and I bury my face in the pillow to hide the smile threatening to reveal how girly he makes me feel.
“Good morning,” he says.
When my cheeks are under control, I turn back to him. “Good morning.”
“You ready?”
“Ready for what?” I ask, hoping the answer doesn’t have anything to do with what he started last night.
Adam stands up to sit on the edge of the bed, practically on top of me. The covers pull tight against my body, and he rests his arm on the opposite side of me. “Studying!”
“Seriously?” I groan. “What time is it?”
“Time to get started!” When I give him a look, he laughs and says, “It’s eight.”
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping in until . . . I don’t know, noon or something?” Shawn made it sound like Adam was a late-riser, and after Adam threatened to punch me in my nonexistent dick for waking him up yesterday, I’m more than a little surprised to see him up so early.
“Yes, I really should.” He shifts, his hand moving closer, squeezing my hips between his arm and the rest of him. “But there’s no way you’re going to get me to study after the show. No offense, but . . . it’s just not going to happen. So you had better tutor the hell out of me while you have the chance.”
At least he’s being proactive. “Can I at least take a shower?”
“Make it quick,” he says, echoing my sentiment to him yesterday morning. He winks at me. “We have four chapters to get through.”
Adam and I are the only two people awake, so when I enter the hallway, I try to be as quiet as possible. I tiptoe between the bunks, but Adam makes an intentional racket, smacking at arms and legs that are hanging out of covers. He hops in bed with Shawn, snuggling his arm around him and saying “Oh SHAWN!” in a girl’s voice. I giggle at them as I quicken my step to get to the shower before all hell breaks loose. Is it possible to beat someone to death with pillows and blankets? Because I’m pretty sure Adam is about to find out . . .