Neither of us wanted the night to end, but eventually we wore ourselves out and fell asleep. When I woke up, I looked over at him, almost like I was afraid he wouldn’t be there. But he was. My heart started to race as I took in his messy hair, his scruffy jawline, his bare chest. He was asleep on his back, one arm overhead, one hand at his waist. His armpit was hairy, and I stifled a laugh.

He opened his eyes. “What the hell? Are you laughing at me while I sleep? What kind of good morning is this?”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just suddenly remembered the summer you and Griffin suddenly got hairy.”

“Great.”

“You got super tall, and then your voice changed, and I remember your hands suddenly seemed massive.”

“That wasn’t the only thing.”

I laughed again, my belly swooshing. “I remember I could hardly look you in the eye because Mary Ellen Meyer and I had read about nocturnal emissions, and we were simultaneously fascinated and grossed out.”

He shook his head. “Girls are so lucky. Everything is hidden away. And if it isn’t, it’s beautiful anyway. Boys can’t hide anything.”

“Don’t even try to tell me that it’s easier growing up as a girl. I will argue that.”

“How about we agree that growing up is hard, period?”

“Deal.”

“Good. Now come here.”

I happily snuggled up against his warm side. He pulled the covers up to my shoulders and wrapped his arms around me. “Do we have to get out of bed already?”

“Maybe not quite yet. It’s only eight.”

“What time is breakfast?”

“Not until ten.”

“Excellent. That is two hours I can keep you all to myself.”

I giggled. “I do have to take a shower and clean up.”

“Hm. I guess I need to do that too.”

“We could conserve water,” I suggested. “You know, for the environment.”

“Oh yeah? Fight climate change? Save the turtles?”

“Well, I’m not sure we’ll save any turtles by showering together, but I think it could be fun.”

“Except that it would require me to get out of this nice warm bed, put my suit on, and go get clean clothes from my room. With my luck, I’ll run into my mother.”

“Or mine.” I sat up. “Shit. I need to know how to handle this. Are we sort of a secret? You should probably talk to Mariah, right? Maybe you shouldn’t shower here. I don’t want her to—”

“Hey.” He silenced me with a finger over my lips like he had last night. “Slow down. First, I’m a grown man. If I run into anyone’s mother, I’ll deal with it. Next, yes I need to talk to Mariah, but I don’t need her permission to take a shower—alone or otherwise.”

I circled his wrist with my hand and tugged it away from my mouth. “Will she be upset about . . . this?”

“I don’t know. She adores you, no doubt about that, but she’s terrified of losing me. I need to tread carefully.”

“She knows how much you love her.”

“I hope so, but she’s learned that love doesn’t protect you from loss.”

Something about the way he said that sent a shiver of concern up my spine, but I brushed the worry away. “I understand. Let’s not spring this on her right away. I can be patient.”

“What if I can’t?” His voice was gruff as he yanked on my arm, tucking me against his body again.

Grinning, I rubbed his chest. “You can sneak over to my house in the middle of the night.”

“You live with your mom.”

“So we’ll be quiet.”

“Like we were last night?”

“Ummm . . . good point.”

“In the meantime . . .” His hands began to wander. “Can we still shower together?”

“Yes.” I planted a kiss on his chest. “But why don’t you go get your stuff now before we get carried away and lose track of time?”

He groaned. “Fine.”

Laughing, I sat up and watched him drag himself out of bed and start to get dressed—pants, shirt, tie slung over his shoulders, jacket draped over his arms. Surprisingly, it was almost as intimate as watching him get undressed.

He sat down and tugged on his socks and shoes, then stood to kiss my forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

“Hey,” I said as he headed for the door. “Take a key—there’s one next to the television. I’ll be waiting for you.”

He pocketed the key, then turned around and grinned. “And I promise it will be worth the wait.”

Once Cole was gone, I allowed myself a moment to scream happily into my pillow, kicking my feet and pounding my fists against the mattress. “Best! Night! Everrrrrr!” I yelled.

Then I sat up, breathless with excitement. I touched my hair, which had to be matted and tangled. Had I even taken my makeup off last night? My dress was still on the floor like a ruby-colored puddle. When I moved off the bed to hang it up, my muscles groaned—I was sore in all kinds of places.

But I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I slipped the velvet gown on a hanger and headed into the bathroom, where I took a few minutes to freshen up before turning on the hot water. With my face clean of makeup and my teeth brushed, I stepped beneath the spray.

I’d already shampooed my hair and had just rinsed out my conditioner when I heard the door to my room open and close. A minute later, Cole knocked on the bathroom door.

“Come in!” I called.

He entered and pulled the glass door open. “Room service,” he said with a grin. He was completely naked.

I grinned too. “Just what I ordered. A hot breakfast.”

“Hope you’re hungry,” he said, joining me.

“Ravenous.” I stood aside and watched him get wet, my core muscles clenching and nipples tingling as I followed the rivulets of hot water streaming down his body. He wet his hair, and the movement of his arms over his head made his ab muscles do things that made me lick my lips. I wanted my mouth on him.

Dropping my gaze lower, I stared as his cock began to thicken and rise. It was mesmerizing.

“You know I’m dying to make some kind of sausage joke, right?” he asked, reaching for the soap and tearing off its paper wrapper.

I groaned. “Do you have to be an adolescent boy right now? I might have loved teenage Cole, but I don’t necessarily need him in the shower with me.”

“Come on,” he said, running his soapy hands all over his body. “I’m funny.”

Laughing, I reached for my shower gel, squirting some in my hand. “You’re funny.”

He rinsed off, watching me rub the gel over my skin. “Jesus Christ, that smells good. What is that?”

“Peach and honeysuckle.”

He tipped his head back and moaned. “Can I lick it off you?”

“Sure, but I don’t think it will taste as good as it smells.”

“That is a risk I am willing to take.” He pulled my gelled-up body toward him and kissed me as the water ran down our skin. His mouth was warm and firm and tasted like mint.