Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I laughed. “You pick your nose a lot?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said, pretending to stick her finger in her nose.
“You’re gonna be tired as fuck in the mornin,’” I said, rubbing her back.
“I should probably try to sleep,” she said with a sigh. She stood and stretched then looked down at me. “You comfortable all curled in a ball like that?”
“I’m good,” I assured her. “Slept in worse places.”
“Come on,” she replied, jerking her head toward the bed. “You can sleep with me.”
“Charlie,” I said, drawing her name out in warning. If she was expecting me to keep my hands to myself, inviting me to share a bed with her wasn’t a good idea. Could I keep to my side of the bed? Yes. Would it be torture? Also, yes. Not my idea of a good time.
“Beauregard Augustus Bishop,” she said, climbing back into her bed. “We’re adults. We can sleep in the same bed and keep our clothes on.”
“You’re blurrin’ the lines here.”
“It’s too late to go round and round with you,” Charlie said easily, snuggling into her pillow. “Come to bed.”
I laid on the couch for a few more minutes. Finally, when she flounced onto her back dramatically I stood up and rounded the bed.
“It alright if I take off my jeans?” I asked, my hands on my belt. “Who knows what shit’s on them from bein’ out today.”
“You wearing boxers or boxer briefs?” she asked.
“A thong, actually,” I replied deadpan.
In a split second a pillow came sailing at my face.
“I just wanted to make sure no one would come popping out to say hello,” she said with a laugh. “Boxer briefs keep wardrobe malfunctions to a minimum.”
“Then it’s your lucky day,” I replied, dropping my pants.
Charlie hummed. “It is my lucky day,” she said hoarsely.
“I feel like a piece of meat,” I replied jokingly, getting in beside her. “So, I’m keepin’ my shirt on.”
“If you must,” she teased.
I laid down on my back and stared at the sloped ceiling. I was far more comfortable in Charlie’s bed, but I probably would’ve had better luck actually sleeping if I’d stayed on the couch.
“Good night, Beauregard Augustus Bishop,” Charlie said softly, reaching out to touch my shoulder before retreating back to her side of the bed.
“Goodnight, honey,” I replied.
At some point the impossible must’ve happened and I’d dozed off because when I woke up a few hours later, Charlie had moved to my side of the bed and was wrapped around me like a piece of ivy. Her face was in my armpit, her arm wrapped around my chest, and one of her legs was thrown over mine, her knee perilously close to my balls.
“Hey,” I said, reaching down to put my hand on her knee in case she woke up with a jerk. “Honey, your alarm’s goin’ off.”
“What?” Charlie asked, her head popping up as she looked around blankly.
“Your alarm’s goin’ off,” I repeated. “You gotta get up?”
“Fuck,” she muttered, dropping her head back down.
I was pretty fastidious about personal hygiene—another thing Uncle Beau had instilled in me—but I was still fighting the urge to push her head away from my damn armpit.
“You got work?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied, her breath tickling me so bad I jerked in response.
“You think you should maybe get up?” I asked in amusement.
“Need a second,” she mumbled.
I waited.
A minute or two later, Charlie lifted her head and went about untangling her body from mine.
“Just wanna point out that I stayed on my side of the bed,” I said, as Charlie got out of bed and switched on the lamp next to it.
“Reb called me an octopus the other day,” she responded oddly as she moved around the room grabbing clothes. “Sorry about the light, but I need it to get ready.”
“It’s your room,” I replied. “Do what you need to do.”
I wondered if I should get up and get moving. If it was any other situation where I woke up in a woman’s bed and she had to leave for work, I would’ve already been out the door. Unless, of course, she wanted to share a shower first. I wouldn’t turn that shit down.
I grit my teeth and readjusted the pillow beneath my head, trying and failing not to imagine Charlie in the shower I’d just heard come on. Glancing down, I glared at the erection making its presence known under the quilt. Before I could get my body to relax, Charlie was walking back into the room fully clothed, her wet hair slicked back in a fancy braid.
“Sorry,” she said with a grimace as she turned on the overhead light, making me flinch.
“You get ready quick,” I said as she sat down on the floor in front of a full-length mirror.
“Only in the mornings,” she replied with a rueful smile. She reached for the zipper of the toiletry bag on the floor in front of her. “If I’m going all out, it takes forever. But this early? Pfft. I go the easy route.”