Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(77)

Once he was done telling me about his day, I told him about mine. He was just as proud and amazed as I’d hoped he would be when I told him about the girl jam session we’d had. And he was just as fascinated with Matt’s neighbor as I’d knew he’d be. He even wanted to go see her again when he got back into town.

I glossed over the phone call to Denny. Not that I was hiding it or anything, but why bring up something that might trudge up any insecurities in Kellan? I wanted him to feel good about our relationship. And he had nothing to fear from Denny anymore. That romance was history, and while reminiscing about it sometimes brought up a smidge of the residual feeling that I’d had when I’d been in it, it was just that—residual—more akin to enjoying a fond memory than anything relevant to my current feelings. I didn’t think I could express that to Kellan, though, not in any satisfactory way, so I left it alone. Besides, he didn’t mention calling Denny today either. Some things, Kellan and I just didn’t need to talk about anymore.

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12





Chapter


Love from a Distance


I reluctantly opened my eyes in the morning. I’d been running on less sleep than normal, since Kellan and the guys had left town. There seemed to be a list of things that kept me up late each night; closing shifts at work, studying for school, Anna wanting to talk about the texts she was getting from Griffin, Kellan calling me at bedtime, tucking me in with his voice…

As the sleep stinging my eyes made them water a little, I wondered if Kellan was feeling the effects of his own late nights, on stage or on the road. Then I wondered if he was sticking to his normal pattern of early rising. His tour mates probably didn’t appreciate it if he was staying true to form. At least, not as much as I appreciated it. I’d had to make my own coffee for way too many mornings in a row now…I couldn’t even recall how many.

Sighing, I reached back with my toes to feel the vacant half of the bed next to me. Oddly, it wasn’t vacant. I jerked my head around immediately. Resting on his stomach, his head facing me, Kellan was lying right there. A huge grin spread on my face as I propped myself up on an elbow to stare down at him.

Of course, how could I forget, his time had passed…he was back home.

I couldn’t remember the time passing by, which was kind of strange considering how much of it had blurred past, but I somehow knew that it had. Six months had gone by and Kellan was home…in his bed. Looking around, my thoughts were confirmed. We weren’t in my room, we were in his. His Ramones poster was still perfectly pinned in place, his Bumbershoot poster right beside it.

Odd, I’d really thought the time would drag.

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Not really caring how the time leap had happened, I leaned down and ran the back of my knuckle over his cheek. He moved his head a little, but his eyes remained closed in slumber. Sighing contently, I let my finger trail down his neck and over his shoulder blade. Sometime in the night, I’d become a bit of a bedcover hog and Kellan had only been left with the sheet. He could be a restless sleeper sometimes, and he’d twisted the fabric so that only a corner of it was resting over his bare backside.

My knuckle traveled over his ribs, the long scar on his side the only mar on his otherwise smooth, pristine skin. I bit my lip as I traced it, enjoying a personal detail about Kellan that only a handful of other people knew about.

He exhaled in a way that kind of sounded like a sigh, but peeking up at him, he still seemed out of it. The tour must have been exhausting. It was unusual for me to wake before him. It was nearly unheard of for me to be able to touch him without him waking. Unless he was deep in a nightmare, even a slight caress usually made his eyes crack open. He was just a very light sleeper.

Curious, I flipped my hand around so my palm rested on his low back.

Still no response. My own body fully awake now, I started sliding my hand down. As my hand slipped under the scant sheet separating his skin from the spring air, I angled my fingers down to feel his hip bone.

Biting my lip so hard I thought I might puncture myself, I pushed the heel of my hand all the way down the side of his hip. There was something insanely erotic about the movement, and I was breathing a little heavier when I reached his thigh. Loving what just that small move had done to me, I brought my hand back up his hip. This time, I moved the sheet aside so I could see the skin there; it turned me on even more.

I glanced back up at him, but he was still obliviously sleeping away. I frowned, irritated that we weren’t on the same page. I was getting all riled up and he had his head on his arm, contently unconscious.

His knee was slightly at an angle up his body, so there was a small, seductive gap under his hip. Containing a groan, I pushed my fingers into 216



the gap. Maybe I could wake him up another way? He might be sleeping through me caressing his body, but touching that body part would surely get…some response.

Just as my fingers were wrapping around his hip bone, I heard a low and husky voice say, “Careful…you’re about to make me very happy.” Smiling, I peeked up at him again. Insanely dark blue eyes stared down at me. One lip curling up into a devilish smile, he murmured,

“Was there something you needed?”

Pressing my body into his, I nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” His smile widening, he inhaled deep and flipped onto his back. The scant covering that had been on him didn’t survive the twisting process, falling off mid-turn. Putting his other arm behind his head, he tilted his chin up and closed his eyes. “Well then, go ahead.” That was when my eyes sprang open for real.