That One Night: A Pucking Around Prequel Novella (19)

I shoot off a quick round of texts. One to Tess saying I’ll call her tomorrow and one to the Price Family group chat with mom, daddy, and Harrison. I smile when I see someone has already added Som.

I make sure my phone alarm is set and put it back on the charging pad. I gaze out the wall of glass. The storm is over, but everything is still wet. The whole city glistens, the lights of downtown Seattle hazy around the edges. I pad around the bed over to the window, arms crossed under my breasts.

Behind me, the door to the bathroom opens.

“Shit, did I wake you?” he calls.

I shake my head.

He joins me at the window, wrapping me in his arms. I settle against his warm skin. The juxtaposition of his warmth with the cold air from the glass wall gives me a chill. He rubs my arms, bending down to kiss my shoulder.

I sigh, so comfortable in his arms.

“I love cities at night,” he murmurs in my ear.

I smile. “Is that your new something?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s one of my favorite parts of all the travel I get to do. I love skylines. I love the way they have a shape…like a silhouette, you know. Like, a woman’s body. You can memorize it. You can see just the silhouette of Seattle and you know it.”

I hum low in my throat. “Because of the Space Needle.”

“Yeah.” He kisses my shoulder again.

I lean forward a bit, peering through the buildings. “I think you can see Pike Place from here.”

He presses in behind me, following the point of my finger against the glass. “Yeah…I think you’re right. Hey—” He brushes his hand over my hair, giving my messy topknot a little tug to tip my head back. I gaze up at him and he’s smiling. “You wanna go there in the morning before your flight? You still owe me a dragon fruit tea, remember? I mean, I’m gonna make you change the order to a grande americano, but still—”

“I can’t,” I say quickly. “I have to be to the airport in four hours.”

My words settle between us. My head spoke them faster than my heart could scream stop.

He’s still as stone behind me, his body tense. After a minute, he lets out a heavy sigh, his body curling around me. “Stay.”

I close my eyes tight, heart racing.

“Stay the week with me,” he says, kissing my shoulder again, his warm breath fanning over my skin. “Change your flight. I’ll pay for it. The hotel is already reserved. I’ll cover everything. Just—don’t leave yet.”

I shake my head, my body at war with itself. “I can’t stay. I’ve got a job and a life and…obligations.”

Yeah, like the obligation to let Doctor Halla know I’m a failure and that I won’t be his next sports medicine rising star. He was planning on me winning the fellowship, so he was already interviewing candidates to take over my residency position. Now I get to crawl back to Cincinnati and beg him not to give my spot away.

“Well…then stay one more day,” he urges, turning me in his arms. He puts a firm hand under my chin, tipping my face up. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want this to end so soon. Give me one more day.”

Why does it feel like my heart is breaking? I wrap my hand gently around his wrist. “Listen, my life right now is…chaotic. I got some really shitty news today about a job, and I honestly don’t know what comes next. I have to go home. I have to deal with this, and I can’t—”

I go quiet. I can’t possibly let him know what I’m really thinking right now. The truth is almost too painful for me to admit to myself.

I can’t have one more person in the audience watching me fail.

He sighs and I know he’s not going to fight me leaving. He’s too sweet for that…but that doesn’t mean he won’t still fight.

As if we’re sharing a wavelength, he leans down, brushing his lips against mine. “What we have here is magnetic. I know you feel it too. And I can’t let you just walk away. Give me your name.”

I shake my head, lips pursed. It’s easier this way. I won’t get hurt this way. “My name is Mystery Girl.”

He groans, kissing me for real, his lips working feverishly against mine. I let him lead, loving the taste of him. He breaks the kiss, sucking in air. “Give me your number, baby. Please—”

I silence him with my own kiss, my arms wrapping around his neck. He grunts in frustration, but kisses me back, pouring his need into me. I feel him hardening in his briefs. I want more of him, and I don’t just mean sex. One more day wouldn’t be enough. One week wouldn’t be enough. I know with a surety marrow-deep that he’s an addiction I’d never be able to break.

But I wasn’t lying to him before. My life is in utter shambles. I can’t start something new with a guy. I have to go home and pick up the pieces. I have to figure out if I even have a job come next week. For all I know, Doctor Halla already found my perfect replacement.

He breaks our kiss with another groan of frustration. “I’m goin’ for broke here, gorgeous. Just give me your state of residence. I can work with that.”

I laugh. I can’t help myself. He’s just so genuine. He wants me, and he won’t bother trying to hide it. But I’m not going to break. I can’t. And I’m a zodiac girl, remember? My Mystery Boy is a Taurus through and through. He’s attracted to all things love and sex. He’s going to be bull-headed about this to the bitter end.