Chasing Abby(58)

She reaches up and lightly touches her fingertips to the six-inch scar over her breastbone.
I step forward, keeping my eyes focused on hers as I pull her hand away from her chest. “You’re gorgeous. Every inch of you.”
She lowers her head as she reaches behind her back to unclasp her bra. “You don’t think my boobs are too small?”
She slowly slips the bra straps off her shoulders and her breathing quickens as she peels it off and tosses it onto the bed next to her tank top.
“Too small?” I reply, unable to take my eyes off her slightly pink nipples. “No way. They’re perfect.”
She chuckles as she reaches for her pajama shirt. She pulls it on, then she undoes her shorts and shrugs out of them. Her skin has a bit of a bronze sheen from spending this week on the beach. I’ve seen her in her one-piece bathing suit almost every day since we came here, but something about watching her change in front of me feels more intimate.
She pulls on her pajama pants and throws her clothes in the hamper before she gets in under the covers. “I know it’s a small bed, but I don’t know where the spare blankets are for you to sleep on the floor. So I guess you’ll have to sleep with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course,” she replies, scooting over and patting the mattress for me to lie down with her.
I turn off the lamp and slide into bed with her. The bed squeaks under my weight, and for a moment I worry that this will wake someone up. But then Abby snuggles up to me with her head on my shoulder and her arm draped over my belly, and all my worries disappear.
I kiss the top of her head and give her shoulder a light squeeze. “Goodnight, sunshine.”
“Goodnight, turtledove.”

Chapter 23 - Abby


I OPEN MY EYES and the first thing I see is Caleb’s black T-shirt. I smell his warm skin through the fabric. When I look up, I’m not surprised to find Caleb is wide awake and watching me.
“How long have you been awake?”
“About an hour. I didn’t want to wake you up until 7:30 ’cause we don’t have to go to CVS until eight.”
“Are you saying I need all the beauty rest I can get?” I say as I push myself up onto my elbow.
“Exactly what I’m saying. Look at you. You’re hideous with that blonde hair tumbling over your graceful neck, highlighting the exquisite bone structure of your hideous visage.”
I shake my head as I sit up, but the bed is too narrow for me to sit cross-legged. “Is everyone else awake? You should go back to Ryder’s room.”
He chuckles at my suggestion as he sits up. “You know that boy is still asleep, but everyone else is awake. I heard Claire and Jimi arguing. Anyway, there’s no hiding this. Someone’s going to see me coming out of this room.”
“Wait. Aren’t they supposed to go to a music festival at Carolina Beach today?”
Caleb’s emerald eyes light up. “You’re right. And your mom said you couldn’t go.”
I roll my eyes at this. When I called my mom yesterday morning, I told her how the Knights were taking me to a music festival in Carolina Beach. She told me I couldn’t go because there would be too many people and I could easily overheat or get sick. Heart valve disease makes me more susceptible to endocarditis, an infection of the heart lining, vessels, or valves. I had endocarditis after the last surgery to reshape one of my leaflets, and my mom claims I almost died. Not that I don’t believe her, but I’ve come to realize that my mom will say just about anything to make me do what she wants.
Since endocarditis is caused by bacteria that enter the bloodstream, the chances of me getting it just by being around a bunch of people is ridiculous. But, as it is, she’s already overly skittish about me swimming at the beach in that “nasty” ocean water. I don’t want to press my luck by insisting on going to the music festival. Or she may drive down here herself and kidnap me.