Girls Like Me

Chapter 9

Groaning softly, I roll over, my hand used to being able to stretch out. It hits something warm and hard, and explores over the smooth surface. Hands grab mine and pull them around something I think is a torso. My other hand is tucked under my head, where it always comfortably rests. I wriggle closer to the heat source, and smile when I feel lips on my forehead.

I crack my eyes open to see that the sun hasn’t risen yet, and it’s barely light. I’d say it’s around five or six in the morning. I’m incredibly tired from our late night chat session, lasting well and truly to four in the morning. We’ve set up some form of shelter so that no one gets burnt when the sun has fully risen. Which is good, because I want to sleep in for a while.

Nicolas reckons he’ll be the first awake, so he’s in charge of breakfast. We’d also made a deal that I could sleep in, but only if Kaiden doesn’t wake up before me. And no one is allowed to wake Kaiden up. If he wakes up before me, he’s going to throw me into the water. If I wake up before him, I’m going to bury him and leave only his head exposed. I’ll then put a floppy hat over his head and put some fish around his head, walk away, and let the seagulls wake him up. I think that’s fair since he dared me to go swimming half naked last night.

Shifting my head ever so slightly, I look up at Kaiden. His eyes are open and staring at me. I almost cry out in shock. He smiles with amusement, and looks over at the others, who are still fast asleep. Michell snores, Ashar breathes heavily, and Nicolas makes yipping sounds every now and then. When his brown eyes return to me, his smile widens.

“I thought you slept in,” I murmur as quietly as possible.

“I do,” he tells me just as quietly. “But I always wake up at something ridiculous, like five in the morning.”

“Ah,” I nod. “Me too. It’s stupid.”

Kaiden smirks. “I was awake before you,” he nuzzles my cheek.

“Yeah, but I’m awake now,” I retort.

“I’m going back to sleep anyway,” he says, closing his eyes.

I hug him tighter and press my face into his collar bone. Kaiden tentatively wraps his arms about me, pulling me closer. It’s funny how I can feel so comfortable wrapped in his arms, where most guys I’d prefer to tease, not letting them touch me.

“I feel like I should say something right now,” he murmurs, lips pressed against my forehead again.

“Me too,” I mumble, already beginning to fall asleep. “I ...”

I trail off to leave him hanging, and then darkness enfolds me.

I glare into the sunlight, trying to determine the time. It must be around noon ... ish? I glance at the ground and wince. A small whine by my side makes me look at the wolf trotting beside me. He has a perplexed look on his face as he peers up at me.

“A desert?” He asks. He has my father’s voice.

I shrug. “I can’t control it ... I’m asleep on the beach, so that might explain some things,” I tell him.

I always dream when I go back to sleep in the morning. And I always dream of a huge white wolf walking by my side with my father’s voice. It’s funny, it’s like he’s communicating with me from the spirit world or wherever it is you go after you die.

“It’s also been a while,” the wolf stops and sits down, panting.

This time I blush. “Yeah, well I’ve been needing to get up early in the mornings, so ... I haven’t really been sleeping in lately,” I say.