Remember When #featured #AllStars

Chapter 30

DELIRIOUS

That night, I had a dream that Trip was hovering over me. I could feel his hands braced on either side of my head, his sandy hair brushing my cheek as he nuzzled into my neck, running heated kisses along my collarbone. My arms went around him and pulled his body on top of mine, my legs wrapping around his waist, his hand sliding up my shirt, my fingers raking down his bare back, down to his thighs, pulling him tighter against me...

When I heard his laugh against my throat, I woke up and realized it was dawn. There he was, actually tangled in my arms, better than any dream could ever be. I looked over at the other bed and saw that Lisa was already long gone. I made a mental note to check in on her the first chance I got. Well, the second chance I got.

"Good morning," he whispered into my neck, the full weight of him pressing me into the pillows.

"Mmm. Good morning," I answered back, smelling the sleepy warmth of his skin. We twisted to our sides, facing each other, my one leg still draped across his hip.

The wakeup call would have been perfect if not for the word "DICKNOSE" written across Trip's forehead in black marker. I guessed Cooper at long last had found an opportunity to seek out his revenge.

I started laughing. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you haven't seen a mirror yet this morning."

Trip looked at me like I was nuts before vaulting out of bed and heading for the bathroom. One second later, I heard him spit, "Sonofabitch!" which made me just crack up.

I heard the sink running and figured that Trip would come back to bed smelling not only soapy, but minty, too, and followed him into the bathroom. I thought it'd be best to brush the morning breath out of my mouth before we got too chummy.

He'd spent a considerable amount of time at the sink, but after he'd toweled off, there was still a grey shadow- along with a big, splotchy red spot- across his forehead. He threw the towel on the counter and leaned against the door frame, watching me as I finished brushing my teeth. "You're burned up pretty bad, huh?"

I twisted a shoulder toward the mirror. "Yeah. Think I'll skip the beach today and just stay inside."

A wicked smile decorated his face. "Want some company?"

I stepped back across the hall and slumped down on his bed in answer. He flopped back down half on top of me and groaned, "Remind me to kill Cooper."

I readjusted myself more comfortably underneath him before snuggling into his arms. The skin on my face and shoulders was feeling tight and raw, sunburned the day before and settled into its full damage while I was sleeping, and I was finding it somewhat hard to spoon with Trip. Which goes to show you how badly I was hurting!

After some breakfast in bed (Froot Loops), we declined the invitation to join everyone on the beach. Instead, we spent the entire day on that mattress; talking about godonlyknows and laughing our asses off.

The fact that he could barely touch me without me wincing kept our fooling around to a minimum. But neither of us minded too much. It was just awesome enough to be there with him, have him all to myself for a little while, just the two of us, no clock to watch, no time or space beyond that queen-sized bed. We only left to grab something to eat or use the bathroom, to change the radio station on his boombox or throw on a CD.

By the time everyone came back for dinner, we were surprised that it had gotten so late. We reluctantly came downstairs and helped to demolish the pizzas waiting on the kitchen table.

The weather had been cooling off considerably all day, so we decided to join everyone for a sunset game of wiffleball back at the beach, and Trip was astounded at how well I could play. He seemed more impressed than put off when I struck him out- twice- which made me laugh to myself at my own, private joke; my athletic abilities had at long last become an advantage to me in the boy department.