Operation: Austin

Chapter Four Part Four

“Come in,” he responded.

Paige opened the door. She had a look of concern on her face.

“Are you okay, Sweetheart?” he asked.

“I don’t want to be alone. Can I sleep here with you and Jax?” There was a definite pause; she waited, anxious for his approval.

“Well, Jax hogs the bed, so you better climb in with me.” He scooted over, giving her a side. Her tan, bruised legs were bare below a man’s dress shirt, which had rolled-up sleeves. Her left hand reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear as she reached with her right hand to pull back the covers and slip between the sheets. Once inside, she fluffed a pillow and lay down facing away from him.

His eyes never left her. “Just one problem, though,” he commented hesitantly.

She rolled over with a blank look on her face.

“I don’t wear pajamas,” he confessed.

She thought for a minute, like she was trying to decipher what he said. She finally came up with it. “You’re naked?”

“As the day I was born,” he confirmed as he held her gaze. “Wait here, I’ll put something on.”

“No!” she blurted out, not wanting him to get out of bed in flagrante delicto. “It’s fine. I should get used to it anyway,” and with that, she fluffed up her pillow again and snuggled in with her back to him.

He was lying on his side, facing her. He thought about their situation for a minute and her comment about getting used to it. Now, for him, sleeping with a friend was no big deal, but she had been through a hell of a lot in the past week, and he thought through the ramifications. Even being nude wasn’t necessarily a s****l thing for him; he considered nudity to be healthy behavior, but she wasn’t from that culture. Besides, what exactly did “I should get used to it” mean?

As his mind raced through these thoughts and others, he realized the futility of trying to pretend his feelings for her were platonic. Then it registered with him. “Is that one of my dress shirts?” he asked, knowing the truth as he asked it.

“Yep,” she admitted without seeming to be apologetic. “I forgot to get something to sleep in when we went shopping, so Carla gave me one of your shirts.”

He paused, not sure how to answer. Finally, he observed, “Looks better on you than me.” Then he reached up to turn out the light.

Paige giggled into her pillow.

Carla was sending mixed signals, Gary thought. Although she certainly didn’t anticipate Paige sleeping with him, she knew one of the sexiest things a woman could do was wear a man’s dress shirt to bed. It’s a territorial thing, like saying, “I belong to him, he belongs to me, and I can wear his dress shirt to bed just to prove it.”

In the dark, after a minute, he could feel the bed moving as she backed up in his direction and snuggled into him. It was an invitation to spoon. He wrapped his arm over her, on top of the covers, and she pushed back into him and sighed.

Damn, this feels good, he thought, as he pulled her closer. They fit together like two puzzle pieces; her size and shape were the perfect dimensions. He was struck by how amazing she smelled, warm and soft. It must have been something she bought at the store to shower with, perhaps her shampoo, combined with a soft perfume. A moment later, her hand reached outside of the covers and brought his arm inside, wrapping it around her ribs as she held his hand.

His growing erection pressed into her butt. She didn’t object, so he didn’t mention it, although it was hard to resist the reflex to thrust. He decided to focus on relaxing, willing himself to sleep, and letting the impulses pass. He kissed the back of her head and said, “Good night, Sweetheart.”

“Good night, Gary,” she replied softly in the dwindling light. “Thanks for understanding.”

Before they both drifted off to sleep, she took a deep breath and purred, “Mmm, perfect.”

The sound of a crowing rooster woke him at 4:30 on Wednesday. Gaining consciousness, he could hear breathing. Paige, he remembered. His eyes opened to find he was lying facing her, with her head on the pillow facing him. Watching her sleep caused a very protective reaction in his gut. Feelings of possession and belonging made him consider how strange this situation was. They had gone from “Hi, my name is,” to her head lying on his pillow within 24 hours. He had been blissfully aware of them snuggling during the night. The term “bed spaghetti” came to mind, as their tangle of arms and legs made it hard to tell where one ended, and the other began.

As he lay there watching her, the dog started to stir. Jax always sensed the minute Gary’s breathing changed, as he was anxious to get outside and sniff around. At that time of year, the early light started to wake them up, and as the morning light started, the roosters finished. As his brain started working, so did his erection and bladder, which had nothing to do with the time of year or each other; it was just a morning thing. He thought that, fortunately, she wasn’t being poked by his morning wood, which probably would have been a first for her. His arousal during the night either didn’t bother her or she didn’t feel it.

She must have heard the dog whine at the door. Her eyes opened, and she saw him watching her. She smiled sleepily.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said softly. She wiggled slightly into the pillow and murmured, obviously enjoying the warmth and intimacy of the moment. “This is a nice way to wake up,” he said, explaining why he was watching her.

She smiled sleepily, and Gary reached with his right hand and brushed the hair from her eyes. “I need to let the dog out and take care of my condition. Then I’m going for an early swim to wake up. Do you want to sleep some more, or do you want to come in with me?”

She giggled. “Yeah, I know all about your condition. I could feel it last night,” she paused, smiling. She also enjoyed waking up with him. “Swimming this early? I’m not sure. You get started, and I’ll figure it out. By the way, you snore,” she commented, obviously amused.

“That was Jax,” he indignantly corrected her.

“Well,” she said skeptically. “I’m pretty damn sure the dog wasn’t sleeping with his head on my chest last night, so I’m not buying what you’re selling, Hero.”

The image of him sleeping on her breasts instantly clouded his mind. He tried to come up with some snappy response to deny it, but she seemed pretty sure of herself. He was flustered and knew there was no winning this one. He thought about the ludicrous situation; he was talking about his bladder, she was talking about his hard-on, and just possibly, when sleeping on a woman’s boobs, he was a mouth breather.

“Well,” she baited him. “Aren’t you going to go take care of your condition?”

Gary paused, thinking, I can stop worrying about her innocence. She wants to see my d**k.

“I am!” he asserted.

He rolled out of bed, facing away from her, then playfully walked sideways into the bathroom, his butt to her at all times. When he came out, he again walked sideways, denying her a view of his p***s. She started laughing.

“Bastard,” she admonished him. “Not even going to let a girl have some fun?”

“Hey, I’m not that kind of boy. I have feelings and morals,” he teased back.

She kept giggling and snuggled into her pillow. “Bull s**t! Your d**k was poking me in the butt half the night.”

“Hey!” he objected. “I have zero control down there. It’s got a mind of its own!”

He knew it was a weak retort, but it was early, and that was the only defense he could muster. The idea of putting on clothes crossed his mind, but it seemed too late for modesty. They slept together in a tangle all night. He left the room to take Jax outside; as he went, he hit the button that rolled the cover off the pool.