I didn’t go after her. Guilt washed over me at the thought. I should have gone after her. Why the hell hadn’t I?
Cassidy studied me for several seconds and then sat back on her haunches, not caring that her tits were out or that her bikini bottoms did nothing to hide what she had between her legs.
“You’re in love with this girl.”
I was on my feet and nearly knocked her over as I pushed past her. I didn’t want to discuss Georgia with her or anyone else for that matter. I glanced toward the pool. “Guys, I gotta do something. You know where the beer and the food is.”
“Where the hell are you going, Lancaster?” Boone took enough time to drag his mouth away from the girl in his arms to ask the question, but I didn’t answer because I was already gone.
I stopped long enough to pull on a T-shirt, grabbed my wallet, keys, and cell, and was out the door in under a minute. I didn’t call Georgia—I didn’t want her to blow me off—and if Joe was surprised to see me trucking through the lobby he didn’t say so. He just nodded and smiled and I kept going.
I still had the key that Matt had given me, though I played it cool. I knocked and waited. And then I knocked again but there was no answer.
I shoved in the key and let myself in but the place looked deserted. It was quiet. It was empty.
“Georgia?”
No answer.
Shit. I never thought she wouldn’t be here but then again I wasn’t really thinking, was I? Should I wait? I thought about it for a moment and then moved through the loft, heading down the hall toward the bedrooms. Her door was closed and I paused outside for moment feeling like some screwed up stalker guy who was on the verge of going crazy.
I knocked again, “Georgia?”
And then opened the door.
Her room was dark, the blinds were drawn, but I saw her right away. She was curled up in a ball in the middle of her bed, her long dark hair spread out across her pillow, her hands fisted beneath her chin. She faced me and I could tell she was asleep.
Shit. Was she sick?
I crossed the room and stopped beside the bed, my hands itching to touch her. God, she looked like an angel. I don’t know how long I stood there staring down at her. I only knew that I didn’t want to be anywhere else. Not now. Not ever.
I doffed my sandals and moved around the bed so that I could climb in behind her. Once there, I pulled her close and for the first time since she’d left my place I felt calm. I felt as if I was where I was supposed to be—as if I was with who I was supposed to be with.
Summer drifted into my nostrils and I inhaled her scent, burying my nose in her hair because I couldn’t help myself. Her hair was damp as if she’d showered not too long ago and her skin was soft. So damn soft.
She shifted, her sweet ass moving into my groin as if she was coming home and I groaned, already hard and wanting her.
I tensed a bit when she mumbled something, afraid I’d wake her—afraid she’d freak out—but she settled into me and after a bit I relaxed. I don’t know if it was the gentle sounds she made as she slept or the warmth of her body, but I fell asleep and it was dark when I woke up.
It took a few moments to focus. Georgia wasn’t asleep anymore. She’d turned in my arms and her expressive eyes were wide as she stared up at me.
I cleared my throat and managed to speak. “Hey.” Not a great start but I couldn’t think of anything else to say. All I could think about was how amazing it felt to hold her again.
She exhaled slowly, her finger tracing along my jaw in a way that had me hot and anxious before she reached my mouth.
And then she leaned forward and kissed me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Georgia
I don’t know why or how Ben ended up in my bed and I didn’t care. I’d been holed up in Matt’s loft for the last three days feeling sorry for myself. Too stupid and too scared to call him back and apologize for freaking out and leaving him the way I did.
Today had been awful. The worst. I tried not to think about Ben and his friends and a bunch of random girls at his place, mostly because I knew what those girls were like. I’d seen carbon copies of them in action and I knew exactly what they wanted. And I also knew that most of the time they got it. What guy was going to turn down sex with a Barbie doll?