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He wasn’t wrong. “An astute observation,” I replied quietly.
Griffin laughed as I started to walk past him toward the bed. And before I knew it, I was being hoisted onto it. It was complete with pillows and had me convinced I’d died and gone to Heaven.
Once I’d made it safely into the bed, Griffin asked, “Is there anything you need before I go?”
I shook my head.
He jerked his head to the side of the camper opposite of the bathroom and said, “Okay. The refrigerator is here. If you happen to wake up and want anything, help yourself.”
“I just want some sleep,” I told him.
His expression warmed as his features softened. “Alright, sugar. I’ll let you get to it. You’ll hear me getting my board out of the back of the camper, but I’ll lock everything up before I leave, okay?”
I nodded.
When Griffin sent a dazzling smile my way, my heart softened even more toward him. Then, his voice dropped an octave or two before he said, “Sweet dreams.”
A moment later, he was gone.
And though I had what felt like a million thoughts running through my head about Griffin, the things he’d said, and the way he made me feel, I didn’t have the strength or the energy to focus on them.
Because no sooner had I unzipped the sleeping bag and pulled it over me, I fell asleep with the scent of Griffin surrounding me.
* * *
Griffin
For the last hour, I’d been waging a war inside myself.
One part of me thought I needed to head back to the camper exactly at noon, because that was lunchtime. And I’d told Indy I was going to return then.
But there was the other part of me that saw just how exhausted she was this morning and knew she needed every last ounce of rest I could give her.
That was the part that had won. It was the part that denied me doing the things I wanted to do for selfish reasons and doing the things Indy needed instead.
Now that another hour had passed, I’d resolved it had been enough time. I’d left her there for just over four hours. I hoped I’d return and find her looking and feeling better.
As I made my way there, I recalled just how hard it had been to leave her. After helping her into the bed and walking out of the camper to get my boots and my board, I locked everything up and simply stood there.
That selfish part of me wanted nothing more than to forget about snowboarding for the day, go back inside the camper, and curl up in the bed with her. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I’d promised her she’d have the camper to herself, I might have done that. So, I walked away. And though it wasn’t easy, I reminded myself that she was in my bed. There was no question I’d smell the scent of her lingering there when I climbed into bed later.
I arrived at the camper and did my best not to make too much racket when I opened the back, so I could yank off my boots, throw on my sneakers, and put my board away. After I locked everything up again, I unlocked the door that would allow me to get into the coach.
When I walked inside, I thought I’d find Indy sitting up in the bed. She wasn’t. She was still curled up, sleeping peacefully. Seeing her like that, I didn’t want to wake her. But I figured if she was going to get back to some semblance of a normal sleep routine, she couldn’t spend the entire day sleeping, or she’d be awake all night.
After pulling off my jacket and hanging it up, I slipped my hand beneath the sleeping bag and found her foot. She still had her socks on, and I merely began squeezing the ball of her foot and her toes. “Indy,” I called quietly.
She moaned in response, something I liked the sound of a whole lot, but she didn’t wake.
I continued to massage her foot. “Indy.”
At that, she rolled onto her back, and I watched as her eyes fluttered open. For a moment, she seemed disoriented. Then she looked down the length of her body and saw me standing there.
“Good afternoon, sleepyhead,” I said with a smile on my face.
“Afternoon?” she questioned me.
Laughing, I noted, “It’s just after one o’clock.”
