Autumn Leaves (Watty Awards 2013)(Editing)

Chapter 12

Tyler pinned Nicki up against the hotel wall. He lifted her shirt up over her head and threw it across the room. She did the same to his. He grabbed the back of her head and brought her face close to his. He kissed her as he unhooked her bra. Once it was off, he picked her up and threw her onto the bed...

Nicki opened her eyes. It took her a moment to realize that she had been dreaming. Was it all a dream? She shot up and glanced around the room. She found Tyler sitting at the desk, on her laptop. Thank God.

He looked into the mirror in front of him and saw her sitting up. He closed the browser.

"What the hell were you dreaming about?" he asked.

Uh oh. "Why do you ask?"

"You were moaning in your sleep," he said as he turned to look at her.

"Oh." Awkward.

She got out of bed and stretched before walking over to him. She stood next to him, arm around the back of the chair.

"What'cha doing?" she asked him.

He pulled her onto his lap.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," he said, brushing her hair out of her face. "Your hair is a mess."

She looked at herself in the mirror and laughed with him. Her hair was sticking up in all of the wrong places. She buried her face in his neck.

"So this is real? You're really here right now? And last night...? Oh my God. I was such a loser last night," she said, embarrassed. She forgot about the wine. And the frosting. And the jumbled up words. Oh God.

He laughed. "You were hysterical. I've never seen you act like that. Now I know what to do when I'm bored. Give you a bottle of wine and let you do your thing."

She felt her cheeks burning.

"I love that," Tyler said. He touched her cheek. "It's adorable."

Of course he made her blush again. She began to think that he was going to start doing it on purpose.

"So what are we doing today? Besides getting you clothes," she asked.

"I told you it's going to be a surprise. Get ready. We'll get some breakfast first. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," she said as she kissed him. She managed to forget just how good his lips felt against hers. "I'll go get dressed."

Since Nicki figured she would be encountering more business than pleasure on her trip, she didn't pack many casual clothes. She rummaged through her suitcase, trying to find something that would be comfortable if they ended up doing a lot of walking. The end product was a pair of frayed denim shorts, a loose tank top, a bandeau, and a lightweight Victoria's Secret sweatshirt in case the sun didn't come out. The weather there was so unpredictable in the winter.

She didn't bother bringing her things into the bathroom. Nicki had no problem changing in front of Tyler. So much had changed in a day. She saw him looking at her out of the corner of his eye. There was nothing she could do to stop herself. She climbed on top of him in the chair and pressed her lips against his. He put his hands on her back, and she ran hers through his hair. She had found a new favorite thing to do. His hair was so fun to play with. And just long enough to pull.

"I'm still getting used to that," he said when she stopped.

"Me too. I guess that's why I can't stop."

He smiled at her and tapped her butt.

"Stop procrastinating. Go on. Do whatever you need to do so we can go."