The FAFSA Bride. ||| on hold |||

Chapter 4: The Wedding

Bryce Santiago hadn't slept a wink the night before his wedding. It wasn't the upcoming union before God, the attempt at fraud, or even the fact that his parents would be pissed was keeping him awake. It was the fact that he was sleeping beside his fake fiancé, and she was entirely too distracting. Sure, she'd worn pajamas and kept her distance, but the small sounds of her breathing and little noises kept him distracted. He'd almost let his eyes get heavy, until she started whispering in her sleep. It started a small noise, an almost purring noise. Then she'd began to murmur a distinct "oh" sound. Great, she's having a sex dream, Bryce mused to himself. If he hadn't been awake before, clearly that wasn't helping him feel groggy. All of the fake engagement pictures had involved a lot of up close personal time with Michelle, and Bryce couldn't help but notice much he enjoyed every minute of it. But her whispers soon take a different turn as Michelle starting to whisper actually words, and Bryce couldn't help but listen.

"Bryce..." She said slowly.

He sat up in the bed, unsure if he'd heard her correctly. She repeated it, and this time with an inflection that told him exactly what he was doing to her in the dream world. Dear lord, he thought to himself. He got out of bed and turn on the shower, hoping the water would help him forget how amazing his name had sounded on her lips.

Michelle woke up, feeling flustered and upset. She'd slept like a rock, but dreamt the entire night about what it would be like to have an actual honeymoon with Bryce. She saw he was up, and that he was in the shower. As she wiped her eyes, she tried to get her head on straight. Reality and fiction were blurring in her mind, and it was more confusing than she had anticipated. She mentally went over all of the reasons she couldn't allow herself to have feelings for Bryce. He's not your boyfriend, this isn't real. he doesn't really like you, you barely know each other! Feelings will complicate things, and then you'll wind up heartbroken and broke, again. She stood up and went to grab a glass of water, filling up the cup, still thinking a million thoughts a minute. This whole situation is crazy, insane, and outrageous. you do not like your fake fiancé, you just don't. Well, she didn't like him on a deep level. Superficially speaking, he was every inch of the gorgeous frat guy most girls drooled over. Judging by her x-rated dreams, Michelle wasn't exempt from his appeal.

The door opened, and Michelle turned to see Bryce wearing just a towel around his waist. His chest was wet and the v-shape above his hips automatically attracted her eyes, causing her to blush seconds later. She was ogling him, and she wasn't awake enough to be discreet about it.

"Good morning, sunshine," Bryce said, grinning like he just had his ego stroked. "Sleep good?"

"Yes, I did," Michelle said, blushing.

"Any sweet dreams?" Bryce said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh God, did I talk in my sleep or something?"

"Or something..."

"This is so embarrassing...."

"Don't be shy," Bryce said. "When I'm not suffering from insomnia, I'll probably have some dreams about you too."

"I said your name, Jesus,' Michelle said. "This is humiliating."

"I think it's kind of hot," Bryce said. "Besides, has anyone ever told you that you look amazing in the morning. Seriously, I have no clue why you bother to wear makeup."

"Wow, thank you," Michelle said. "But you should probably stop flirting with me until you put some clothes on."

"Are you sure you want me to put my clothes on?" Bryce said. "We don't have the chapel booked until eleven..."

"Bryce, do you ever think about anything other than sex?"

"Yes, I think about saving the world, romantic comedies, and being sensitive," Bryce said, winking at Michelle.