Page 56 of Rune
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, dropping down on the end of the bed, looking spent.
“You didn’t need to leave, you know,” Sofia said. “I wasn’t going to hook up with someone I barely knew.”
“I wasn’t judging if you did.”
“I know it looked all kinds of intimate. But he was teaching me how to give a massage. While we talked about soap operas. His grandma was obsessed with the one I’m going to be working on, and she got him hooked as a kid, so he had so much information to help me get acquainted with the show. I mean, it’s not like I have time to watch sixty-something years of the show before I have to move out there. I got a great crash course.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna meet up with him tomorrow again. He is going to bring me pictures to go with the stories he told me so I can figure out the family tree. Anyway, come back to our room. I mean… unless you’d rather stay here.”
“It’s okay. I’ll come back. It’s our last night at a fancy hotel. We’ve got to soak it up.”
“Well, come on,” Sofia said as I made my way to the door. It took a second to realize she was talking to Rune.
Rune shot me a look but got to his feet.
It was hard to say no to my sister.
So Rune came back to the room with us.
We ordered room service.
Then Sofia forced Hammy to get off my bed and onto hers so Rune could climb in with me as we watched a movie.
I curled myself small, trying to keep my hands to myself.
But at some point, Sofia passed out, mumbling something in her sleep, and Rune’s arm slid around me and curled me into him.
Maybe I should have resisted, should have pulled away, or told him to go back to his own room.
But I didn’t do any of that.
I rested my head on his chest, just over his heart.
Then I let myself be held.
Eventually, I fell asleep in his arms.
And for the first time in ages, I didn’t have bad dreams.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Rune
I barely slept.
Carmen was not similarly afflicted. Within ten minutes of her cheek resting on my chest, her whole body went lax as she passed out. It was like months (or in her case, years) of chronic stress evaporated and finally let her rest.
She hardly even moved for the next eight hours, save for sliding her leg between my thighs and slipping her hand up to my neck.
Otherwise, she was peaceful, quiet.
Unlike her sister, who—if I were placing a bet—I would say was practicing lines in her dreams, judging by the dramatic delivery.
Clearly, it was the norm, since the dog just snored peacefully beside her.
As for me, my hands drifted up and down Carmen’s back, over her hip, sifted through her hair. Just enjoying the closeness.
