Labeled Love (40 page)

WAKING UP IN
a cold sweat, I sit up and wipe my face, trying to clear my head. My breathing is ragged, and sweat is dripping down my face. It’s hotter than hell in my room. Looking around, I see the room I’ve slept in for the last nineteen years, and nothing’s changed. It was only a nightmare. “Only a nightmare,” I say to myself. Taking a deep breath, I run my hands up and down my face again, ridding the thoughts.

They were taking Shay from me. God, it felt so real. I couldn’t see their faces, but she was struggling, and I couldn’t get to her.
I couldn’t get to her.
I need to see her. I need to hold her in my arms. I feel a pit in my stomach, like loss. My heart is beating a hundred miles an hour. It was just a fucking nightmare.

I lie back down, grabbing my phone to check the time. It’s only after seven. She’s probably still sleeping. I stare at her picture like I always do. The first day I met her, I woke up staring at this same dirty ceiling, and all these years later, she’s still here. She still wants to be with me.

Shay has never looked at me like I wasn’t good enough. She’s only looked at me with love. I hate feeling trapped in this place of nothing. I want to have a life with my girl. I want to close my eyes and feel her warmth next to me. I want to smell her all over my room and wake up holding her.

I sit up quickly. Tomorrow morning, I’m waking up with her in my arms, dammit. I have enough money to rent us a hotel room. I need this. That nightmare felt so fucking real. Grabbing my cell, I scroll to Shay’s number and hit
Send
.

“Good morning, baby,” she says in a sweet sleepy voice.

Yeah, I’m waking up to that tomorrow.

“Good morning, pretty girl.” 

“Is everything okay? You never call this early,” she asks, concerned. She makes me smile. She cares so much.

“Everything is fine, baby, but I was hoping we could figure out something.”

Her voice sounds more alert. I can hear her moving around. “What do we need to figure out?”

“I need to wake up with you tomorrow. I dream about you every night, and I just want you in my arms. I want to hold you all night. Do you think we can make that happen? I have money. I can pay for a hotel room.”

“We don’t need a hotel, baby. We can stay at our condo downtown.”

“You have a condo downtown?”

“My parents do. Dad bought it years ago. They’ve always kept it, but it doesn’t get used often.”

“They would let you use it?”

“Let me take care of that. Just make sure you’re ready to hold me all night long. I’m kind of a spooner.”

“What’s a spooner?” I ask, confused.

“You’ll see.” She laughs. 

She has no idea how much I need this. 

I END THE
call with Jace and lie back down. Closing my eyes, I can almost picture him tugging at his hair in frustration. I don’t know; he seemed stressed and restless. I could hear the struggle in his voice.

I know he needs me.

I need to figure out how to use the condo. I’ve never lied to my parents, and I really don’t want to start now. Honestly, the thought of being wrapped up in Jace all night is worth whatever consequence I might get if they found out we spent the entire night together.

Getting out of bed, I walk over and open my curtains. I can see out into the city. Where is my boy? I just want to go to him and comfort him. All these years and I’ve never been able to do that. I’m going to tonight. I’m going to wrap myself around him and feel his warm skin all over me. I want to make love to him and fall asleep in his arms.

I walk out of my room and go down the quiet hallway to the kitchen. My mom has just walked in from the backyard with a basket full of oranges.

“You’re up early. I didn’t want to wake you, but I’m glad you’re up. Your dad and I decided we’re going to take Tatum and Tristan up to Santa Barbara. There’s a wine festival, and Marla is going to come and bring the girls. We’ll be home tomorrow.” 

Well, this might be easier than I thought. “That’s sound nice. Do the twins want to go?” 

She gives me a side smile. “Do they have a choice?”

 “Nope.”

“We’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. Make sure you’re good, Shay. Why don’t you have Jules stay the night?”

“I will probably stay at her house. She’s been wanting me to watch
Gossip Girl
.”

“Didn’t that show go off the air?”

“Yeah, but she’s been watching it on Netflix.” 

“Sounds fun,” she says happily as she walks out of the kitchen.

Man, that was easy. Heading back to my room, I grab my phone to send a quick text to Jace.

Me: I can’t wait to sleep with my baby.

He texts me right back.

My Boy: I can’t wait to hold you in a bed. When can I be with you?

Me: Give me a couple of hours. My parents are going out of town until tomorrow. Talk about perfect.

My Boy: You’re always perfect pretty girl.

I bite my lip and send him a kiss face. Now I need to see what I will bring with me for my first night away with my boy. Going to my dresser, I grab my cutest underwear and tank to sleep in. Picking up my body spray, I give it a couple of quick sprays. I smile to myself, thinking about Beau and his distaste for my paradise smelly stuff. Jace loves the way I smell, and I want to smell good. I grab a few more things, along with my toothbrush. I walk into my closet to grab one of my beach bags. The box I keep all my notes Jace has sent me catches my eye. I open it up and grab one of his love letters to me.

Shay,

Do you know why I love you, baby? I love you because you’re pretty, sexy, sweet, and you have long, sun-kissed legs and a mouth that was made for kissing. That’s pretty much why I love you...

I’m just kidding, baby. I’m just staring at all the pictures of us you sent me. Do you want to know why I really love you? I love you because my heart beats for you. Everything about you makes me happy. Your face, your voice, your touch, and your smell—all give me an indescribable feeling of completeness. You make my heart beat with purpose, baby. Oh, and all those things I said about your sexiness. They’re all true, too. I will always love you more than anything. I just want you to know how I feel, baby. I always want you to know how I feel.

Jace

I place it back with all the others. Grabbing my bag, I can’t contain my happiness. Taking a shower, I spend extra time getting my skin super clean and soft and ready to be touched. Smiling to myself with thoughts of Jace all around me, I get out to the sound of a knock on my bathroom door. 

“We’re heading out, Shay,” Mom says from behind the door.

“Have fun,” I say, putting my hair up in a towel. 

“You, too.”

Oh, I will.

I look into the mirror and smile wide. I plan on having a lot of fun. I hurry up getting ready, wanting to get to the condo and make the most out of our night together. My family is long gone, so I text Jace.

Me: Meet me at my house right now baby. 

He texts me right back.

My Boy: On my way.

Jace still has a simple phone, so I don’t want him trying to find the condo when he can just follow me there. Twenty minutes later, I hear him coming up the driveway. I go into my dad’s office and grab the condo keys that he leaves in his desk drawer. After locking up the house, I walk out the front door. Jace is just getting off his bike. It never gets old seeing him on his motorcycle. He’s just so sexy with his long, lean, muscular frame. When he looks at me, throwing his head back, exposing his eyes, my heart always skips a beat. I hit the
Unlock
button on my car and throw my bag onto the backseat. I shut the door, and Jace swoops me in his arms.

“You look so beautiful, pretty girl.” He holds me close, twirling me around. “I love your pretty pink dress.” I’d straddle him like I usually do, but it would be hard with this sundress. He slows down and just holds me. My legs are dangling, causing my flip-flops to fall off. “You ready to spoon?” he whispers against my hair. Then he sets me down and looks at me. His hair falls in his eyes, and I run my fingers through it, bringing his face to mine.

“Give me your lips, baby,” I tell him softly. Then I kiss him. “I can’t wait to spoon.”

“Let’s get out of here. I need to be with you.”

“Follow me.”

“I will follow you wherever you go,” he says as he leans down and captures my lips one more time. 

“Go on, sexy boy. Get on that bike.” 

He laughs. “Okay, baby, I’m going.” He gives me a sly grin and gets back on his bike. I shake my head.

It only takes about ten minutes to get to the condo. Even though it’s only a few minutes from our house, in California traffic a five-minute drive can take thirty. When we get to the condo, I park out front while Jace goes around the corner and parks. I wait in front of my car when I see him turn the corner holding a backpack. Leaning down, I grab my bag. He smiles at me. “Are you ready to have a sleepover?” I ask shyly.

“You have no idea, baby.” We walk up the flower-lined path. The condo is located right in the heart of Los Angeles, but you would never know it. The street is lined with huge trees that give it a feel of a place much different. When we get to the porch, I put my bag down to unlock the front door. “This is really nice,” he says quietly.

I unlock the door and turn to him. “Yeah, it is nice. It’s too bad it rarely gets used.” I push the door open and walk inside first. Jace picks up my bag and follows me.

“Wow, baby, this is really nice,” he repeats, setting my bag down along with his backpack. He looks around, taking in the space. The crisp, white walls and big windows are impressive. You can see the beautiful trees along with lots of natural light that pour through every window. The furniture is all light with big, fluffy pillows everywhere. It has a beachy vibe, too, with exposed beams that give it a much bigger feel than it really is. 

“My mom really has great taste.” 

“She sure does. I’m afraid to sit on the couch. I don’t want to get it dirty.” 

“Baby, you can’t hurt anything in here. It’s meant to be lived in.”