My One Night: An On My Own Novel by Carrie Ryan (life books to read .txt) 📕

room. The music is on, thankfully, so we’re not going to have to hear much this time.”

I winced. “Oh, that’s not good,” I said, doing my best not to look at Dillon.

“Sanders’ room is the least soundproof,” Dillon said comfortably, his expression purposely blank.

I knew what he was thinking, considering I hadn’t been that quiet when I was here before. And now, I just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.

Pacey continued. “Miles is out with his study group. Sadly, I don’t think that is code for a date.”

“Why are you so sad about that, considering you’re at home alone tonight and not on a date?” Dillon asked, his eyes bright.

“Because I have plans with my time, thank you very much.” Pacey looked between us. “Have fun, you two. I’ll be sure to keep the tele up loud.”

Dillon flipped him off even as I winced, lowering my head. “So, do you want some coffee? A beer? I think we have tequila somewhere, but that seems a little much. I don’t know.”

I just smiled. “I will take some water. I know, boring.”

“No, water’s good. You worked hard today. I can’t believe we had to work on this date. I’m sorry. This wasn’t what I had planned.”

“Your brother had an emergency, and not only did they need help at the bar, I think they just wanted you where they could see you, just in case. They wanted family close.”

“That was my thinking. We have a couple of other waitresses they could have called, but they wanted family. And I get it. And I’m not resentful about it. Okay, maybe a little bit because it did cut into our evening.”

“Not really. We had food. We hung out. I got to know you. And now we’re drinking water together in your home. Or at least talking about it. I still think this counts as a date.” I hoped those were the right things to say. I wasn’t good at this whole flirting thing, but with the way his smile slowly spread across his face, maybe I was doing okay, after all.

“Let’s get some water and then head up to my room. Not that we need to do anything,” Dillon added quickly and then let out a low chuckle. “But that way, Tanner and Pacey can’t sneak up on us and do whatever they want to do. Miles will probably be home soon, too, and I’m sure if Sanders and Mackenzie come down, it’ll be a whole thing.” He paused, then looked at me. “Unless you want it to be a whole thing.”

I shook my head, rose on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his. “Let’s go upstairs so it’s just the two of us. You’re right. People have surrounded us for most of the day.”

“Oh, thank God,” he mumbled, then kissed me harder, squeezed my hip, and handed me my glass of water after he’d pulled away. We made our way upstairs, and I indeed heard soft music coming from Sanders’ room. I tried not to think about the fact that if I could hear them, they had possibly heard what’d happened in Dillon’s room. But if they told me that the soundproofing was good enough, I would have to believe it. That was a lie that I would gladly and readily tell myself.

We made our way to his room, and I swallowed half my water in one gulp as I tried to think about what we were supposed to do or say. I hadn’t had a steady boyfriend before, nor had I had sex often. It had been smaller dates that had led to intriguing evenings, but I wasn’t good at this whole human-interaction thing.

“Me, either,” Dillon said and shrugged. I looked up at him.

“Did I say all of that out loud?”

“I don’t think all of it because you sort of started mid-sentence, but I’m the same as you with human interaction.”

“Oh,” I said, mortified. Dear God.

Dillon looked at me then. “I’m glad you’re here. I had fun the first night we were together, and had a blast tonight, even though it felt weird. Not weird to be with you, but weird that we had a date while working.”

“As I said, it was unique,” I reiterated, and he smiled.

“It was, wasn’t it? Anyway,” he said softly.

 “Anyway,” I added.

He smiled. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I wasn’t expecting this.”

I sipped my water, swallowed hard, and tried not to choke. “I wasn’t either. I’m not good at this, just like you.”

“I know you said you didn’t have time for a relationship...”

I cringed. “I don’t. But...”

“Yes. But... We’re both busy. We’re both in school and focused on a hundred different things, but I enjoy spending time with you. And I’d like to continue doing that. You know? To see where it goes.”

“But nothing scary,” I added.

He met my gaze. “I hope to hell not.”

And then he lowered his lips to mine. I groaned, sinking into him as he pressed in. He smelled of sandalwood and a little like the bar. It was something that was all Dillon.

I swallowed hard as he pulled away and slowly wrapped his arms around me. I settled my hands on his hips, squeezing slightly, and he smiled against my lips.

He kissed me again, this time adding more pressure. I parted my lips for him, needing him, craving all of his taste. He rocked against me, the rigid length of him hard against my stomach. He had stretched me before, almost to the point of pain, but it had been perfect. Bliss unlike I had ever experienced before.

And now, here we were again, and I couldn’t help but want more.

He tugged on my shirt, and I smiled against him as I lifted my arms. He pulled my shirt and tank top over my head, leaving me in my bra. And then he kissed me again, before slowly dragging his lips along my jaw and down my collarbone. He nipped and licked, and I groaned.

When he kissed me again, I tugged on