Wanderlust ✓

18. Reality

The next morning I woke up to an unexpected empty bed. When I fell asleep last night, almost immediately once my body crashed down onto the microfoam, Parker was there next to me already lightly snoring and now he wasn't...

I'm not going to lie, it was disappointing to not wake up to his warmth but I shouldn't get used to it. Who knows what would happen between us once we got back home and I know I shouldn't think that I'll ever get the chance to sleep in the same bed with him ever again. Because that was highly unlikely.

Shit. This better not be about last night!

My mind was quickly filled with the "what if's" of why he's not still next to me. What if he regrets what happened between us last night? What if he got sick of me and left early, now that the festival is over? What if he was just being polite last night, waiting until I fell asleep and is now cozied up to some other girl?

Before I could go on with the worst case scenarios, out walked an alert Parker from the adjacent bathroom. He was brushing his teeth vigorously, creating a minty mess around his mouth. I followed his appearance further down to a bare chest and gym shorts.

Dammit Parker! Why do you have to do this to me so early in the morning?

Once he saw that I was awake, he gave me a warm smile and pulled the toothbrush out momentarily.

"Morning. I thought I heard you up."

I replied with a subtle and quiet, "Morning."

He seemed to have a hop in his step that I've never seen before in him as he made his way back into the bathroom to spit out the remaining suds. I could hear the faucet running as he called out, "So watcha wanna do today? We only have today and tomorrow to enjoy the warmth before we're back home!"

His enthusiasm was a good sign, right? Maybe that means he enjoyed what happened last night or maybe that means he's trying to ignore what happened so we don't have to talk about it.

My thoughts must've kept me occupied for a few minutes because the next time I looked up, Parker was laying at the edge of the bed, now with a t-shirt on and ready for the day.

"Paige? Any suggestions?" He raised his eyebrows in question.

"Uh, n-no, whatever you wanna do." I mumbled.

"I saw an ad at the boardwalk for nearby boat rentals. I've driven a speed boat with my dad when we've gone out fishing and I can take us out on the Florida coast for the day. Maybe pack a picnic lunch and take it easy?"

I smiled at his suggestion, thinking about a day of just me and him. "That sounds perfect."

He showed his pearly whites back at me, jumping up to grab his phone off of the desk. "Great, I'll call them up to reserve one."

I nodded back, standing up for the first time this morning and realizing that I was still in the revealing clothes from yesterday.

Urg, get me out of this.

I pulled out my bathing suit because if we're going out on the ocean all day, what's the point of wearing actual clothes? Swiftly walking into the bathroom, I locked the door and took a moment to absorb my appearance in the mirror.

My hair had been wildly displaced on my head creating an awkward parting, wonky as can be. Several strands had tangled into rather large (but easy enough to remove) knots causing clumped up areas on my head. The glitter once placed neatly above my brow had been smudged over my forehead and god knows where else; my best guess would be the pillow. Mascara from my lower lashes has increasingly taken over my under eye emphasizing the usual bags making me look more like a panda than usual. Lipstick had been smudged over my lips but I can't completely blame a sweaty night dancing and restless sleep on.