SWNOVELS Coast to Coast: Chapter 13
We’ve already been in the car for hours. Simon made me get out of bed at the ass crack of dawn to make our trek to Canada. It’s supposed to be a six-hour drive and it already feels like we’ve been in the car forever.
It hasn’t been uncomfortable at all. I don’t know if either of us are really morning people so we’ve both been fairly silent. We talked a little bit when we first got in the car and then I must have dozed off for the past hour. Lifting my head away from the window, I glance over at Simon who is humming along to the song that plays through the speakers of the car.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” he says with a smile as he glances in my direction and notices that I’m awake. “How was your little nap?”
“I don’t know if I feel worse or not. I should have probably just stayed up the entire time.” I glance out the window, taking in the scenery as we drive down the highway that is lined with trees. “Although, if someone wouldn’t have made me get out of bed at the ass crack of dawn, I could have gotten a few more hours of sleep.”
“I wanted to get there early to make sure we check in on time,” he says, shrugging simply. “I have to check in at the rink and I wanted to make sure we are able to get into the room before I have to run there.”
His explanation makes complete sense and I appreciate his consideration. I don’t know what he has to do at the rink today, but I’d rather get situated in our room while he’s handling the stuff he has to do. Simon was lucky enough to get us a different apartment that has two bedrooms. I don’t know if he had to pull some strings or if the person ended up having an open one, but it looks like we’ll be having our own beds, after all.
“How much longer until we’re there?” I question him as I sit up straighter in my seat. Lifting my feet onto the leather seat, I cross them and prop my arms on my legs.
Simon glances at the GPS on the screen in his car. “We’ve only got forty-five minutes until we’re there.”
I didn’t even realize that we were in Canada already until this moment. Since I was just waking up from a nap, it didn’t register in my mind with how many hours we’ve been in the car that we would already be in a different country. Simon has my passport so he must have showed it to whoever when we reached the border.
The scenery around us doesn’t look much different from Vermont. That’s what it’s like living in one of the New England states. We’re surrounded by cities and wilderness. I’m not complaining because there’s a part of me that does love it and missed it while I was in California.
Although, I’m really looking forward to exploring Canada. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to do it with Simon. The two of us get along really well and I’m not going to even dive into the chemistry we have between us, because that has no place on a trip like this.
Simon is here for hockey and I’m literally just along for the ride. A place to stay while I explore something new in the world that I have yet to experience.
“You know, you snore really loudly,” Simon chirps, breaking through my thoughts.
Whipping my head to the side, I cut my eyes at him as he continues to stare out at the road. “No, I don’t.”
“Babe, I just listened to you snoring the past few hours,” Simon sighs, looking over at me with a knowing look. There’s something playful dancing in his eyes and mischief plays on his lips. “Trust me. You snore.”
“Do you have any proof?” I question him, feeling the heat creeping up my neck. Even though I’ve been with guys before, I’ve never had such intimate moments like I have with Simon. And me snoring isn’t something I’ve had a guy ever tell me before.
I mentally kick myself. It’s not like we’re in bed or anything that it matters. I’m sitting upright in the car, so it must be because of the way I’m positioned. It’s not like I snore often. I don’t know what it is, but it’s an embarrassing thought. I can see myself now with my mouth hanging wide open as I sound like an old man that has sleep apnea.
“Nope,” Simon replies with his gaze still out the front window. “You think that I’m lying?”
Staring at the side of his face, my eyes are still narrowed on him. “I know that I don’t snore loudly, so yes, I think you are. And considering the fact that you don’t have any proof, it makes it hard to believe you’re telling the truth. You have no evidence to support your claim.”
Simon glances at me from the corner of his eye. “Okay, I over-exaggerated,” he admits, a smirk pulling on the corner of his lips. “You do snore, but it wasn’t very loud. Actually, it was kind of cute.”
My heart pitter-patters inside my chest and my stomach does a flip. The embarrassment turns into something completely different. I suddenly feel shy and bashful, which is a foreign feeling for me. Simon has a way of making my emotions do a complete one-eighty out of nowhere. I swear, I can’t even fully keep up with the range of things I feel when I’m around him.
Heat creeps up my neck, spreading across my cheeks, and I direct my gaze out the passenger’s side window instead. I don’t want him to see the pink tint on my cheeks right now. I don’t want him to know the effect his words have on me, because I can’t let them get to me like that.
We fall back into a comfortable silence and Simon turns the music up a little louder. He has no shame as he begins to sing along, and I honestly love the sound of his voice. It’s some emotional song that I’m pretty sure I’ve heard in a Grey’s Anatomy episode, but I can’t remember the name of it.
His entire playlist while we’ve been driving has taken me by surprise. I didn’t anticipate the wide range of genres and songs he’s been playing, but I’ve honestly been vibing with it all. And who knew that Simon could sing like he does? Because I most certainly did not.
There’s a hoarseness to his voice, yet there’s something gentle and tender mixed with the sounds. I can feel it in my soul and I love the way the sound slides across my eardrums like the finest silk. Closing my eyes, I lean my head against the window and let the sound of his voice lull me back to sleep.
“Wake up, angel,” Simon murmurs. I feel the weight of his palm against my shoulder as he gently gives me a shake. “We’re here.”
My eyelids flutter open and a warmth spreads through my body from his touch and the sound of his voice. Lifting my head, I look out the window and see that we’re inside a parking garage. Turning to look at Simon, a small smile plays on my lips.
“Sorry if I was snoring again,” I tell him sheepishly as I sit up straighter. The engine of the car is already turned off and I unbuckle my seat belt as I watch Simon push open his door.
“I was just fucking with you earlier, Stell,” he chuckles as he winks. “You were saying my name in your sleep, though—that has my curiosity piqued.”
My eyes widen and I swear I could die on the spot from embarrassment. I don’t remember anything from my dream or if I dreamt at all, but either way, I’m completely mortified. “Oh my god…”
Simon laughs loudly as he climbs out of the car. He bends over, his gaze colliding with mine. “I’m kidding, angel,” he smiles. “Chill out and let’s go.”
I cut my eyes at him but he closes the door before he catches the daggers that I’m shooting at him right now. This asshole. He’s always so playful but I never know what to expect with him. I really believed him when he said that I was saying his name. Damn him for tricking me into thinking that I did.
As I get out of the car and push the door closed behind me, Simon is already waiting by the trunk with both of our suitcases. He doesn’t bother grabbing any of his hockey equipment since he won’t need it until tomorrow morning for the first day of his camp.
My eyes are still narrowed at him and Simon can’t help himself with the smirk that’s situated on his lips. His goddamn perfect lips… Shaking the thought from my mind, I follow after him as we head through the parking garage and to the apartment building. He stops out front, collecting keys from a lockbox that the landlord told him to use.
We find the apartment, which happens to be on the first floor, so it’s not a far walk from the front door. I wait patiently behind Simon as he stops with both of our suitcases and slides in the key. He unlocks it, turning the knob as he pushes open the door.
His large hands are back on the handles of our suitcases, pushing them into the apartment with him. He stops short as soon as he’s through the doorway and I collide into his back.
“What the hell?” I grumble at him, slightly irritated. It’s like the feeling you get when you’re wearing a pair of flip flops and someone steps on the back of them. You know it’s an accident but you can’t help but instantly feel annoyed.
“This isn’t the apartment we were supposed to have,” he mumbles, not even paying any attention to me. “What the fuck.”
Sidestepping Simon, I move around him and stop directly by his side as I see what he’s seeing. It’s not a two-bedroom apartment like he was told they were changing his reservation to. It’s a goddamn studio apartment with one bed.
“I’m calling the landlord because this is bullshit.”
Simon abandons the suitcases and turns around as he strides out into the hallway with his phone in his hand. I’m left standing alone in the apartment. I let my curiosity get the best of me and I meander around the space. It’s a vast apartment for a studio. There’s a full-sized kitchen, a living room area, and a bed tucked in its own little nook area. There’s a full bathroom with marble tile and everything.
It’s actually a really nice apartment, with everything modernized. I’m not saying I want to stay in this space with him, where there is literally no privacy, but I don’t hate the room either. Walking to the kitchen, I run my hand along the marble countertop just as I hear Simon walk back in.
His lips are tight in a flat line as he pushes the door shut behind him. A sigh slips from his lips as his eyes meet mine. “Looks like there wasn’t another apartment available, so this is home for the next month.”
I swallow roughly, offering him a small smile from where I’m standing across the room from him. The tension is already thick in the air, it’s as if I can reach out and touch it. We had talked about an air mattress, but neither of us got one since we were under the impression that we would have two separate beds.
With Simon being the way he is, I already know he’s going to make me take the bed while he takes the couch. And I appreciate the gesture, but that isn’t fair to him. I’m the one who’s practically imposing on his trip now—at least, that’s how it feels.
“It’s okay,” I assure him, my smile bright on my face as I push away the anxious feeling that swims in my system. “We can make it work. It’s not a big deal at all.”
The air between us sizzles with energy and tension. We’re going to be here for an entire month… sharing a studio apartment with only one bed.
What could possibly go wrong?
Everything…