Boyfriend

Chapter 14

Dinner Date

"When I was in high school, I got in trouble with my girlfriend's Dad. He said, 'I want my daughter back by 8:15.' I said, 'The middle of August? Cool!' " — Steven Wright

"Lily," a voice whispered into my ear. It sounded so warm, like golden honey, and I inhaled sweetly at the sound. Instinctively, I knew to whom it belonged.

"Mmm," I moaned quietly in my sleep.

"Lily," the voice coaxed again with the same velvety tone. Warm arms wrapped around my torso, and I thanked my subconscious for making it all feel real enough that I felt tingles run down my spine. I breathed in the scent. Merlin, the scent preserving spell I had put on James's shirt was powerful. I could smell his aroma all around me.

"Lily, you have to wake up."

I frowned and rolled over. Normally, my dream James tried to make the illusion go on for as long as possible-usually with fun seduction techniques.

"Time to get up."

I pulled my sheets up over my head, muttering dissents the entire time. Slowly, I felt the sheets being loosened from my fingers and brushed down to my stomach with a slight tickle when it passed my ribs. I kept my eyes closed as I felt a callused thumb trace my cheek in a circular pattern. A content sigh left my lips as I felt drowsiness take over again. My perception was fading.

"No, Lily, don't go back to sleep," dream James urged me.

I opened my mouth to ask him why he was acting so strangely and why he wasn't kissing me, but suddenly I couldn't speak because there were soft lips pressing themselves against mine. Ahh, that was better.

My eyes still shut, I let dream James take over. This was what I had been expecting. "Mmm, James," I sighed as our lips danced lightly together, enough for me to feel the pressure of his lips but not enough to expect anything more-even though dream James never wore shirts. The kiss was sweet.

My head spinning dizzily, I pulled back. Normally, dream James and I never had to worry about oxygen. His fingers ran through my hair as I breathed deeply.

"Open your eyes," James whispered throatily.

I did as he requested. There was James. He looked a bit too prim and proper for my liking. Dream James usually sported a bit of scruff. I reached out to feel his freshly shaven jaw. "I want my subconscious to go back to normal, dream James," I told him.

James's hand trailed from my hair to my arm, stopping to rest over my hand. "Lily, this isn't a dream."

"It's not?"

"Nope."

I blinked and sat up a little. I didn't feel groggy or tired at all. In fact, all of my cramps had gone away, though, that wasn't too unusual; it was always the worst on the first day. My room was filled with sunlight, but I pinched myself just to make sure. Yep, I was awake. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I asked, "Then why did you kiss me?"

He chuckled lightly, and I felt the bed hum underneath me. "To wake you up."

I smiled demurely at him. "Good idea."

"You still seem a bit too drowsy for me, though," he decided.

"Mmm," I agreed, licking my lips in anticipation.

"I think I should rectify the situation," James told me in all seriousness.

Kissing James, I decided that this was the perfect method of waking someone up. If this could happen every day, hell, I could even become a morning person. Several minutes later, when all three of us were, ahem, thoroughly awakened, James and I got out of bed.