“You didn’t tell me you found your bracelet,” Willow exclaims as I find myself playing with it the way I always used to.

“I didn’t. Merritt bought it for me tonight when we were waiting for dinner.”

“Really?”

“What? You think I’m not capable of buying her things?” he chimes in.

“No, that’s not it. I’m surprised she let you buy it, being Miss Independent and all.”

“Oh, she wanted to pay me back. She even got all stupid about it when we got home, but I put her in her place.”

I look at him, and he winks at me. I did get a little upset when he refused to take my money once we returned to the house, but I didn’t throw a fit.

“Did you put a wish in it yet?” Willow asks me.

“No, I’m still thinking on it.”

“Wish?” Merritt asks me.

“Yeah. You’re supposed to write a wish down, fold it up and place it inside the box.”

Merritt nods his head, and as we look at one another, I find myself thinking about my wish and what it’d be. What do I really want in life? Just then Ari emerges and slowly walks downstairs. “You shouldn’t be up,” Willow says, running to his side.

“I’m fine,” he brushes her off and tries to make his way to the couch, but she turns him around and walks him right back to bed. “Night, Ari,” we all yell and he flips us off. He’s obviously struggling being stuck in bed.

“I’m turning in too,” I tell everyone as my head is still giving me a dull throbbing pain.

Walking upstairs, I lie down on the bed, closing my eyes, hoping by morning that my head feels better. As I lie there, I find my mind is on Merritt. He is so sweet and caring, which is the last thing I expected him to be. He’s not like any other man that I’ve been with. I hate that we’ve only got two days left, so I want to make the most of it.

Quietly he enters the room.

“Night, guys,” Willow says walking by.

“Night,” we both respond and I look over at him. He has a bottle of water in his hand and passes it to me as he sits down.

“You feeling any better?”

“Not really,” I tell him and take a small sip.

He pulls his shirt over his head, and my eyes are drawn to his amazing tattoos. These beds are so small, as he climbs in behind me we barely fit. But I’ve grown to like snuggling together when we sleep. Wrapping his arms tightly around me, I close my eyes. The room is very tranquil; the warmth of his body along mine is so comforting.

“What are you going to wish for?” he asks me, touching the small box on my bracelet.

“I don’t know yet,” I answer him honestly. My mind is sending me so many mixed signals, making me feel things with Merritt that I never imagined I would. But I push them away to protect myself, the only way I know how, the way I promised myself I would after my last breakup.

I stay in this moment because I’ve learned better than anyone that these two days will fly by and as soon as we leave here and go our separate ways, he’ll forget all about me. I remind myself he’s probably no different than the other men I’ve been with. Even if he seems different now.

* * *

Waking up, the sun is barely lighting the morning sky, and I have to pee. Merritt is sound asleep, still holding my body tightly against his. Gently, I kiss his arm, then lift it and slip out of his hold. Looking back at the way he stretches in the tiny bed, it’s obvious his large body is way too big for it.

Traipsing into the bathroom, I realize that my head no longer hurts. Thank God, I don’t think I could’ve endured another day of pain. After I’m done peeing, I wash my face and then go back into the bedroom, but Merritt is no longer in bed.

I glance around the room and before I can spot him, his arms are around me. He’s standing behind me, his large cock ready and hard for me. “Morning,” he says, his voice rough as he guides me to sit on the couch. I look up at him, stark naked and so fucking hot. He takes the sash off of one of the curtains and places it over my eyes, awakening all my other senses.

Forcefully, he tightens it behind my head and asks me, “Do you trust me?”

“Should I?” I ask him in return.

“I hope so.”

Then he directs me to lie back, my eyes fighting to see what he is doing, but everything is dark. Taking his fingers, he slides them beneath the sides of my pants and shimmies them down my legs; then he removes my shirt. My heart is pounding, eager for what he has in store.

His hands are on my body, touching and teasing my tense skin before he spreads my legs wide and settles between them, blowing a cool breath of air on my wet pussy. He says, “Mmmm, you smell like heaven.”

I urge my hips towards him as I try to look through the sash, but I can’t see a thing. He separates my pussy and wraps his lips down around my clit. Right away, I tense, and he begins to kiss and flick back and forth with his tongue, pleasing me.

I moan loudly, and he covers my mouth, quieting me, but not breaking our contact. As he pleases me, I fight what he is doing not wanting to give over so fast, but an intense orgasm hits me automatically, causing him to push hard against me, pulling it out of my system, like it’s his to control. My muffled noises are quieted by his hand as he cups my mouth a little harder.

My body stops pulsating, and he pulls away. I wait for what is next, and he begins kissing me, all over. My fingers are knotted in his hair loving how his lips feel on my body. “You taste so good,” he tells me.

“Let me taste you,” I tell him, and he doesn’t answer. Instead he continues kissing me. Even though I just came, my body is horny and eager for him. I allow him to take his time, dousing me with affection, and then he stops and nudges his cock against my lips. I open wide, taking him in, wishing that I could see him, but also liking the way the blindfold has me lost in a world where only Merritt and I exist.

I moan against his shaft, gripping the base as I suck him. Every contour of his rigid dick etches itself into my memory. He moves slowly but gives me all of him. I grip harder, and he doesn’t last long before he pulls away. I lie there, breathless and panting, wanting more of him. “Why did you stop?” I ask and before I can answer, he’s inside me. His hands hold my legs open wide, so our bodies blend close together. He moves in and out of me, causing every fiber of who I am to focus only on the pleasure and as I get lost in this moment, he asks me, “Does this have to end?”

I contemplate how to answer him, and slowly, lift the blindfold off of my eyes. He looks at me, so wantonly and even though I’m scared, I don’t want it to end either. But deep down, we both know it has to. It’ll never work. And if for some reason we were to force things and give it a try, I’m not ready. I’m damaged and need to fix myself before I can even think I’m emotionally able for a relationship.