Crave (Harlequin Teen)

first, then from his mouth. He gave a short, stiff nod.
    “So tell me why it made you happy.” I didn’t want my subconscious to turn this into an uncomfortable dream.
    It was his turn to pluck a blade of grass and play with it. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess it was just cool that I could have fun hanging out with my dad. He always used to sort of scare me. But lately we’ve become almost like friends.”
    “I’ve seen pictures of your dad in the newspaper. He does look a little scary with that beard. Kind of like a big polar bear.”
    Tristan laughed with me. “Yeah, exactly. But it turns out he’s pretty funny. Like how protective he is of my mom and sister and does all this stuff to keep them safe, and they don’t even know it. So he’s playing the big bad undercover bodyguard because he thinks they’re so fragile, and yet he has to be sneaky while he’s doing it because he’s afraid they’ll find out and get mad.”
    That really made me laugh. “You men always think women are weak and need to be protected.”
    “Aren’t you?” Smirking, he reached out and brushed my toes with a piece of grass.
    I sucked in a breath and jerked my feet in closer. Oh, no, he remembered how ticklish I was. Though saying I was ticklish was a major understatement.
    “Hmm, still ticklish? There you go, a sure sign you’re a fragile female in need of protection. Can’t even stand a little piece of grass on your toes.”
    He tickled me again, forcing sharp laughter out of me. I swatted at his hands. Laughing, he captured both my hands with one of his and continued tickling my toes with the other. I wanted to focus on the warmth of his hand on mine, the thrilling strength in those fingers, but that blade of grass couldn’t be ignored.
    Out of reflex, my feet pulled in then shot out to try and avoid his merciless attack. My heels thwacked against his right shin.
    “Oh, sorry!” I yanked my feet back in as I reached out to pull up the elastic cuff of his sweats. “Ouch. It’s already turning blue.”
    He grinned and rubbed his shin. “No worries, it’s just a dream, right? Besides, it was worth it.”
    “Why?”
    “It got you to bare your legs for a few seconds.”
    I gasped, and heat flooded my cheeks.
    Tristan
    I was still laughing at her when I woke up in the backyard.
    I lay there for a few seconds, grinning like an idiot. I’d done it. I’d dream connected with Savannah. And all I’d had to do to avoid Mom’s spell was fall asleep in the backyard again.
    My parents would kill me if they found out.
    That wiped the grin off my face. With a sigh, I rolled to sit up. Okay, so I’d pushed the rules a bit. But couldn’t a guy have a little bit of fun every now and then? I’d been good for weeks. I’d kept my distance from Savannnah. I’d even tried dating some other girls. But none of them were quite like her.
    Savannah would think last night had been just a dream, so what would it hurt? She’d wake up clueless that we’d actually connected in our dreams. And I’d woken up feeling better than I had in years…
    …with a monster-size bruise growing on my shin.
    Savannah
    I woke up Sunday morning with a smile. One that faded too soon, along with last night’s dream about Tristan, to be replaced by the memory of my failure to make the Charmers team yesterday.
    Too bad I couldn’t bottle up the peace and contentment I’d felt with Tristan in my dream and carry it around with me in real life. I felt anything but peaceful or content all day long. By the time Dad called that evening for his weekly check-in, I had to fight to keep my tone polite. He was the absolute last person I wanted to speak to right now.
    “Savannah, you sound…upset.”
    I glared at the popcorn ceiling over my bed. “I tried out for my high school’s dance team yesterday.”
    “And?” He drew the word out like a man attempting to verbally defuse a bomb. Which was perfect, considering how I wanted to explode with fury right now.
    “And I wasn’t good enough. So I guess your council will be thrilled.” Part of me was shocked at myself. I’d never spoken so rudely to him in my life.
    “While I realize it is not what you want to hear right now, that really is for the best.”
    My jaw dropped, and my eyes burned for a few seconds while I tried to find a response. But I couldn’t. Why couldn’t he be a loving father, normal, caring about my feelings instead of what his council wanted all the time? Like that father at the