Chapter 35
35
T hey arrived back at Sean's house at eight-fifteen according to her watch. They'd visited with Mina for a couple of hours, until she fell asleep, then she and Sean made the trek back home. He drove slowly and carefully, almost to the point that it irritated her. She just wanted to get back home. To Sean's. Being jostled around in the car and wearing the seat belt rattled her nerves. The seat belt pressed on her bruises, the cars coming at them made her nervous, and every time Sean looked up in the rearview mirror, she tensed up. Plus, she was tired of being nervous. She was exhausted, actually.
He held the door for her, and she smiled. Really, it had been so long. But even in his college days, he was chivalrous, and that always thrilled her. The house still smelled of lasagna, and though it was delicious, she wasn't hungry. She slowly neared the brown leather sofa and sat down gently. The smell of the leather, one she'd always loved, wrapped around her. She leaned back and closed her eyes. "Oh, my God, I'm so tired."
Sean sat next to her, the dip in the sofa and the sound of the leather beneath him a giveaway. "Me, too. Do you want to watch television for a little while? Do you want to go to bed? What do you want to do?"
She opened her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Going to bed meant sleeping together. Maybe. She wasn't sure. Although they had napped together today, it was nice being wrapped in the cocoon of his arms. Suddenly feeling awkward, she hesitated.
Sean sighed. "Look, if you don't want to sleep in the same bed with me, I have a guest bedroom. But I'm not an animal. I know you're sore and so am I. I'm in my fifties, Gloria. I don't think I need to explain that further. I simply like being near you."
She closed her eyes again and sighed. "It's stupid, isn't it? Acting like we've never been together. My God, we made love all the time back in the day. You know me biblically more than any other living person on this planet."
He chuckled. "It's not stupid. We're testing the waters again. But you tell me what you want to do."
She turned her head without lifting it from the sofa. "I'd like to sleep in your bed." Her heartbeat sped, and she swallowed the fear that crawled up her throat. It was a big step. An admission without so much giving permission. She wanted to lay with him and feel secure again. Being near him healed her heart in places, not in all of them, but in some of them. Wasn't that what healing was? A slow mending of something broken?
He grinned. "Okay. But I'm going to stay out here for a little while and write down some of these words spinning around in my brain."
"Okay." She stood slowly, got her balance, and moved toward the bedroom. "’Night, Sean," she said softly.
He grinned. "’Night, Baby."
Her heart felt lighter as she made her way to the bedroom. He called her baby again, just as he used to back in the day. She touched the light switch and glanced around. Yeah, it was pretty plain, but she didn't mind. It made her feel somewhat happy, and excited that he didn't have another woman in here designing for him. He probably didn't have anyone in his life for a long time. That was kind of sad, but it also made her happy. She hadn't had anyone to speak of in her life, either. Brody had been around at first. But, she knew in her heart she'd never have romantic feelings for him. He was a good friend, a great producer, and a true gentleman. They had that conversation early in their friendship. At the time, she'd said her heart was still broken into a million pieces and she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. She didn't want to use him and she didn't think trying to replace Sean with someone else was fair.
She blew out a deep breath, stepped deeper into the bedroom, to her suitcase. Moving clothing around until she found her shorts and T-shirt, which were her pajamas. Digging her toiletry bag from inside the zippered section, she turned to the bathroom and prepared for bed.
Her hair was much shorter these days than it had been when she and Sean first dated. But it was manageable for her without the ponytails she'd relied on in college. And, she always had to be properly coifed for television, which sometimes seemed to be a full-time job. Maybe one day she'd cut her hair short. She'd always wanted a pixie cut, but her network contract prohibited it.
Sliding between the sheets of Sean's big bed, she reached over and turned the switch on the lamp, then snuggled into her pillow. Sean's scent filled her nostrils, and she inhaled deeply. She closed her eyes and imprinted his scent into her memory. He smelled the same as she always remembered.
She closed her eyes and pulled his pillow close, wrapping her arms around it. She had this short amount of time before she met with the network on Monday to remember the days of old and to figure out what she'd do next, if she needed to figure out what next would be. She'd let her agent go several years ago, believing she didn't need one at this point in her life. Maybe that had been a mistake. One other thing that could bite her in the ass moving forward. But, again, there was little she could do about it now.
She was proud of herself for not having been worried about that over the last couple of days, but she had enough other things to worry about, so she shouldn't have been so surprised. Nothing was more important than Mina. Nothing. She inhaled deeply one more time, let out a deep sigh, and let sleep take her.
T he bed dipped, movement behind her startled her, and she jumped. Immediately sorry she did. Sean whispered, "Shh, shh, shh, it's okay honey, I'm sorry."
He tucked in behind her, gently wrapped himself around her body. He nuzzled the crook of her neck and inhaled. She'd always enjoyed when he took in her aroma. A soft smile lifted her lips.
She'd done the same thing, hadn't she? When she'd climbed into bed, she enjoyed his scent still trapped in the sheets.
"You smell good," he whispered.
She sighed, "Thank you, so do you."
His arms wrapped tightly around her. “Night, Baby,” he whispered near her ear. She smiled and closed her eyes, and let sleep take her once more.