Chapter 15
15
BAILEY
I was laying on my stomach on my bed, book in hand with my hair pulled back into a messy bun, when I felt my phone buzz under me. Normally by this point in the day I would be asleep, but my book had sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down. The sexy cowboy had come home to realize he loved the girl and was racing to stop her from getting married to the douchebag from the city.
These books were always so overdone and dramatic, but I loved every single one of them. I’m weak for small town romance stories and this one had all my favorite things. Cowboys, spicy sex scenes that only ever happened in books, and the happily ever after you could only ever dream about. Nothing about these books were real, and I was okay with that. Sometimes you just need to escape to another world for a few hours and get lost in someone else's drama to feel better about your own.
My hand searched around my bed while my eyes kept reading the romantic love confession and when I got to the part where she says ‘I’ve always loved you,’ I had to wipe a small tear away from my eye. Finally, I looked at my phone and smiled at the notification.
1 New Message: Soldier
My thumb swiped across the screen quickly so I could read the message.
Hey, blondie. I don’t know if you’re still up, but I figured I would see. I just wanted to let you know I’ve been thinking about you since you texted me earlier.
I looked at the time and realized it was almost midnight. Damn, this book had really sucked me in.
Hey, yeah I’m still up. Currently crying in my bed but it’s fine.
What’s wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen?
Did the bookshelf fall on you this time?
He sent the second text quickly after the first and I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. This man, so protective, so concerned for my well being. I thought it was sweet.
Calm down soldier, I’m fine. I’m just finishing a book and it’s making me weepy. Did you just get done playing?
Yeah we did, we just got done at Kolbi’s. His place is a few streets over from yours…
The ellipses intrigued me. Was this boy trying to ask me something? If he was, I wasn’t going to make it easy on him.
Oh yeah? Is there a reason you’re sharing that tidbit of information with me?
I watched as the three dots danced across the screen and chewed on my lip as I waited for him to send his reply, hoping that I was reading his signals the right way. I had texted him earlier with the hopes that I’d get to see him again this week, but if he wanted to see me tonight, I wouldn’t tell him no.
Well, and I know it’s late so I totally get it if you aren’t interested, but I was wondering if you would wanna get together tonight?
I flipped to my back and kicked my feet in the air.
Get together, huh? I don’t know, it *is* kind of late.
I was totally fucking with him but I wanted to see what he would say.
Oh, okay never mind then. We can just get together later or something.
Oh my god boys are so dumb. Sometimes we wanna be fought for, why don’t they understand this?
Wait!!! I’m just messing with you. When can you pick me up?
He responded in less than three seconds.
I’m outside.
My eyes grew into saucers when I read his text and I flew out of my bed. Ophelia was already asleep with her door closed, so I tried to make it across the condo as quietly as I could. My hand reached for the door quickly, but before I pulled it open, I took a breath. I didn’t want him to think I was overly excited to see him, even though I was.
I was very excited to see him.
When I pulled open the door, there he stood. Just over six feet, Hank was as handsome as they come. He was wearing black tailored sweats and a perfectly-fit white T-shirt, a staple in his wardrobe I had come to realize. It looked like he had just run his fingers through his hair because some of his curls were sticking out every which way. His shy smile made my heart race and I wanted nothing more than to press my lips to it.
“Hi,” I whispered, trying not to be too loud in the hallway.
“Hey, blondie,” he whispered back, leaning in with his hands behind his back. “I like your pj’s.”
I looked down and realized that I was wearing pajama shorts that had sleeping cats wearing Santa hats on them. They were my favorite sleep shorts, and in my excitement to see him, I didn’t even think about what I looked like before opening the door. Thankfully, I was also wearing an oversized, buttoned sleep shirt that covered up the fact that I wasn’t wearing a bra. I crossed my arms over my chest reflexively.
“Oh you like those huh?” Play it cool girl. You don’t need to be embarrassed. Your ass looks great in these shorts. His eyes scanned me top to bottom and licked his lips.
“They’re very cute. I like the cats,” he softly laughed.
“Here, come inside.” I reached for his arm and pulled him in, before gently closing the front door. I pressed my finger to my lips and pointed towards the closed door across from my room. Once I had led him through the condo and into my bedroom, I closed the door behind us.
“Sorry for dropping in so late,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Don’t be. I was hoping I could see you again.” I crawled onto my bed and sat cross-legged. I watched hesitantly as he took in my room and suddenly felt self-conscious. I’d never had a boy in this room since moving in with Ophelia. Shit, I hadn’t been with a boy since that night two years ago. I wanted him here, but part of me was still uneasy having him here. I’d dated in the last two years, but hadn’t let it go any further than dinner or drinks.
You’re safe. Just breathe. He isn’t going to hurt you.
He walked over to my vanity and picked up the frame that sat on it. It held a photo of Ophelia and me on the night we’d met. We had become instant friends that night and had asked a stranger to take our photo. I never expected to be living with her now.
But life had dealt me a tough hand, and it was Ophelia who’d stepped up to help me play it.
“I like this photo,” he said, his calloused finger tracing around my photographed face, smiling, “It shows off your hundred-watt smile.”
Between the spicy book, this boy showing up at my door late at night because he wanted to see me, and his sweet words, I could feel my body starting to get keyed up. I smiled at him and squeezed my thighs together, hoping he wouldn’t notice when I did.
“You think I have a hundred-watt smile?”
He looked at me and grinned from a few feet away. “It’s the first thing I noticed about you. Well, after I noticed that you read between sets while you workout.” He walked across the room and sat on my bed next to me.
“Oh yeah? What else did you notice about me?” Never in my life had a man complimented my smile, not to mention something about me other than what my body looked like. Most men only ever noticed your boobs or your ass. But not Hank. He’d noticed my smile and the fact that I read.
“Mmm…I noticed how kind you are to everyone around you so long as they’re kind to you. And how you aren’t afraid to stick up for yourself if you need to.” He turned so that he was facing me on the bed. His eyes flicked back and forth between my eyes and my lips.
“And I noticed how, when I took you to dinner, you paid attention when I was talking. You were interested in what I had to say and you asked questions. You were the same way last night, like you genuinely cared about what I was saying.” His voice was growing husky and he was leaning in closer to me. I leaned in right along with him.
“That’s because I do genuinely care about what you say. I think you’re fascinating.” Our faces were inches from one another as he spoke again.
“And last night, I noticed how you wrapped your legs around me, and how, as soon as I put you down, I missed the way they felt. I missed the way you felt against me. I don’t know what it is about you, but when you’re not next to me, I feel like a piece of me is missing.”
I sucked in a breath.
“I hope that’s not too forward.” He dropped his head and I reached out my hand to frame the side of his face so he would look at me. For the first time, I noticed the deep brown color of his eyes, and how, when you looked closely, you could see flecks of ember dancing in them.
“It’s not too forward,” I pulled his face towards mine and closed the gap between us, “because when you’re not with me, I feel the exact same way. Like a piece of me is missing.”
I’d hardly gotten my words out when I felt his lips crash into mine.
And for the first time in almost two years, I let a man make me his.