She half-laughed. “You can have it. Don’t think I want it anymore.”
“There are some voice messages on here, do you mind if I listen to them?” he asked, taking the phone and flicking through it.
She shook her head tiredly. “Nope, do what you like. I was going to call my mother, but I don’t feel like doing that right now.”
Travis nodded, patted her shoulder, then left. Leaving her and Curt alone.
She attempted to pull herself from his lap, but he held on tighter. When she looked up at him, she saw how tense his jaw was, the muscles in his neck tight. He was staring at the wall, thinking hard about something.
“Curt? What is it?”
He glanced down at her. “I thought this would happen, but seeing those messages, people threatening you, it . . . pisses me off.”
She got the feeling he wanted to say something else but was holding back.
“I know. I guess part of me thought you guys were exaggerating. That this would all be fine.” She shivered. “It’s horrible to think perfect strangers hate me so much.”
“They won’t touch you. You know that, right?”
“I know,” she said softly, sensing he was the one who needed reassuring now. “Thanks for being here for me just now. Usually, after one of these flashbacks it takes me hours to recover. Having you guys here helps.”
Having him here helped. Having him hold her was more comforting than anything anyone else had done. But she couldn’t sit here forever.
“I’m going to go take a shower now.”
He didn’t move.
“Curt?”
“I’m sorry if things I’ve said have upset you,” he said stiffly. “Around you, for some reason, my mouth seems to talk before my brain catches up. I don’t mean to hurt you. I never have.”
“I know.”
He stared down at her, and she nearly gasped at the pain she saw in his eyes. “I acted like a jerk. I shouldn’t have said what I did to you that night in my apartment.”
“It’s okay, Curt. I get it.” And it was. Because no matter what hurt he’d put her through, he’d also helped her move on. “If it wasn’t for you, I might still be stuck living in my parents’ house, letting them coddle me. I don’t think I would have come here and made a life for myself like I have. You helped me heal. So, you see, I owe you for rejecting me. I don’t know what I was thinking, like we would have worked as a couple. We’re much better off with as friends.”
We’re much better off as friends.
Christ, he’d really screwed this up. He sat on the bed, listening to her shower. He’d pushed her away, not ready for a relationship, thinking it was better for her. And now that he’d decided he wanted her, she’d decided it was better they just be friends. She’d thanked him for turning her down.
Was he too late? Had he ruined any chance of having her? Could she really love living here?
He ran his hand over his face. There was still something there. He was certain of it. They’d nearly kissed last night before Travis had interrupted them. No, there was something there. The question was, what exactly was it? He knew what he wanted. Her. All of her.
But what if she just felt a sexual attraction and nothing more? What if she didn’t want a relationship with him? What if this town was really where she truly wanted to be? Would she move to be with him? Curt couldn’t live here.
Fuck.
What was he going to do?
Chapter Twelve
Everyone turned to stare as she entered the gym the next morning. Not that people were looking at her. No, the looks were for the two men walking in behind her.
The two testosterone-laden, muscular men whose work-out gear only served to highlight their firm bodies. Not that she’d looked at Travis’s body. Well, not much anyway. She wasn’t a saint after all.
After last night’s embarrassing flashback, plus receiving those horrible messages on her phone, she’d expected she wouldn’t have been able to sleep. But she’d had an amazing rest and had woken up full of energy and ready for this morning’s class.