“This is weird, right?” I whispered. Cuddling. But I needed it.
“If it is, I don’t care.” He used a fingertip to trace my hairline, pushing a lock of hair back from my flushed face, giving me a serious look. “It’s what I want to do.”
God, he made me melt. I curled in closer, pressing my sweat-damp skin against his. When I was burrowed in his arms, one leg hooked over his, his fingers swept absentmindedly up and down my back, tracing faint patterns.
“Stay,” he said.
A sliver of panic ran through me. “Overnight?” Because there was no way in a million years I could, no matter how much the idea excited me.
He skewed his face, maybe realizing how impractical the request was. “Just for a little while.”
I took no convincing. I was tired, and warm, and happy right where I was. I let out a deep breath. “Yes.”
His smile was wide and bright.
I blinked my blurry eyes and shifted before I realized where I was. Greg’s arm was cast over my waist, holding me, even when we’d both fallen asleep. I couldn’t tell what time it was. The sun was still up, at least enough to generate some light, but the room was dark and cave-like.
When I wiggled out from under his arm, Greg stirred, but didn’t wake. He rolled onto his back and sighed, oblivious. I sat up and stared at the naked man, crossing my arms over my chest to hold in my warmth. I needed clothes.
More importantly, I needed to get out of this bed, out of this house, and down the street to my car. The dark clouds from before had moved in, and although it wasn’t raining yet, it was going to start any minute. Thunder boomed and shook the pane of glass in the balcony door, like the universe was reminding me how to escape.
Except, I didn’t want to.
It was impossible, but I forced myself to slip off the bed and slowly tug on my clothes, wondering the whole time what I was going to do. Should I wake him up? I glanced at the black clouds outside and back to the man on the bed. I didn’t have time to enjoy how good he looked like that. He seemed younger when he slept, and he looked more handsome.
I was on borrowed time with the storm. I had to go.
Because not only would saying goodbye take too much time, I’d do anything to avoid it. I didn’t want him to see me as I walked away and was left gutted. This afternoon might have been wrong, but it wasn’t a mistake, and if he woke up with regret in his eyes, I couldn’t bear to see it. It was better to slip away and not ruin what we had.
The door was silent as I pulled it open, and I watched through the glass as I closed it carefully behind me, making sure Greg didn’t hear. I rationalized my escape as I hurried down the staircase. He worked crazy hours at the hospital. Didn’t he deserve to get some sleep?
A fat raindrop landed on the part in my hair and rolled forward down my face as I scrambled along the wooded lawn. I wiped it away with a shaky hand. By the time my flip-flops hit the sidewalk, it was pouring. Cold sheets of rain soaked my tank top, my hair, and squished between my bare toes.
I was drenched when I crawled into the driver’s seat of my car and shoved the keys in the ignition. Rain drilled against the windows, loud and angry. The car interior was muggy and confining, trapping me inside, where I couldn’t run from my thoughts any longer.
Oh, my God.
What the hell had I just done?
TEN
MY BEST FRIEND LILITH was five years older than I was. She had sleek, iron-straight hair the color of caramel that hung halfway down her back, and she stood almost six feet tall when she was in heels, which she wore every chance she got. She had to be the only woman on earth who slipped into stilettos after a grueling day of work.
She couldn’t wear them at the animal hospital. Sometimes she had to chase an escaped bunny around the exam room or needed good footing when an overly excited mastiff wanted to jump up and say hello. Her four-inch heels weren’t going to cut it against a dog that weighed more than she did.
I’d become friends with the veterinary assistant on the first day of my summer internship when we’d walked into an exam room together, and the pet owner demanded we look at her ‘duck.’
“He refuses to swim,” the woman whined.
Bless Lilith’s heart—she gently let the owner know her chicken, not duck, was in excellent health, and Lilith said it in a way to minimize the woman’s total embarrassment. It wasn’t until the owner was gone that we died with laughter.