Jules put away the phone but kept the bat up. “Are you leaving?”
Ryan glanced down at the shirt he still held, then at the bat.
“Do I need to?”
“That depends. Elissa isn’t a one-night stand kind of girl. If you’re not planning on sticking around, it might be for the best. I’ll tell her you said goodbye.”
“You’re very protective.”
She bounced the bat against her shoulder, never taking her eyes off him. “She’s my best friend, and no one else watches out for her. I’ve got her back.”
“I’m glad she has someone like you.”
“So, are you staying, or are you gonna run?”
Excellent question. His instincts should’ve kicked in by now, and he should be hightailing it home. But the image of a peacefully sleeping Elissa drew him right back to her bedroom, and all he wished to do was crawl in and sleep next to her.
“I think I’m gonna stick around.”
“Okay. Break her heart and I will find you and hand your balls to you on a silver fucking platter.”
“Understood. Does it buy me any points if I say I’d want you to?”
She returned the bat to its place next to the door, the slightest smile on her face.
“One or two. Goodnight, jerk face.”
He gave Jules a sarcastic salute and rushed out of there. The woman was scary in her devotion.
Ryan ditched his pants and tossed the shirt over the chair in the corner. He crawled under the covers. Elissa murmured unintelligibly in her sleep and snuggled closer. He kissed the top of her head.
As he fell asleep, a stray thought lodged itself in the back of his mind. Maybe it was time for him to entangle himself.
thirty-five
squishy gray area
Elissa woke in the small hours of the morning, the sky still dark through the sheer curtains in her bedroom. The silence of the room pressed in on her in a way she hadn’t experienced before. Something was different. She hadn’t gone to bed alone. Her hand drifted to the other side of the bed, only to find cool sheets. Ryan was gone.
Why had he left without saying goodbye? She understood why all the others had left, eventually. Their biggest complaint had always been she’d never been truly present for them. At least, that’s what it had boiled down to. Her family came first, pulling her attention from many a budding relationship, and she never had been able to articulate what she wanted, leaving both her and her lover dissatisfied. Her unavailability had irritated Victor to no end. Perhaps she should’ve paid attention to that red flag long before he’d left her.
She stared at the ceiling and fought the tears welling in her eyes. Last night had been a genuine connection. But she’d been with Ryan last night, all in. Nothing in the world had existed outside the two of them. Maybe he hadn’t felt the same. He’d gotten exactly what he’d wanted from her and bolted.
Elissa pushed whatever these emotions were down deep. Obviously, last night had meant more to her than to Ryan. It was time to put her big girl panties on and come to grips with real life.
The door opened, and Ryan crept in.
“Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I thought you left.” Her voice warbled pathetically and more tears dripped down her face. She wiped them away and a tentative smile curled the corners of her mouth.
He sat on the edge of her bed and grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I gotta leave in a few, but I made coffee and was going to snuggle you awake.”
“It’s not your fault.” She dabbed the tissue at the tears, more embarrassed than anything now. “It’s just…you wouldn’t be the first to walk away without saying goodbye.”
“I swear to you, Elissa, I will never leave without saying goodbye. Okay?”
“Okay.”
