“You’re wearing gray sweatpants,” I call back. “Of course I’m looking.”
His laughter rumbles in the air, and I step into the bathroom with a smile on my face and hope in my heart.
45
COLE
Ibrush my teeth, go to the bathroom, and then I walk back into my empty bedroom.
It’s always felt like a place I belong, but everything changed that first time I saw her sleeping in here.
After she left the room, it felt empty in a way it never had before. It also smelled different. Just like it does tonight.
It’s like the second she steps inside, she permeates the air with her scent and shows me exactly what the room, the apartment, and my life are missing.
Her.
I comb my fingers through my hair as I pace back and forth, waiting for her.
When she called time earlier, there was a moment when I thought we were done. That I’d pushed too hard and made her shut down. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case, but I can see in her eyes that it would be easy to do.
Every day, she’s getting stronger and more confident. It’s easy to forget what she keeps hidden under the surface, away from the world to see.
I see it, though. And I fear she might just see the same in me.
It’s the reason she held me like she did earlier.
She knew that if she walked away, it would kill me.
For the first time in my life, I really want something—someone. And that puts a hell of a lot of power in her hands. The kind of power I’ve refused to give anyone since I was too young to know better.
Unease rocks through me, twisting up my insides until my stomach feels like it’s made up of knots.
If this is going to progress, then I know I need to get my abandonment issues under control. But that’s easier said than done when the only thing I’ve ever known is to be left behind.
I make it ten minutes before my need to go and check on her gets too much. After shedding my T-shirt and sweats, I march across the space between our rooms in just my boxer briefs.
I convince myself that I’ll find her curled up in bed, having changed her mind. It’ll hurt like fucking hell, but at least I’ll know the truth.
Just like everyone else, she doesn’t think I’m worthy of a tomorrow with.
But the second I step into her room, I discover that there isn’t a Freya-shaped lump in her sheets. She’s still in the bathroom, and as I get closer, I realize that she’s singing softly.
My music knowledge isn’t great. I can sing along to plenty of songs, but I normally have no idea who sings them or what the titles are. But there is no doubt it’s a Taylor Swift song.
I’m smiling, all my previous concerns floating away as my need to see her takes over.
As soon as my shadow fills the doorway, she looks up in the mirror, her eyes locking with mine.
Her hair is twisted up on top of her head, and she has a cotton hairband keeping it back. Her face is glistening with some kind of product, and she has a cloth in her hand.
“Couldn’t keep away, huh?” she teases, her eyes dropping to my body.
Her attention makes fire burn through my veins. “You’re taking too long,” I state as I rest my hip against the doorframe, intent to just stand and watch.
“I won’t be too much longer,” she says.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I let my eyes run down the length of her body. Her tank and shorts are skintight and show off all her beautiful curves. And the way the fabric cuts across her full ass…fuck me, I’m pretty sure I’ve died and gone to heaven.
