I went upstairs to the bathroom after everyone left. Even though I’d showered earlier, I needed to wash my face and brush my teeth.
It felt odd knowing Raff was staying the night in the house. At the same time, it was familiar, because when I was growing up Mom and Dad would let Rafferty and Jasmine sleep over at least once a month.
Rafferty’s words from this afternoon kept repeating in my brain.
Any man biding his time to get in your pants is far from sweet.
He’d never been so forthright before, which made me doubt him. The look in his eyes, though - that was real… and totally serious.
We would never work. Even if I were living in town, Rafferty would get bored with me. I wasn’t biker ol’ lady material. Not by a long shot. I didn’t party like they did. I drank every so often, but I’d never be like Aunt Trixie or the other ol’ ladies who seemed to live for the next get-together.
When I was done with my night-time routine, I opened the bathroom door and found Rafferty milling about the hallway.
“About time you finished up. Thought you might have fallen in.”
My lips quirked to the side. “I wasn’t in therethatlong.”
“Wasn’t that short either.”
“It’s all yours now,” I said, hurrying to my room.
I flipped on the light and froze. He’d made the bed earlier. That seemed like something new, because from what Jasmine told me, he was allergic to that particular chore. As quick as I could, I changed into a pair of spare pajamas I’d left here.
A few minutes later, Rafferty leaned on my doorjamb. “You good to sleep alone? Or are you gonna have fitful sleep?”
I shrugged. “It’s hard for me to predict that.”
“Is your medicine supposed to make you drowsy?”
My eyes slid toward the nightstand. The sticker running down the side of the bottle with the half-closed eye couldn’t be missed. “Yeah. Seems that way.”
“Then I’ll be next door. Unless you’re on a strict schedule, we’ll leave whenever you wake up.”
Part of me wanted him to climb into my bed, but a bigger part of me knew that wasn’t the best move. I smiled and nodded at him. “Thanks, Rafferty. You’re the best.”
His eyes lowered into a slow blink before he shook his head. “I’m not the best by any stretch. See you in the morning.”
That cleared things up. Those words that had been running through my mind in a loop faded away. If Raff wanted in my pants, then he wouldn’t have let me bow out that easily. After all he’d said about Porter, it was clear he was learning the fine art of being an overprotective alpha. Undoubtedly that was why Dad was cool with him being here.
I quietly closed the door, pulled down my covers, and turned off the light before climbing into bed. My eyelids felt like two small weighted blankets, and I drifted to sleep in no time.
“How’s your head?” Rafferty asked, stopping for a red light on University Avenue.
We had spent the last ninety minutes of the ride to Gainesville listening to alternative rock music. The lack of conversation was comforting and unnerving. Comforting because I liked that neither of us felt compelled to fill the silence. Unnerving because he obviously didn’t mean what he said yesterday afternoon.
“My head’s fine - as long as I don’t touch the side of my face.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry you’re in pain.”
I twisted a hand up. “I appreciate that. It’s not that bad.”
He reached out and gave my knee a squeeze. “Still. Bruises like that suck.”
His words brought back memories of high school, when he’d get into fights and I’d bring him ice packs for the bruises on his face.
That was before he’d pushed me away and everything turned sour.
I kept quiet as he navigated the congestion around the campus.
