Chapter 20
“Why did you bring your bag of lies into my house?”
-Aaron
I wake with a start at my usual time of seven o’clock. It seems as I get older, my internal clock is hell-bent on waking me up at the same time every day, no matter what time I go to bed.
Today is different, though.
I’m flat on my back, looking at the ceiling, and the most amazing woman in the world is wrapped around me. Camellia’s head is on my left shoulder. Her left leg is thrown over my legs, pinning me to the mattress. And her left arm is wrapped around my waist.
I smile.
It’s the first time I’ve slept with her. Slept in the same bed. There were plenty of times we slept beside each other - and the rest of the team - while fighting fires.
I had big plans to make love to her - in a bed - for hours last night, but exhaustion from the emotionally-draining day took its toll.
Camellia claimed she would shut her eyesfor a minute, but some things haven’t changed. Camellia doesn’t nap. She falls into a deep sleep that takes a blaring fire alarm to wake her up.
A buzzing catches my attention. It’s coming from my nightstand. I pick up what I think is my phone, but I realize too late it’s not.
R.M.: Call ASAP/Urgent/911
R.M.: Need 2 talk 2 U
Camellia has seven messages, and five missed calls from this R.M. person. The hair on the back of my neck stands up.
Who the fuck is R.M.?
All sorts of scenarios play out in my mind, which is all too happy to remind me of the lies from Sabine.
Just a friend from work.
A client who doesn’t understand the word “no.”
I blocked him, and he keeps texting me.
And my personal favorite.Why are you going through my phone and text messages?
Leave it to a narcissist to lay the blame anywhere else but on their shoulders.
I shake my head to clear the dark thoughts. Camellia isn’t Sabine. Plus, until yesterday, she had no reason to tell me about anyone in her life. We haven’t even talked about what’s going on between us.
Yes. I told her I loved her. And she told me she still loved me. But we didn’t go deep in that conversation about where we go from here. We certainly didn’t have theboundariesdiscussion yet.
R.M. could genuinely be a co-worker or a friend. Hell - even a woman. But the thought of Camellia spending time with anyone else stabs me in the heart. She never gave me a reason not to trust her. And Camellia’s texts are none of my business right now.
I reach for her arm and leg to gently move her so that I can pee. But when I move, she tightens her python grip on my body.
“Where do you think you’re going, Sparky?” she mumbles into my shoulder.
I snort. “Pee. Then, I’m coming right back.”
She lifts her head. Her hair is flattened on one side and tangled on the other. She’s a fucking vision, and it causes my throat to catch.
“Same here.”
Her morning voice is throaty and gritty and does things to my dick. Fuck. If I don’t pee soon, it’s going to climb back into my body and create an uncomfortable situation with my morning wood.
