Rosie has a talent for making me fall for her all over again and then again.
Her lips seal against mine when I sit up, and I haven’t left her body. “That was…” I take control of my breath.
“Hmm.” She’s turning groggy as she does after sex. The perfect way to relax. So much so that our bodies shake off all worries.
Orgasms cause us not to think, as we are in a trance.
But eventually we snap out of it.
It’s a few minutes later, when I’m in bed sitting up and waiting for Rosie to return from the bathroom. That haunting feeling returns to me. The urge to ask yet another time.
I debate if I should grab her ring, and it doesn’t take long. I dart out of bed and grab the piece of jewelry that is a ghost from the past.
Setting it right where I want it to be, I wait patiently in bed, and when Rosie returns in her pajamas, I act natural.
“I bet you I don’t get to sleep. This baby will wake me at 2am for kicks and a party.” She yawns, and when she turns the edge of the duvet on her side over, she instantly freezes before she scoffs. “Really?” She doesn’t sound so thrilled.
We both stare at the ring that I left on her pillow.
“Yes, really. I’m breaking a promise, and I can’t help it, I’m going to keep bringing it up.”
She doesn’t enter the bed, instead her eyes swimming between the ring and me. “Carter, I said be patient.”
I lean across the mattress to grab her arm, but she dodges my efforts. “And I’m impatient. We’re opposites. Now, tell me what’s really bothering you?”
She avoids my eyes lasering in on her, her entire body language saying that she’s struggling internally with something.
Then it happens.
Something inside of her snaps. She picks up the ring and sets it on the table at the side of the bed with the sound bellowing through the room. “Because I regret what I did. I’m the one who ruined us. I’m scared I will do it again.” It shoots out of her mouth until she realizes it all rolled off her tongue, and the air grows stiff.
Her eyes droop to the floor with remorse, and I scoot closer to her as she stands next to the bed. My hand captures the side of her soft face, slightly cold from the brisk winter evening and the heating on low. “We just grew apart. It might have felt as though we needed closure at some point, but we never did because we were supposed to circle back to one another. I made mistakes too.”
“Only because I felt the need to explore and was careless with your feelings.”
I tug her wrist my way. “Hey, look at me.” Her eyes slowly sweep up to meet mine. “You also left a trail so I could find you again.”
Rosie rolls her lips in, soaking in my words, but I still see the struggle for her to accept what she hears. “Carter…” Her voice cracks, and she gathers my hand to hold between both of hers. “Your belief in us is the most beautiful and promising thing. It’s also my downfall because I never want to hurt you. I said I’m almost there about re-marriage. That’s still true.”
I sigh. “Just not yet.”
She kisses my palm gently and doesn’t let my hand go. “I love you so much that I want to ensure that you have it all without any little cracks. Just give me a little time, okay?”
My mouth stretches a weak line in acknowledgment.
Rosie begins to wobble on her knees on the mattress as I scoot back. We both find our spots under the covers with a swirl of awkwardness in the air.
It’s a few seconds until she does what she’s good at, breaking tension with a smile.
She nudges my arm as we sit side by side. “Point for proposal creativity, though.” She lifts a brow at me with a wry smile.
“Points for celebrating my career win,” I counter because it was good sex, and my disappointment erases off my face.
She giggles and kisses my cheek. “You’ll still let me steal a pillow?”
I shake my head and my mouth stretches. “It’s for the baby, so I’m not going to say no.” Rosie requires a lot of pillows these days to get comfortable on her side.
“Thank you. I promise not to steal any blankets.”
