my home, I am responsible for him. If nothing else, the law would hold me accountable. And that responsibility,â he added, staring back at the ceiling, âis of my own choosing.â
âWellâ¦â Her voice was thick and she sounded as if she had something in her throat. âThank you.â
Silence fell. A million things ran through his mind. Words to say. Warnings to himself. They were jumbled with emotions he didnât completely understand. Sheâdfall asleep soon, and then heâd be free to work it all out. He didnât have to report until eight in the morning. He had hours yet.
When Tricia pulled the covers up to her shoulders and moments later, scratched her neck, Scott knew she wasnât any closer to falling asleep than he was.
âI wasnât planning to ask you to move out. I donât want you to.â
A reply might have made him feel better.
âUnless you need to, of course. In which case you have my full support and the use of my truck and any muscle you need to move Taylorâs things.â
âIâm a free spirit, Scott.â
âI know.â
âIf you have expectations Iâm only going to disappoint you.â
âI donât.â
âI canât live my life always being a disappointment.â
âYou arenât a disappointment.â Life was, maybeâthe circumstances that had brought them together at this place and time, when neither of them was in a position to get involved.
âI canât stay if my being here hurts you.â Though their bodies were close, they werenât touching, separated by the covers. She hadnât moved. Neither had he.
âItâs not your being here that hurts me.â He wasnât supposed to hurt at all anymore. His whole life was organized around that principle. It was a decision heâd made years ago. And upheld without fail.
âWhat does?â
The air return flipped on, blowing thinly across the bed, across his skin. Scott started to get hard. All he wanted was to pull the covers off Triciaâs delicious body, roll over on top of her and just live.
He pulled the corner of the sheet over his thighs.
âI wouldnât call it hurt.â
She continued to stare in his direction. Did she see him more clearly in the dark, without the distraction of light and color? Really see him? Or did the darkness allow her to pretend?
âWhat, then?â she asked.
He might as well tell her. It wasnât like he had anything to lose. She was going to leave eventually anyway.
âIâm just curious,â he murmured.
âAbout what?â
âYou.â
She rolled onto her back, her head facing up. âWhat about me?â Her voice had grown more friendly and that in itself rang as a warning to him.
âYour inconsistencies.â
âSuch as?â He might have been responsible for some of the distance between them that evening. Right now, it all came from her.
âYou speak as though this modest lifestyle is all youâve ever known, but when you need to use the restroom, you go to the Hotel Del.â
âIt was the closestââ
âNo.â He turned his head, pinning her with his starealthough he knew she couldnât see that. âIt wasnât. There was a motel five minutes down the road with a public restroom sign in the window. Itâs like you didnât even see it. Which would often be the case with someone whoâs grown up with only the best. Without even realizing it, you learn to disregard anything less as if it doesnât exist. Because in your reality, it doesnât.â
âWell, Iââ
âIt wasnât just that.â Scott cut her off as soon as he heard the prevarication in her voice. âIt was the way you moved at the Del. You demanded your share of space, as though you belonged there.â
She rolled over to look at him. âI walked out the
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