Read Online Midnight Heat (Firework Girls #2) by J. L. White - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: J. L. White
Ads: Link
how much can happen in five seconds?
I suddenly realized that only three months earlier I was prepared to marry another man and here I was, ready to give my heart to Grayson after one day. I really was. And I did not doubt he intended to give his heart to me. I thought of him whispering in my ear: I want this forever. I want you.
I thought of his Rule and him saying, I may have to make an exception.
Shaking, I got to my feet and tiptoed to the hall. Down the way, through an open bedroom door, I heard the shower water running.
In the opposite direction was the living room and my clothes. And the door.
I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering. Not from the cold. I don’t know how long I stood there, deciding.
I had said I didn’t want a one-night stand because I knew I had to be me, just me. Just for a while. I couldn’t lose myself in a man again.
But...
I looked in the direction of his room.
But it’s Grayson.
It was very clear to me, in that moment, that if I stayed, I would be wrapped up in Grayson for good. There would be no taking things slow. We were far past that point already. And I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist him.
I took a slow, indecisive step backwards, toward the living room. And another. Spurred on by the momentum of those two steps, I backed farther and farther away, making myself do it, until I was bolting into Grayson’s kitchen and fumbling to get dressed.
I ran out of his house, fully dressed but with my shoes in my hands. I drove barefoot, away from Grayson’s house and down through the hills, with my heart pounding.
It took every ounce of strength I had not to turn around and go back. As I crossed Swan Pointe, heading for my apartment, I had to make the decision over again every time I went through an intersection. I pulled into my apartment complex knowing he was probably out of the shower by now. And I wasn’t there. I was here.
I would not permit myself to cry. I had to be strong. I couldn’t be one of those women who couldn’t survive without a man. I wouldn’t.
When I pulled into my parking spot, I was momentarily distracted by the fact that Ashley’s car was still parked out front. Shouldn’t she have taken Isabella to the airport by now? And after that, Ashley was supposed to drive back to her apartment in Rosebrook. What happened?
“Where the hell have you been?” Ashley demanded when I opened the door to find her sitting on my couch.
The room was empty. I dropped my bag and shoes on the floor, furrowing my brows at her. “Why aren’t you on the road? Where’s Isabella?”
“I dropped her off at the airport but then came back here to wait for you. Why didn’t you answer my texts? Is your phone dead?”
Then Ashley took in my clothes—and probably my just-been-fucked appearance—and a dawning smile broke out across her face.
“Ah!” she said in a Sam-like way. “I see!”
“Ashley—”
Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her back pocket, still looking gleeful. Suddenly worn out, I headed toward my bedroom when I heard “Bella? She’s here. Spent the night with some lucky guy from the looks of it.”
I spun on Ashley and heard Isabella squealing through the phone. “Shut up, Ashley!” but Isabella’s squealing reached a new decibel level as Ashley put it on speaker phone.
“Oh my god!” Isabella said. “I want details.”
“Absolutely not,” I said.
Ashley’s face immediately registered concern. “Are you okay? What’d he do to you?”
I turned around and tried, once more, for my bedroom. “Nothing.”
“ Nothing? ”
I heard Ashley get off the couch and start following me. I managed not to groan in frustration.
“Well, I mean, yeah we did something but he didn’t do anything wrong.” God, I did not want to talk about it.
“What’s going on?” I heard Isabella ask through the phone.
“Chloe’s upset,” Ashley said.
“I’m not upset.”
I’m not sure why I couldn’t tell them. I tell them everything.
I suddenly realized that only three months earlier I was prepared to marry another man and here I was, ready to give my heart to Grayson after one day. I really was. And I did not doubt he intended to give his heart to me. I thought of him whispering in my ear: I want this forever. I want you.
I thought of his Rule and him saying, I may have to make an exception.
Shaking, I got to my feet and tiptoed to the hall. Down the way, through an open bedroom door, I heard the shower water running.
In the opposite direction was the living room and my clothes. And the door.
I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering. Not from the cold. I don’t know how long I stood there, deciding.
I had said I didn’t want a one-night stand because I knew I had to be me, just me. Just for a while. I couldn’t lose myself in a man again.
But...
I looked in the direction of his room.
But it’s Grayson.
It was very clear to me, in that moment, that if I stayed, I would be wrapped up in Grayson for good. There would be no taking things slow. We were far past that point already. And I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist him.
I took a slow, indecisive step backwards, toward the living room. And another. Spurred on by the momentum of those two steps, I backed farther and farther away, making myself do it, until I was bolting into Grayson’s kitchen and fumbling to get dressed.
I ran out of his house, fully dressed but with my shoes in my hands. I drove barefoot, away from Grayson’s house and down through the hills, with my heart pounding.
It took every ounce of strength I had not to turn around and go back. As I crossed Swan Pointe, heading for my apartment, I had to make the decision over again every time I went through an intersection. I pulled into my apartment complex knowing he was probably out of the shower by now. And I wasn’t there. I was here.
I would not permit myself to cry. I had to be strong. I couldn’t be one of those women who couldn’t survive without a man. I wouldn’t.
When I pulled into my parking spot, I was momentarily distracted by the fact that Ashley’s car was still parked out front. Shouldn’t she have taken Isabella to the airport by now? And after that, Ashley was supposed to drive back to her apartment in Rosebrook. What happened?
“Where the hell have you been?” Ashley demanded when I opened the door to find her sitting on my couch.
The room was empty. I dropped my bag and shoes on the floor, furrowing my brows at her. “Why aren’t you on the road? Where’s Isabella?”
“I dropped her off at the airport but then came back here to wait for you. Why didn’t you answer my texts? Is your phone dead?”
Then Ashley took in my clothes—and probably my just-been-fucked appearance—and a dawning smile broke out across her face.
“Ah!” she said in a Sam-like way. “I see!”
“Ashley—”
Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her back pocket, still looking gleeful. Suddenly worn out, I headed toward my bedroom when I heard “Bella? She’s here. Spent the night with some lucky guy from the looks of it.”
I spun on Ashley and heard Isabella squealing through the phone. “Shut up, Ashley!” but Isabella’s squealing reached a new decibel level as Ashley put it on speaker phone.
“Oh my god!” Isabella said. “I want details.”
“Absolutely not,” I said.
Ashley’s face immediately registered concern. “Are you okay? What’d he do to you?”
I turned around and tried, once more, for my bedroom. “Nothing.”
“ Nothing? ”
I heard Ashley get off the couch and start following me. I managed not to groan in frustration.
“Well, I mean, yeah we did something but he didn’t do anything wrong.” God, I did not want to talk about it.
“What’s going on?” I heard Isabella ask through the phone.
“Chloe’s upset,” Ashley said.
“I’m not upset.”
I’m not sure why I couldn’t tell them. I tell them everything.
Similar Books
