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Had I moved too fast? He had been the one to invite me back here, but had he made a mistake? Did we ruin the budding friendship between us by giving in to our animal instincts? Was one sweaty roll in the sheets all we would have? Was there any way to recover?
“I’m gonna take a shower.” He sat up, running a hand down his face.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He bent over to kiss me. “Better than okay. I’ll be right back.”
He stood up, still naked, and wandered off to the bathroom. I waited until the door closed and I heard the drumbeat of the water before I leapt to my feet. Searching out my underwear, I struggled into them. My jeans were on the bedroom floor, but my shirt was outside near the couch.
I sat down to pull my shoes on, grabbed my purse, and let myself out the door. I felt like I was fleeing the scene of a crime, as if I had done something monstrous, and by running away, I was trying to pretend that it had never happened. All my fantasies about Linc had stopped the moment I reached my climax. I had never once thought about the moments after, about how intimacy would change us. I suddenly realized I was in over my head, and if I wanted to salvage what was left of my pride, I had to be the one to leave.
17
LINCOLN
Idried myself off and wrapped the towel around my waist. It was late, and I thought I might be able to sleep. Maybe Aly was already asleep and I could climb into bed beside her. I wasn’t sure how I felt about sharing the bed with another person, but with her, I would try.
Walking out of the bathroom, I went straight for the bedroom, expecting to find Aly waiting for me. I hadn’t been in the shower for very long, but when I returned to the bed, I found it empty. I checked the living room and it was also empty. Aly had hit it and quit it.
I found myself laughing. It was usually the other way around, wasn’t it? The guy in the situation was the one to duck out. Finding myself the brunt of a booty-call joke, I had to laugh. She was sly. I never imagined that she would sneak away, that her interest in me would evaporate after one fuck. The laughter died quickly though as an empty feeling settled in my gut. I realized I wanted more than just that one encounter.
I put on some new clothes and my boots and returned to bed. I was able to get a few hours of sleep before morning.
I overslept. I hadn’t set an alarm because sleeping was so rare. When I next opened my eyes, the sun was streaming through the narrow basement window. I checked my phone and saw that Danny was due to arrive any minute. Luckily, I was fully dressed. I ran to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and hurried out to the curb.
Danny was waiting for me, just about to give my phone a buzz if I didn’t appear. “Did you sleep?” he asked, because I had told him about my insomnia.
“Yeah.” I buckled my seatbelt.
“Was it the tea?” As soon as I mentioned I was having trouble sleeping, everyone wanted to give me their guaranteed home remedy. Danny’s had been Sleepytime tea.
“No, it wasn’t the tea,” I said, leaving it at that.
Danny glanced at me out of the corner of his eye but let the matter drop. We pulled into the employee parking lot and got out. I realized I had forgotten to pack a lunch. Usually if that was the case, I skipped lunch or ordered pizza delivery. Today, I had something else in mind.
We had to hit the ground running. It was Monday, and a lot of the contractors who ordered their supplies from us were waiting for their deliveries. I had graduated to driving my own truck, and since my leg was cooperating, I could even help load and unload. I still had to take one of the other employees with me to help transfer the lumber to the customer’s stockpile. But that was standard practice. Even Danny and Henry took another guy with them occasionally to help with big jobs.
I had two runs lined up at the beginning of the day and finished both of them before noon. In the back of my mind, a constantjoke—in which I had been the punchline—kept me smiling. Though I was still a bit unnerved by finding Aly gone from my bed last night.
At lunchtime, I went to the office. This time, I didn’t take any paperwork or make up an excuse to see her.. I found her hard at work, typing on her computer. She looked up and something like panic flashed across her face.
“I’m not angry,” I said quickly.
“I can explain,” she began.
“You don’t have to.” I smiled, touched that she wanted to smooth things over.
She frowned, letting her fingers drop from the keyboard. “I just…” She was having a hard time putting her feelings into words.
“Do you want to have lunch?” I asked abruptly.
She stared at me, unsure how to process the sudden turn of events. “What?”
“I forgot my lunch. I actually got some sleep last night after you left, and I forgot to set my alarm.” I watched her face for signs of pleasure, and I wasn’t disappointed.
She blushed. “I slept well too.”
“Awesome. So, would you like to have lunch with me, Aly?”
