Page 68 of Only You and Me

“Mm hmm,” she mutters against my shoulder. Fatigue seems to take over and I guide her to the couch, assuming she’ll fall asleep by the time I get back from sending everyone packing.

I head outside and talk with the rest of the guys to make sure all the women have a ride home. Jack will drop off Janie before he and Annie head home and Finn obviously plans on getting Shayna home, seeing as how they can’t keep their hands off each other. Fitz volunteers to get Emily home and he’ll have his hands full as she’s completely toasted. No one bats an eye when I let them know I’ll make sure Trina is safe—it’s pretty much all hands on deck.

Before I know it, everyone is gone for the night. Everyone but Trina.

When I get back in the house, I lock the door and go to get Trina from the couch, but she’s not there. I walk through each room looking for her and when I find her, she’s in my bedroom, sitting on the side of my bed.

She’s also wearing nothing but thin black panties and one of my Elladine Police Department T-shirts. Damn, she looks good in my clothes.

“I thought you wanted to go home and get to bed?” I ask, confused.

“I never said I wanted to go home to get in bed. I just wanted to get to bed… here.”She pats my mattress.

My heart rate picks up in my chest. She’s never been willing to stay at my house, so this feels big to me.

“Okay. We can do that. Why don’t you get under the covers, and I’ll go get us some water and get you some headache pills, so you feel okay in the morning.”

“’Kay.” She immediately crawls under the covers.

A few minutes later, I’ve gotten the water, brushed my teeth, and head back into the bedroom where Trina appears to be sleeping with her back turned to me. Her breathing is rhythmic and slow, and I just stand and watch her for a few moments, loving how she looks in my personal space. Like she belongs here.

I gingerly climb into bed, trying not to wake her. I lie on my back, my hands resting behind my head. I close my eyes and attempt to fall asleep when rustling, followed by Trina cozying up to my body and lying her head on my chest, interrupts my efforts. She casually tosses an arm and a leg over me. Well, damn, I like how this feels.

“Ben?” she whispers.

“Yeah?” I lean my head forward and place a tender kiss on hers.

“Will you tell me more of the things?”

“What things?”

“Things I like. Or don’t like. Things you remember about me.”

My heart skips a beat. She likes I remember so much about her. That I know her.

I pull my left hand out from under my head and wrap it around her, securing her close to me.

“Sure. Let’s see… I remember that fall is your favorite season and Halloween is your favorite holiday.”

“Mmm, that’s right. More… please.”

I chuckle. It’s obvious she’s trying to say please more often. “Cherries are your favorite fruit, and you love steak, but you struggle to eat chicken.”

“That’s true. I like you remember things about me,” she whispers. “That you didn’t forget me.”

Keeping my left hand firmly around her, I bring my right hand to her head and stroke her hair. “I never forgot you, Trina. I know you’ll probably not remember this tomorrow, but there wasn’t a day that we spent apart that I didn’t think about you. Not a single day.”

More awake now, Trina lifts her head off my shoulder and looks at me. “Do you want to know a secret?”

Her face looks so serious that I can’t help but chuckle a little.

“Sure, if you want to tell me.”

“I didn’t forget you either. I wanted to hate you, but I never did.” Her words make my chest fill with happiness, my heart race with hope. “Actually, I like you. I like you a lot.”

My vision blurs a little with the moisture building behind my eyes. Those words are words of healing and hope.

Because if my wife ‘likes me a lot,’ maybe she could love me.

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