Page 53 of Homebody
He didn’t know. What he did know was that if he was going to have to feel like this, like he was uncomfortable in his own skin, Liam was going to be a part of it. Misery loved company.
He pounded on the door. Liam pulled it open after a moment.
Standing in the doorway, his gaze traveled up and down Dean before he said, “Good morning.”
“That’s what you think.” Dean pushed past Liam and into the lab where he came face to face with the dead naked guy still laid out on the table like some creepy buffet. He spun to face his friend. “Don’t you ever put him away? Or at least cover him with like a sheet or something?”
Liam lifted his brows as he closed the door. “You’re in a mood.”
“Yeah, I am. And it’s all your fault.Go tell Tessa how you feel.This is different,” Dean said in an unflattering imitation of Liam.
Liam nodded. “Ah. So it didn’t go so well?”
“No. It went fine. Great. Fucking amazing. The woman is incredible. I’ve never met anyone like her.”
“And the problem is? You’re yelling at me why?” Liam prompted.
“Now I have all these…feelingsfor this woman and I only have a couple of days left here. I have to check-in at base Monday.”
“You two have cell phones and computers, right?”
Dean scowled at Liam’s simplistic and ineffective advice. “Long distance doesn’t work. I’ve tried that.”
“You never tried with Tessa.”
Damn, he hated when Liam acted like a know-it-all. Like he was the smartest one in the room. Although actually, right now while standing in the lab, Dean had to admit that Liam was no doubt the smartest when it came to brains and stuff. But that didn’t mean he was the one who knew Tessa best. After all the time they’d spent together this week, Dean could claim that accolade.
Dean shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know?” Liam asked, going into researcher mode while leaning against the steel table holding the cadaver like it was nothing.
“She’s such a free spirit. I fell for the one woman who probably is less likely to want a relationship than I do. I mean, she flies through life, picking up an odd job here, a shift there, all without a worry in the world. She doesn’t even have a long-term lease. She told me she rents her apartment month-to-month. That to me says she’s not looking for any kind of commitment. Just something casual. Hell, I’m not sure she’s ever committed to anything serious or long-term ever. Not in life. Not in work. Not in romance. Which normally would be right up my alley.”
But not now. Not with Tessa. And that scared the hell out of him.
Dean finally glanced up. He was a little worried what his friend’s reaction would be to his spilling all these feelings on him. They’d never had that kind of friendship. Not the kind where they talked about deeply personal things.
Liam’s frown had Dean second-guessing talking about this now. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have dumped all that on you.”
“No. That’s not the problem. Believe me. Compared to what I usually have dumped on me your relationship worries are a pleasant change. But I’m confused. Are you sure about Tessa? How you described her, the lack of commitment and focus, that’s not the impression I’ve gotten from her at all.”
“You mean in the hour or so you’ve spent with her?” Dean rolled his eyes. “Walsh, I’ve spent the last week with her. Almost every damn day. I think between the two of us, I know her a little better than you do.”
Liam tipped his head. “All right. If you say so.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
Liam let out a short laugh. “I’m not. But either way, my advice to you is the same.Talk to her.The only way you’re going to get any definitive answers about what she wants is from Tessa herself.”
Talk to her.Easy for Liam to say. Not so easy for Dean to do.
They had only days left. Hell, the time remaining on this visit was short enough to count in hours rather than days. Putting his heart on the line was the dead last thing he wanted to do with the final time he had left with Tessa.
Maybe if he waited. Felt her out a bit. Got the lay of the land he could get a better feel for what she wanted.
Yup. Procrastination sounded like a pretty good plan to him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
