Page 63 of Fight For Us
Oh, I heard her. I just wanted to see her face as the question left her lips. Reaching up, I wrapped my hand around her wrist and tugged her palm away. Her cheeks were still flushed pink all the way to the tips of her ears. “Ask me again, Tiger.”
She held my gaze and shook her head. “No. Nevermind.”
“Okay.” I dropped my hand, deciding not to press her. Instead I walked her through the steps I took to get into my prosthesis and then once we brushed our teeth and got into bed, I showed her how I took it off.
“Is this awkward or is it me?” she asked beside me. With the room blanketed in darkness other than a small nightlight, I could make out the silhouette of her curves shadowed against the wall.
I flipped onto my back. “Not for me,” I lied.
“Right,” she said with a huff. She fluffed her pillow and rolled onto her back. “Can we play the question game again?”
“Which game is that?”
“Where we ask each other questions. Please,” she begged. “I’m worried about Alex’s appointment and stressed about this mess and my mind keeps replaying that whole… incident.”
“You keep thinking about me naked?” I teased. She yanked her pillow out from under her head and smacked me with it. “Okay, okay. You’ve already tackled me, I don’t need to be beaten with a pillow, too.”
“I think you do,” she said. My mind traveled to the gutter, because of course it did whenever Olivia was concerned.You can spank me with whatever you want.“How about one question each?”
I grabbed her pillow and stuffed it under my head. It smelled like her shampoo—mint, lavender, and something I couldn’t name, but it was all her. “One question each… and I’m stealing your pillow.”
“Hey, you have your own pillows.” She grabbed it and pulled.
“But yours is softer,” I said, chuckling and giving in.
“It’s called a high thread count. You should try it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “One day. But for now my Walmart pillowcase is doing just fine.”
“Oh Wes, I’ll bring you to my side eventually.” She plopped the pillow on my head and laughed. Her voice had a raspy quality to it this late at night that was so damn sexy.
“I believe you. So, the question game? Ask away.”
“Hmm, let me think.” She played with a loose strand of her hair. “Tell me about your last relationship.”
I figured this conversation would come up eventually. “Not really a question,” I responded.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. I can’t help but give you shit,” I said with a laugh. “Last relationship, huh?” I pretended to mull it over, although it was a simple question. There’d been no one since Savannah. “It’s embarrassing but I want to be honest with you.”
“Embarrassing? Is it likea lotof women?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Uh, no. How about the opposite of a lot. My last relationship was with Savannah.”
“And when did that end again?”
“Officially, eight years ago, but we were on and off. I found out she’d been cheating on me while I was in the hospital with my first surgery.” I realized as I let those words into the open air, that I didn’t feel the tightness in my chest that I used to. I barely felt anything at all.
“I’m so sorry. That’s deplorable.”
“Yeah, well, that’s Savannah. She’s never been the empathetic type.” I turned to face her, taking in her warm expression in the dim light. “Anyway, to answer your question, I haven’t been in a relationship since my marriage ended. Haven’t wanted to be in one, if I’m being honest.”
“Why is that?” Her voice was a soft whisper.
“I thought we said one question each. Someone is cheating again,” I teased. She didn’t tease me back. Instead, her question hung heavy in the air between us.
I took a breath, and as my chest expanded I knew Olivia was breaking down another brick in the wall I’d built around my heart. That loose piece of hair fell into her eyes as she shifted. As I released my breath, I reached out and took it between my indexfinger and thumb, gently brushing the back of my hand along her cheek as I swiped the hair behind her ear. I didn’t miss her sharp intake of breath or how she released it in a ragged rhythm with my name on her lips.
