Page 36 of Loved By The Bad Boy

I flop onto my stomach and drag the comforter over my head. Counting backward does nothing to help. Sleep isn’t forthcoming. I put on a robe over my nightgown and head out of the room.

The ceiling lights illuminate the empty hallway, and my footsteps clap against the tiled floor. I look back a few times, tempted to return to my room. I am not sure where I’m headed or if Ben is here. My phone is in my room. I don’t know his room number, but I continue walking.

“Tessa?”

My head snaps up at the familiar voice, and I grow self-aware. Maddie waves. She looks as lost as I do. Why is she on my floor? I pull my robe close, retying the knot to protect my decency.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I say. What was her other question? Did she say something? As she approaches me, I straighten up. I doubt both of us planned this early morning walk. “I was… I wanted to…”

“To see Ben?” Am I that obvious? I shrug, and Maddie laughs. Without makeup, she still looks pretty. Beauty runs in their family. Drawing closer to me, she whispers in my ear, “I was coming to your room to see you, Tessa. Number fifteen. The receptionist gave me your room number.”

Maddie grows uncomfortable with the silence. “Well, it took a little coercing,” she admits.

I think she means bribe. But I believe her now. “It’s fine.”

Without another word, we continue down the hallway. We stop in front of the elevator, and she inputs a number I hope is for Ben’s floor. When we are inside the elevator, she says, “Tessa? Will you please talk to Benny? Even if you don’t get back together, just hear him out. Please.”

“Okay.”

We step out of the elevator, and my palms sweat when we finally stop at a door. Maddie knocks once, and Asher opens immediately. My presence doesn’t seem to surprise him. Maddie ruffles his hair, leaving us two to each other. Asher hugs me after his mother leaves, but my eyes remain on the lookout for the silly boy who deserves a second chance. I motion to the figure on the bed.

“Is that Benny?”

“Yeah. Benny is sad,” Asher replies in the same whisper.

Because I made him sad, but he made me sad first.

I plant a kiss on Asher’s forehead. He scrunches his face and pretends to be irritated. Light filters in through the cracks of the curtain. I stand in the doorway, contemplating my next line of action.

Asher returns to his laptop. He picks up his headphones and gives me a thumbs-up. Ben hasn’t moved. I crawl into the bed and hug him from behind. “Asher. Go away. I want to be alone.”

“It’s not Asher.”

Ben grows stiff, and my arms tighten around his waist to stop him from turning. I’m mad at him, but I want to be with him. Do I forgive him? I don’t know. I don’t want to think about that now.

“Gracie?”

“Shut up.”

Ben chuckles and stops moving. I feel him relax against me before he says, “I love you, Gracie.”

“I’m still mad at you,” I say to his back.

He covers my hand with his, and those familiar currents zap through me. I try not to smile.

“But you still love me?” he asks.

My lips press to his neck. “Maybe.”

A small squeeze of my hand is all I get. We are quiet for a while. I can only smile when he twists his body so we are staring into each other’s eyes. He bops my nose. I flick a finger over his.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I whisper.

Our lips move closer, and he interlaces our hands to place a kiss on my knuckles. I want more, a proper kiss, like that one from the gig. My lips part, and so does his. But we don’t kiss. We just stare.

“Is Calum really your boyfriend?”

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