An Act of Persuasion - By Stephanie Doyle Page 0,43
hide it so she didn’t feel like the weak one.
“Let’s blow this Popsicle stand, then.”
“This is a great museum, not a Popsicle stand...but I heartily concur.”
* * *
BEN DROVE THEM to Anna’s place and didn’t ask before getting out of the car and escorting her all the way to her door. He waited while she opened it and, once it opened, he began to turn away.
“Do you want to come in?”
The offer surprised him. He knew she was exhausted. He could see the faint tightening around her eyes. And as much as the idea of spending more time with her—possibly even ending up with the two of them making out on the couch—appealed to him, he hadn’t lied when he said he was exhausted, too.
The truth was he hoped he had enough energy left to drive home. If not, he would have to find a place to park and rest for a while. He’d learned through his recovery process that if he went with his natural tendency to push his body too far, then he paid for it later.
This wasn’t like a cracked rib or a sprained knee where he could deal with the pain and muscle through. Hell, he’d once been shot in the shoulder and had continued to move over difficult terrain for three days before finding someone to take out the bullet. A cakewalk when it compared to battling this new postcancer body of his.
He knew if he tried to fight the fatigue, then he would relapse for a time and find himself achy and miserable for days after.
“As much as I’m intrigued by the offer—and, really, I can’t believe I’m about to say this—I simply don’t have it in me.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Seriously? You think that was an offer? You’re dead on your feet. Me, too. If I was ready to have sex with you, which I’m currently not, I don’t think either one of us would be awake for the climax. I was offering you a place to crash temporarily.”
How humbling. “It’s only four in the afternoon. We’re pathetic.”
“We’re a pair of wimps. Deal with it.”
He would. Because the prospect of getting to spend more time with her after he woke up was enticing. They could eat dinner together. He liked eating dinner with her. It felt right to him, and since she’d been gone, nothing he’d eaten had tasted as good as when he was with her. The Reuben sandwich he’d had while he watched her eat her grilled cheese sandwich...delicious.
Decision made, he moved past her into her tidy apartment. The purple couch was going to be a problem.
He pointed to it. “It’s too small for me.”
“You can take the bed. I’ll take the couch. It’s where I usually nap anyway.”
Her bed. Her sheets, her pillows, her scent. The thought made him groan inwardly. He would smell her again. He hadn’t really gotten to smell her since that night. Maybe a little when he’d hugged her after she broke down sobbing, but that hadn’t been enough. Not nearly enough. And when he’d been kissing her, all he’d paid attention to was the feel of her. This would be different.
Lying in her bed would be like she was surrounding him and he wondered if he would be able to sleep at all or if he would suffer endless memories of their bodies intermingled.
“Let’s be clear. This is not a nap.”
Her lips curled as she clearly struggled to keep from laughing at him. “Sorry, I forgot. Big bad Ben Tyler doesn’t nap. The bedroom is over there. There is a blanket on the bed you can use. With the AC on high you’ll need it.”
Ben walked to the room and stepped inside what was decidedly her territory. He considered it a positive sign that she trusted him with this space. The queen-size bed was neatly made, and on the end of it was an old-fashioned-looking throw blanket that appeared to have been hand knitted. Something a grandmother might make her, if she had a grandmother.
“Make sure you take off your shoes,” she called to him.
Ben eyed the bed again. Her bed and he knew suddenly that he didn’t want to sleep in it alone. “Come in here. Please.”
His words weren’t loud but his message carried. She leaned against the door, her shoes already removed. The sight of her painted toes made her seem vulnerable to him and he had this vague image of what she would look like with her belly swollen and full.