AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rachel is asleep next to me. I study her profile in the semi-darkness. Everything about her is mesmerizing, and in the darkness of the night, she looks more like an apparition or an angel. She’s beautiful. Her long lashes brush her cheeks and despite having had sex last night and being asleep now, she looks perfect. Not a hair out of place.
I look up at the ceiling and sigh.
I’m starting to feel something for her. What the fuck did I think was going to happen? I can’t be with her as often as I am—invite her to the weekend retreat—and expect nothing to happen. Although, I hoped that it would show me a side of her Ididn’tlike.
But Rachel Watts isn’t the kind of person I can’t like. She’s funny and goal driven and she works hard. There’s not more attractive than a sound work ethic. Not to mention the fact that I want to kiss her whenever she says something interesting.
Which is all the time.
But what does that mean for my future? Our future?
Could there even be such a thing?
I’m not the kind of man who dates. I can’t afford to hurt someone—what if I turn out to be just like my father? If I had to do something that hurt Rachel, I would never forgive myself.
“Blake?” Rachel asks, and I realize she’s awake.
“Did I wake up?”
She shakes her head. “Not at all. Are you okay?”
I roll onto my side to face her. “Perfectly fine.”
She reaches for me and cups my cheek. Her soft fingers scrape along my stubble.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Who says something’s on my mind?” I ask.
She smiles at me, her eyes dark in the dim lighting.
“You’re awake in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling. I don’t think your mind is a blank right now.”
“You know most men can think about nothing at all, right?” I offer.
She chuckles softly. “Yeah, but you’re not most men.”
I sigh. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is.”
I reach for her and stroke my fingers through her hair. Despite not making eye contact, she looks at me.
“I’m worried about what’s happening between us,” I admit.
Rachel frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Well… we’re not just… I don’t even know what to call us. Friends? Colleagues? Whatever we were before, we’re not that now.”
Rachel nods. “I know what you mean.”
“And that scares me.”
She shifts a little closer. “Why?”
I take a deep breath. Do I dare tell her the truth about myself and who I am? I’ve never told anyone but Emma. I don’t like being judged by my past. I don’t like confiding in people I can’t trust.
But Rachel is different. I haven’t known her for very long, but when I’m with her, the rest of the world falls away. Nothing matters. The past doesn’t seem to be so big and scary when I’m with her.
