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Wecouldbe together here.
If he was thinking it, then he changed his mind. He gave a nod and a smile before saying good night. I shouldn’t have felt disappointment, but the bitter pill clanged its way down my esophagus. I washed it down with a big gulp of wine.
Cabernet, I think.
Gabriel closed the bedroom door. I got my toiletries from the suitcase and went into the adjoining bathroom, finishing my wine as I got ready for bed. The entire time, I kept thinking about how Gabriel was only a room or two away from me, doing God only knew what.
At least it was better than obsessive thoughts over the serial killer trying to get me.
I finished up in the bathroom (and finished my wine), going back into the room. I glanced at the window, the blinds still drawn shut. I wasn’t a fan of how close it was to the bed. It brought back childish fears of monsters breaking through and snatching me by my feet, dragging me off into the night.
Childish but not all that far from my current reality.
I swallowed down a gulp. The wine helped blunt some of the scarier thoughts. I turned on a lamp on the nightstand before turning off the overhead lights. The room was painted in a warm yellow glow. I gave a long yawn as I stretched, touching my toes and rolling my neck before climbing into bed.
Moments later was when I heard a tiny crack followed by a loud crash, and a shrill shout ripped straight out of my throat.
12
GABRIEL FERNANDEZ
I heardthe sound and leapt out of bed, hurtling across my bedroom and ping-ponging into the hallway, going straight into the adjacent guest bedroom.
The nightstand lamp was on, but it had fallen to the floor, which made the light cast intimidating shadows on the far wall. I looked down, seeing Tristan getting up from a broken bed. The leg must have cracked and given way, nearly tossing him off the mattress.
I offered a hand and helped him up to his feet.
“I swear, Gabe, that happened just as I was laying down. It’s not like I was doing jumping jacks or anything.”
I laughed and felt relieved that it was just a broken bed that caused the noise. “Don’t worry about it. This was one of the first pieces of furniture I ever bought. I probably should have replaced it years ago. Now I’ve got an excuse.”
Tristan’s eyes flicked downward before coming back up to meet mine. I realized I was standing there in just my red-and-blue plaid boxers. I was in such a rush to get to Tristan’s side that a shirt and sweats were the last of my worries. Tristan was also in his sleeping clothes, but that at least included a black tank top and shorts.
“I, uhm,” Tristan said, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“No, I can take the couch. You get the bed.”
“I’m not kicking you out of your own bed.”
I cocked my head, amused when Tristan’s eyes dropped back down for a brief moment. “We can split it, then. I’ve got a California king. Plenty of space.”
Tristan appeared to consider the idea. For a second, I thought he was going to say no. It would likely be way too much temptation. It would go against everything we had talked about earlier.
But I really didn’t want to sleep on the couch.
“Fine,” he said, grabbing his pillow and phone. “Let’s have a sleepover, then.”
The smile grew on my face and spread to his. I tried to tamp it down, but it was useless. So instead, I turned and led Tristan over to my bedroom, turning on the light so he could get situated. I got into bed and pulled the heavy blue comforter over me, trying not to focus on Tristan’s perky ass as he set up his phone and charger on the nightstand.
“Sorry about that,” I said again as Tristan got into bed. The mattress dipped in his direction, as if the inanimate object was trying to push us together.
“Seriously, don’t stress it. Have you seen the state of disrepair my house is in? I wish it was just a guest bed I had to take care of.”
“What’s the list? Maybe we can work on it together. I’m a pretty good handyman.”
Tristan chuckled at that. He got under the covers and fluffed up the pillow.
I wasn’t sure what part of me was responsible for the instant boner—the primate part of my brain, the caveman part of my brain, or the highly evolved part of my brain. Likely none of them, all three parts melting away so that the lowest part of my brain could take control.
