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One Day Later
“Baby,you need to go home and rest,” Ben says for the millionth time.
“What I need is a boyfriend that doesn’t think he’s a NASCAR driver chasing after crazy people, almost getting himself killed,” I huff, the stress of the last twenty-four hours getting to me.
“I did not almost get myself killed,” Ben argues, limping out of the bathroom. He’s right, of course. He didn’t almost die, which is a huge miracle from what I’m told.
He’s got several broken ribs, a broken wrist, and a bruised hipbone that causes him to limp, but he can walk on it. They thought he may have broken his hip, but apparently my boyfriend is superhuman. All things considered, it’s a miracle that he’s alive, let alone going to the bathroom by himself. The way the doctors are talking, he will even get to come home tomorrow.
As he settles back down on the bed, I can tell how winded he is, and the strain of the pain shows on his face—at least until he gets settled. Just thinking about how close I came to losing him makes me feel that panic all over again.
“Are you okay?” I ask, before I can stop myself. He doesn’t like worrying me.
“Baby, I really want you to go home. You’ve been here all day and all night, you need sleep.”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to sleep again,” I tell him, half joking. The thought of Greg being in my house, planting all those cameras and watching me without my knowledge, freaks the hell out of me.
“You can go to my house. You know as well as I do that we’re going to have to give up one house. Let’s make it yours.”
“Sell my house?” I ask, surprised when I realize that he’s asking me to move in with him.
“Exactly. We will sell it and use the money to renovate mine anyway you want. I want you happy there.”
“Is that your way of proposing to me, Ben?” I ask, wanting to make it crystal clear what is going on between us. I never saw myself wanting to get married to anyone after the hell I lived with Greg. Heck, I never even wanted to get in a serious relationship. But I realize that from the moment I met Ben, I’ve always wanted that with him and right now I’m hoping like hell we’re on the same page.
“I figure you already know by now that we’re going to get married, Junie. I’m not asking you, Babe. I’m just telling you. You’re marrying me,” he informs me, his voice so matter of fact that I can tell it’s always been a done deal in his mind.
“You’re such a romantic. What if I didn’t want to get married? What if I wanted to shack up with you for the rest of my life?” I joke, just to see if I can make him squirm.
I should have known better.
“Then, we’ll get married. I’ll hire a hypnotist to make it so that you don’t remember getting married. That way in your poor, deluded mind it will be like we’re shacking up and living in sin for the rest of our lives,” he says, way too easily.
“That seems a little extreme. A hypnotist?” I laugh, shaking my head at my crazy, insane, sexy, love of my life. Ben gives me that smile of his that lets me know he’s full of shit. “I guess…” I whine, drawing the word out. “I can marry you. It’s not like you know how to function without me. I mean, if I wasn’t around, you would probably go crashing into trees every few minutes.”
“You’re not going to let me live that down anytime soon, are you?” he mutters, with a sigh.
“Not really. I mean, what did you think you were doing? You can’t just go driving like that. Stone Lake isn’t a racecourse and you’re not a trained driver,” I lecture him.
“Baby, we’re trained in high speed pursuit in the academy,” he explains, and maybe he’s telling the truth, but I think he might be lying—at least a little. I don’t call him on it, however.
“Whatever. The point is, I don’t want to go home until you’re home. There’s no way I could sleep anyway. I mean, I know they said that Greg is dead. But…”
“Baby, do you think for one minute that I’d let you go home if I thought there was the slightest chance that Rat Boy was still out there somewhere?”
I walk over to him. “I don’t guess. It’s just… I really don’t want to go, Ben. When they told me about the wreck, I really thought I might lose you…” I whisper, and even I can hear the fear in my voice. The memory of the moment I found out about the wreck is enough to make my chest grow tight. I sit down in the chair beside the bed, the one I slept in last night and have practically stayed in since Ben was admitted.
“I know, Baby. I thought the same thing when the crash happened, but I knew something that you keep forgetting,” he says gently, his eyes deepening in color that just draws me in, and I can’t look away.
“What’s that?”
“I’ve waited for you for my whole life. I’m not about to lose my chance with you now, Baby.”
I lean over kissing him softly, taking great pains not to give him any of my weight. “My boyfriend is so smooth.” I pull back so I can see his face as I say the words, rewarded with the way his eyes crinkle in the corners.
“We need to talk about that. I think it’s about time you stop referring to me as your boyfriend. I’m not a damn kid. I’m a man.Yourman.”
“You’re very opinionated for amanlying in a gown that leaves his ass hanging out for the world to see,” I mutter.
