AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good, thanks.”
“He’s clearly upset about something,” the bartender said. “Maybe you know what it is?”
“I have some idea.”
“Well, take care with him, yeah?”
“I will,” Wes said. “Only the best for my bro. Right, Beck?”
“Mm,” I said, which was about all I could muster.
Wes pulled my arm over his shoulder and lifted me off the barstool. For a moment, my legs didn’t want to support me. I leaned heavily on him, giggling. “Oops.”
“Work with me, Beck. I’m strong, but I still can’t carry your ass all the way to the pickup.”
I managed to get my body under my control enough to stumble along at his side. He helped me into the pickup, giving my ass a shove to get me onto the front seat. He grabbed the seat belt to buckle me in, and I raised a hand to his jaw, palm prickling as it rubbed over his beard growth.
“Love your stubble,” I said.
“I thought you weren’t into beards?”
“Beards, yeah. But stubble? It’s hot when it scrapes over my skin.”
“Damn,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He pulled away. “Let’s get you home.”
I missed most of the drive, falling asleep soon after Wes started the pickup. I didn’t fully wake again until I was already out of the truck, leaning against Wes, and Andi was on my other side, struggling to help him get me up the porch steps.
“Shit, does he do this a lot?” she asked.
“Not usually,” Wes said.
We got inside, and there was no way three people could fit down the hallway at once. Wes waved her off. “Get some water and Tylenol? I’ll get him into bed.”
He started me down the hall, but I abruptly planted my feet. “Wait.”
“C’mon, Beck, let’s just go to bed.”
“No, no. I can’t.”
“You can,” he said, giving me a tug to get me moving again. I was really in no position to resist even though my brain had suddenly reminded me that I’d been trying to avoid this. Wes gave me a push, and I dropped to the bed like a sack of rocks. I groaned as my stomach gave an unsettling lurch.
Wes sat a trash can beside me. “If you need to puke, do it here.”
I took a slow breath, pushing back the nausea. “I’ll be fine.”
Wes pulled off my shoes and helped me under the covers. Andi came and went at some point, delivering the water. He helped me drink it and take a couple of pills, then settle back onto my pillow.
“Just sleep it off, bro.”
He was leaning over me, so close that I could see the small scar bisecting his bottom lip from when he’d made a slide in a high school baseball game and ended up biting through it. I pressed my thumb to it, brushing it lightly, and his breath caught.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He didn’t ask what I meant. He just smiled sadly and kissed my thumb before removing my hand from his face and giving it a squeeze. “Me too.”
