AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I could hear her moving around in the back when I came in the door. Closing it behind me, I locked up, then walked through the house, making sure everything else was shut up and put away for the night.
She was in the bathroom by the time I made it to her room, but she’d left the door open, so I strolled that way and slid a hand into my pocket to find that she’d already changed into sleep shorts and a tank top.
I leaned a shoulder against the doorframe as I watched her apply lotion to her arms and legs.
“What scent are we getting tonight?” I asked after a good ten seconds of her ignoring me.
She usually put on a different smell each night, and the variety was like a mystery revealed every time I crawled into bed with her.
“Warm Vanilla Sugar,” she answered coolly, not even bothering to glance my way.
I nodded. “It’s nice. That one gets a thumbs-up from me.”
“Swell,” she muttered dryly, letting me know she didn’t give a shit what I thought about the scent of lotion she wore.
I exhaled and lowered my gaze to her vanity countertop where I noticed a pharmacy checkout bag sitting. It was still unopened with a prescription receipt stapled to it.
“Holy shit!” I said, reaching out. “Did you actually get some sleeping pills?”
I lifted the medicine bag, to read the label as if I actually knew what any of the foreign words meant. But Chloe plopped her lotion down and ripped the sack from my hand.
“No!” Sniffing in irritation, she tossed the bag back down onto her sink counter and scowled at me. “Do you mind?”
Honestly? I didn’t mind at all.
Squinting at her, I guessed, “Anti-anxiety meds, then?”
She rolled her eyes. “Jeez, you are such a snoop. It’s birth control. Okay? Just birth control.”
I blinked, startled mute by that one. Then, I blurted, “Who are you planning on usingthatwith?”
“No one.” Rolling her eyes, she picked up her lotion again. “That’s not the point.”
I shook my head, confused. “Then what’s the—”
“Oh my God!” she exploded impatiently. “I recently learned just how easy it was for a man to knock me unconscious, strip me naked, and chain me to his basement floor. Alright? Is not wanting to get pregnant from a rapist a good enough reason for you?” she demanded. “I mean, he could’ve done all sorts of things to me if you hadn’t shown up when you did…”
I shuddered at the thought, and bile moved up my throat.
But Chloe just kept talking. “I don’t care if I never plan on having sex again. I’m going to take this shit every day until menopause or until I actually want a kid. To protect myself.”
I nodded and hoarsely said, “Yeah. Good idea.”
With a condescending scoff, she tossed her lotion bottle onto the counter without applying any more and brushed past me to reenter her bedroom. As warm vanilla floated up to greet my senses, I turned after her and watched her move to the dresser to take off her watch and put it on its charger.
“I think we should get married,” I said.
Out of freaking nowhere.
No idea why I said that. I hadn’t even been thinking about it at all. The words just tumbled out of me without any kind of prompting at all.
Chloe didn’t bother to glance over or even stop what she was doing. She gave a dry laugh and said, “Funny,” with her back still to me because, yes, I’d just proposed to a woman’s freaking back.
I drew in a breath and calmly answered, “I wasn’t joking.”
Finally, she turned and lifted an eyebrow. “So… No ring, huh? I mean, didn’t you at least offer Lucy JB’s old ring he bought for his first fiancée when you proposed to her?Andyou got down on one knee too, if the rumors are true. I think I’m offended that I don’t even rate a hand-me-down ringora bended knee. Really. Thanks a lot, buddy.”
The fact that she completely blew off my suggestion made me frown. “I’m serious, Chloe.” When she merely turned to walk from the bedroom toward the hall, I hurried after her. “I practically live here already. We sleep in the same bed. You’re—”
