Page 124 of His Virgin Romance Series

“I will,” I promised again.

“Not you,” he said. “I was talking to Rachel.”

I smirked at Paul as he gave me a good-natured wink and Rachel laughed. As we stood up to say goodbye, I felt a little tug of emotion come over me, and I started to unravel, realizing that I was going back to my life and Paul was just stuck here within these walls with no family and no one to lean on.

Paul seemed to sense what I was thinking because when he leaned in to hug me, he whispered in my ear. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine here.”

“I’ll come back in a few weeks,” I said.

“I believe you.” Paul nodded.

Then he gave Rachel a hug and disappeared out a different door with the guards. Rachel and I waited until he had disappeared completely from sight and then we walked back out of the prison, collected our phones, and headed to the car. We walked in silence the whole way, but I was conscious of Rachel glancing over at me every now and again.

The moment we got in the car, Rachel put her hand on mine, and I took a deep breath that made me feel much better. Then we started the drive back home. We didn’t really talk much during the journey, but we didn’t really need to. It was enough to just be with Rachel. When I stopped outside Brent’s apartment, I turned to her and kissed her softly on the cheek.

“Thank you,” was all I said.

“Anytime,” she replied.

Then she got out of the car with her bag and walked away from me, and I wondered why I felt so sad at the image of her retreating form.

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