Page 56 of The Playboy's Playbook

“Laila, please.” He places his hands on mine and takes the sponge and pan from my hands, setting them down gently in the sink. I push against him, causing him to stumble before I walk to the living room and begin folding the laundry pile that’s accumulated over who knows how long.

“Can you at least look at me?” he pleads, his voice cracking at the end.

I shake my head and continue folding and placing the clothes in neat piles on his couch. I know he probably won’t put them away, but it keeps me busy as silent tears continue to slide down my face.

Matthew walks behind me again and places his hands around my waist and this time I let him touch me. I close my eyes, even more pissed at my body for melting into him, for betraying me once again.

“Baby,” he whispers against my neck.

“Do not call me that,” I grit out, trying to focus on my breathing and forcing my heart to remember that I’m pissed at him.

His breath tickles my neck as he leans closer and I try not to cringe away at the smell of alcohol on his breath. He tightens his hold on and he places soft kisses to my neck, running his hands up and down my sides before he grips my hips.

Matthew pulls away and grabs my hands and leads me to his bedroom. I expect it to be a complete mess like the rest of the apartment, but it’s surprisingly clean. He guides me to the bed and lets me sit down on the edge before he retreats into his bathroom.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I hear water run. Matthew returns a few minutes later and walks over to his dresser, pulling off his shirt and putting a new one on.

He takes off his jeans, his back to me the entire time. He reaches back into his dresser and pulls a pair of pajama pants out and puts them on. He searches the contents of his dresser again and pulls out one of his t-shirts and another pair of pajama pants before walking over to me.

“I laid out an extra toothbrush and uh, the hair wrap…I bought it for you a while ago in case you ever wanted to stay with me. You can change in the bathroom if you want.” He looks down at his feet, avoiding eye contact with me.

“Where’s Luke?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest.

He looks at me and then almost immediately diverts his gaze to the floor – he’s ashamed. “Home. He doesn’t…I didn’t tell him about tonight.”

“Why?” I try to keep my voice level and judgment free.

“I’ll text him,” he says lowly.

I hum and stand from his bed, getting ready to leave and head back to my mom’s house.

“You don’t have to go, Laila. The least I can do is give you my bed for calling you in the middle of the night.”

“Where would you sleep?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

He shrugs his shoulders before bringing his hands together, wringing them nervously. “In the boys’ room.”

“They have small beds,” I state the obvious, but Matthew shakes his head.

“I just put a bigger bed in for Clay.”

Matthew puts his hands on my cheeks, titling my face up to look at him. His blue eyes study my face as if he’s memorizing every feature for the last time. I don’t like how he’s looking at me.

“Good night, Laila,” Matthew says before exiting the room.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

MATT

My mind races, especially with Laila here. I hear the bedroom door open and sit up, ready to respond to her. Her footsteps softly pad down the hallway before a gentle knock on the door.

“Matthew?” Her voice is so soft, so much that I have to make sure I’m not hearing things and she’s actually calling for me.

“Come in,” I answer and the door opens slowly. Laila enters the room and closes the door behind her. I flip the lamp on and look at her and I can feel the worry on my face. “Are you okay? What do you need me to do?”

I let her look over the room, not wanting to interrupt her or make her seem like she has to leave. The last thing I want is for her to leave when I’ve been without her for so long.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she whispers.

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