Page 37 of Trophy
She wasn’t here now, though.
Rob sat up, breathing until his head cleared. Then he searched the floor and saw that her clothes weren’t in sight. He got up to check the bathroom and the kitchen, but his house was empty.
She’d left.
It was only five in the morning. She hadn’t had to run off to work yet. He didn’t know why she would have left without saying goodbye.
Talking himself out of his bleak reaction, he made coffee and showered. He was pulling on trousers and a decent, only slightly wrinkled shirt when he saw a flash of color in the tangle of the bedsheets. He went over and pulled out Allison’s pretty pink underwear.
Last night had been incredible. Allison had been so real and passionate and tender. He knew she’d enjoyed it. She couldn’t have been pretending or exaggerating for his benefit. Everything about her had been genuine.
He remembered her face as he’d gone down on her—that look of awed astonishment and deep pleasure.
Surely she wouldn’t be regretting it this morning.
He went out to get his newspaper, which he still had delivered since the local paper didn’t have much of a web presence. Allison’s house was quiet. She parked her car in the garage, so he couldn’t tell if it was there or not.
He could hardly go over at 5:40 in the morning, pound on the door, and demand to know why she’d left him without a word.
He was about to head back inside when he saw her garage door open. She must be leaving for work.
Giving up any fantasy of acting cool and nonchalant, he strode across the street and stood in her driveway.
She put her car in park when she saw him.
He was walking over to her when the car door opened and she got out. She wore a pair of black trousers that hugged her curves and her blue Dora’s shirt. She watched him soberly as he approached.
“Hey,” he said, smiling as if nothing was wrong. He felt a rising panic but kept telling himself there was no reason for it. “I wondered what happened to you.”
She took a shaky breath and just stared at him.
She looked scared, he realized. Instead of being offended or indignant, his heart went out to her. He reached up to stroke her face gently. “What’s the matter?”
Allison shook her head, her eyes wide and her expression deeply disturbing.
“Allison,” he murmured, pulling her into a soft hug. “Tell me what’s wrong. I thought last night was good.”
“It was good.” Her voice was slightly muffled by his shirt, since she was burrowing into him. “It was really good.”
She felt small and delicate and needy, and he tightened his arms around her. “So what’s the problem, then? Why did you run out on me?”
She hugged him back for a minute, obviously taking comfort in him, but then her body tightened as if she’d resolved herself. She pulled away. “I don’t know if I can…”
His heart dropped, although he’d kind of known what was coming from the moment he’d woken up and seen she was gone. “You don’t know if you can what?”
“I can’t… do this. I’m not ready.” She’d gotten her face under control, and he could tell this was what she’d been planning to say to him all along.
He fought back the panic that was surging up into his throat. This was wrong. This was all wrong. He and Allison were too good together. She seemed to really need him. She wasn’t anything like Dee or Marie. She wasn’t going to be a huge mistake waiting to happen. She wasn’t going to turn him into someone he didn’t want to be.
He took a breath and realized he could hardly spill all that to her as they stood in her driveway. It would only scare her even more. He had to make things feel safe for her, and he suddenly knew how he could do it. He gave her a little smile. “You’re not ready for what?”
“For this.” She gestured between the two of them with one hand. “For a… a…” She trailed off.
“A relationship?” he murmured, still giving her that same smile. “Who’s talking about a relationship?”
She blinked at him, clearly surprised.
He stepped closer but didn’t touch her. “We haven’t even been out on a date yet. Do you usually jump right into a relationship after one night?”
