Page 93 of To Love or to Lose
Now feels like a terrible time to go back to my cot on the other side of the room. “Do you need anything else?”
“You said I owe you. What do you want?”
Silence fills the room. I want Genevieve to assume I’m thinking of what to ask from her. I don’t need to think though, I already know what I want.
“One promise,” I proclaim.
She tucks her lips behind her teeth, then removes them to ask, “What?”
“Promise me that in the morning, if you remember this, you'll take into consideration everything I did for you tonight.”
Genevieve looks stunned. “Trust me, I’m sure you'll never let me live it down.”
“If you don't talk about it, I won't either.” This is the most vulnerable I’ve ever seen Genevieve. I won’t take advantage of that. “Those are the rules.”
“Do I get any choice in these rules? Or am I just walking into thisgamewith my hands tied behind my back?”
“Depends, are you into that?” I tease, knowing it would give Genevieve a little push to insult me.
Without her constant rudeness, it doesn’t feel like I’m talking to Genevieve. It feels like a stranger—one I haven’t been in contact with since I first saw her at Hagen’s Lake.
She sneers at my sexual idiom. “Not with you.” I tilt my head with a grin, and she amends her statement with, “Not at all!”
I laugh before telling her, “If you take everything from tonight into consideration, you will understand I have your best interest at heart.”
“Okay,” is all she says. “Are you moving anytime soon?” Genevieve motions to her bed.
“Do you want me to move?” She knows I'm not leaving the room.
“I want to sleep.” Her voice is harsh. “And to do that, you need to move to your cot.”
I don’t think I even notice the actual cruelness in her tone; it’s the only one she’s ever used with me. I’m used to it.
“That’s not what I asked,” I reply calmly.
“I was leaving it up to your interpretation. I want to sleep, and I’m going to do that whether you’re here or not. If you really want to watch, you’re welcome to stay.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I was making sure you didn’t need anything. No, I think I’ll go back to my cot and get some sleep myself.”
She looks unsure, but I don’t want to manipulate my own mind into believing she wants me to stay.
“Are you sure you don’t needanythingelse before I go to sleep?” I ask one more time. It feels like she’s holding something back.
It feels like we both are.
She counters with, “Are you sureyoudon’t need anything else? I assumed you would be on your high horse and would want to get away from me.”
“Not if you need something,” I rectify. “We’ve been over this Genevieve, I’m not that big of an asshole.”
“I know, Jameson.” She sighs, lying back into the mounds of blankets. “But I’m okay, you don’t need to watch over me like I’m a child.”
“I know you’re not a child, Genevieve.”
“So, you can trust me when I say I'm fine, and you can go to your cot and get some sleep.” She then speaks, with a glint of teasing in her tone. “You’re going to need it.”
“I’m not going to pretend I won’t. You’re a good competitor, Genevieve.”
“Why don’t you call me Gen?” It sounds like a question she’s been holding back, like she’s been bursting at the seams to ask it.
