Page 70 of Resisting the Temptation
Once it’s gone, he lays me down and covers me with a soft blanket, before rounding the bed and settling in next to me.
“Rest now,Dulzura,” he whispers.
My body is intent to obey his commands because I fall asleep within minutes, even though I know this is blurring the lines.
Chapter 32
Ben
When I wake up the next morning, my bed is empty, and the spot where Emma was sleeping is cold. I throw on a pair of sweatpants and check the guest room, but she’s not there either. Her clothes aren’t on the dresser, so I can only assume she woke up sometime last night and hightailed it out of here.
I check the kitchen and living room for a note or something to give me an indication she’s okay. Thatwe’reokay. But I find nothing.
There’s a cocktail of emotions stirring in my gut.
I’m angry that she probably got into a stranger’s car in the middle of the night so she could go home—away fromme.
I’m worried she didn’t make it home and something bad happened to her.
I’m angry at myself for not being clear about her sleeping over. I’m angry at myself for breaking another one of her rules because she said she never spendsthe night. How could I let her go home when she was half asleep when already in the shower?
But mostly, I’m just… hurt. I’m hurt she didn’t leave a note. That she thought leaving in the middle of the fucking night was a better option than sleeping in my bed and waking up in my arms.
She told you what this was. It’s not her fault you didn’t listen.
I walk back into the bedroom when my phone buzzes on my nightstand. I check it and see a text from Josh.
Josh:Hey bro, want to grab dinner at River’s End tonight and catch up?
Ben:Sure. 6?
Josh:Sounds good. See you then!
Then, I notice I still have an unread message. I click out of Josh’s thread and find a message from Emma.
Emma:Sorry for bailing in the middle of the night. I didn’t want to wake you up. Kiera picked me up on her way home from the club. No need to worry about me!
I guess it’s good to know it wasn’t a stranger who picked her up, and she did leave me a note. But it still hurts to know she’d rather sneak out than sleep next to me.
Ben:Thanks for letting me know.
I already learned Emma has her read receipts off, so I don’t know if she reads it immediately. Still, I sit and wait for the text bubble to pop up.
It never does.
After ten more minutes of aimlessly scrolling a news website while waiting for her to text me back, I decide I’ve been pathetic enough. She’s not going to text me, and I have shit to do before dinner.
Josh is waiting for me in the waiting area of River’s End and greets me with a hug and a slap on the back.
“It’s been a while, my man! How’ve you been?”
“Pretty good. What about you?”
“Business is steady, so I can’t complain,” he says with a big grin.
Josh reminds me of a puppy. He’s very…energetic.Not to mention he’s charming as hell. He’s got a Disney prince vibe to him that just makes people trust him, I guess.
I still don’t know how he convinced me to be his friend. It probably has something to do withthe fact he likes to talk, and I like to listen. He was unrelenting with his friendship in high school, and then we got partnered for doubles in tennis, and we’ve been best friends ever since.
