Page 19 of Reserved for Him
I looked over at Franklin, and he was already looking at me.
“I have been since I was little. I called Lauren, but she was busy, so I was just sitting there. I didn’t want to bother you if you were sleeping. I’m glad I didn’t wake you.”
“I told you to let me know if you needed anything, and I meant that. If you thought it was a monster under your bed, I would have checked for you.” He smirked. “If you are scared of thunder, then I’m here to take your mind off it if I can.”
I wasn’t sure if it was crazy, but I believed him. It was nice seeing that he had a playful side to him. I wondered what he would do to take my mind off it, but that went out the window when there was another loud boom and we were surrounded by complete darkness.
Chapter
Ten
Franklin
I knewJunicia had been up for a minute before she came into my room because I heard her moving around. I couldn’t sleep either, which was why she found me watching television. It was hard to sleep knowing the woman I had fantasized about was right next door.
I felt her jump when the lights went out, then she went completely still. She hadn’t even opened her mouth. She’d already expressed her fear of the storm, and I knew the power going out didn’t help.
“Junicia, are you okay?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell by her tone that she was scared, and it bothered me. She jumped again when I moved closer to her.
“It’s just me. Come here.” I pulled her into my arms. She stiffened for a second, then wrapped her arms around my waist. “I have a generator, but I’m not sure why it hasn’t come on yet. I don’t think any power lines fell, so maybe the power won’t beout for long. Do you think you can stay up here by yourself while I get some candles and see what’s going on with the generator?”
I felt her nod her head against my chest. “Yes. Ahh.” Thunder rumbled again, and she buried her head in my chest.
Having her in my arms did something to me. I never would have imagined we would be here, but I wasn’t mad at it. I didn’t want to let her go, but I needed to check things out before it got too cold in the house. I also needed to make sure the board was still on her window.
I held her tightly against me and inhaled her sweet scent.
“Did you bring your phone in here with you?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, good. I’m going to let you go, but I want you to turn your flashlight on, then get under the covers.”
“Okay.”
I slowly released her. The bedside table was close, and there was nothing on it, so it was easy for her to grab her phone, even in the dark. A few seconds later, the flashlight lit up the room.
The fear in her eyes made me not want to leave her, but I had to.
“Look at me.”
Her brown eyes looked up at me.
“I’m not going to be long. I don’t want you to leave the light on, though, because I don’t want your battery to run out. Lay down and try to relax for me. Can you do that?”
She nodded, pulled the covers back, then got under them. I stayed until she pulled the covers over her body.
“I’m going to grab another blanket real quick and put it on the bed. I’ll be right back.”
My phone was on the dresser because I didn’t like keeping it near my bed, so I grabbed it and turned the flashlight on. I looked back at Junicia, and even though it was hard to see her, I could feel her eyes on me. I left the room and went to the hallcloset to grab a couple of blankets. It was still warm in the house, but I wanted to have extras just in case.
After grabbing the blankets, I went back into the room and put one of the comforters on the bed.
“I grabbed a couple of blankets just in case. I’m going to check on things but turn your flashlight off.”
