Page 25 of When He Saved Me
By the end of my set, Jamie and most of the other patrons had cleared out. I didn’t know if I was relieved or angry that he’d left. Did I want him to fight for me, or did I want to avoid a fight altogether? I was too damn tired to figure any of it out.
Twenty minutes later, I walked into my apartment, stripped down to my boxers, crawled into bed next to Carmen, and crashed.
* * *
I sleptuntil eleven and woke with a start. Looking around, I tried to figure out what had woken me. The bed was empty next to me, and I strained to listen for any clues as to whether Carmen was home.
A buzzing on the nightstand next to me alerted me to an incoming message. Swiping open my phone, I noted that I had three missed messages. I figured that must have been what woke me.
Jamie
I’m sorry I upset you last night
I wasn’t trying to be pushy
Can we please talk?
I flopped back in bed, debating how or even if I wanted to respond. Scrubbing my hands over my face, I heard Carmen’s footsteps as she approached the bed. She nudged my hip, and I moved over, making space for her to climb in next to me.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” she said softly, running her hand through my hair. “I wondered how late you were going to sleep.”
“I’m fucking exhausted, CiCi.”
“I know. You’re running yourself ragged.”
I sighed. It was on the tip of my tongue to remind her that we didn’t all get an allowance like she did, but that was a shitty thing to say, even for a dick like me, so I held my tongue.
My phone buzzed again. Carmen turned to reach for it. “Leave it,” I said, my tone brooking no argument.
She ignored me, grabbing it anyway and punching in my code. So much for boundaries. She read it and then shoved it in my face so I could read it too.
Jamie
At least tell me you made it home safely
I frowned.
“Are you going to respond?”
“I don’t know. I’m still half-asleep.”
She was quiet a moment, but then, “What happened last night?”
“I don’t really want to get into it.”
“Too bad. Tell me.”
With a frustrated sigh, I threw the covers off me and climbed out of the other side of the bed. “Why can’t you just drop it?”
“Because I care about you and you’re too fucking stubborn for your own good.”
“What makes you think this is about me being stubborn?” I tossed the question over my shoulder as I walked into the bathroom and shut the door without waiting for her response. I took a piss and washed my hands, but then I just stood there, staring at myself in the mirror, letting the events of the previous evening roll through my mind.
Dammit. I overreacted last night. It had been really sweet of Jamie to come see me play last night. And so what if he’d mentioned me to his best friend? Hadn’t I done the same with Carmen? Then I’d seen the exchange between Jamie and Asher, and despite knowing there was nothing more than friendship there, it had made something clench inside me. So, I’d panicked and been rude, and like a selfish asshole, I’d bailed without even giving him an explanation.
Fuck.
Disgusted with myself, I walked out of the bathroom to see Carmen still lying in the same spot, holding out my phone to me. “Text him. At least let the poor guy know you got home okay.”
