Tyrell still wasn't awake, but his body was definitely coming alive, his hips subconsciously pressed against me. It was hot, it felt like it was on fire, and I worried what would happen if I didn't get away from his touch. He would find me like this and him like that. He’d know that it was me.

As much as I thought myself ready, apparently, I wasn't as ready as I liked to believe, because I scrambled up quickly, not even caring if I woke him up. I needed to put some distance between me and the part of him that was already wide awake and ready for attention.

I knew a place where I wouldn’t have to see Tyrell for a few moments and that was the bathroom. I turned the shower on, but I probably stood by the door holding my breath for several moments. I didn't know why I thought that he was going to chase me in there or something, but I was still breathing fast when I took his shirt off and got in the shower. I needed to pull myself together. I had a lot to do today, and the last thing I needed was a distraction like Tyrell. I thought I was ready, but if I was ready, would I be so scared? He told me that he didn't want me to be afraid of him and I wasn't, not all of him anyway, just one certain part. Even in his sleep, it was like it was seeking me out and it felt bigger than I’d ever imagined. It felt aggressive, and I worried about what that meant for us doing more together. How could we, if I was afraid?

I was in the shower before I heard a knock on the door. I just put my face under the stream of water and pretended like I didn't hear it. How could I face him after what I had done and how I had left him? Was he going to be mad at me? I had so much to do. I had to stop driving myself crazy this way. I told myself that repeatedly, but it really didn't help much.

Turning the shower off, I looked around in horror. Of course, there weren’t any towels in here!

I couldn't believe it, but at the same time I could. I had run in here like someone was chasing me and not only that, I didn’t even have any clothes to put on. How had I forgotten such important things? Tyrell was wearing my head out, or I was doing it to myself.

It's not like I could stay in here forever though. I finally put my head out of the bathroom and asked Tyrell for a towel. He turned up with a grin on his face and I couldn't even look at him, sure that he knew what I had done. I was so embarrassed. Thankfully, he didn't say anything, he just had this knowing look on his face.

“I tried to get you one earlier, but you didn't answer.”

“Sorry, I must have been washing my hair.”

“Yeah. I sent Jacob to town. Is there anything else you need?”

It was such an innocent question, and my mind took it the wrong way. I was trying to find the hidden innuendo. Or was I just reading something else into it? I was the one with the dirty mind because I'd been playing with his chest and found it exciting.

“Not that I can think of.”

He frowned. “Too bad.

“I had him pick up some clothes for you before he came. Here they are and a towel. There should be everything you need. Anything else, we will pick up later. All you have to do is tell me what you want and I’m yours to command.”

I thanked him, took the clothes and towel, and closed the door without any comment. Like many things that Tyrell said to me, I really didn't know how to respond. I was still trying to figure out if he knew or not, but Tyrell wasn't giving anything away. It was like he knew it was just going to make me wonder a little bit longer.

I was impressed with the variety of clothing. A lot of it was something I probably would have picked out for myself, and the right size no less. How did Tyrell know what I would like? It seemed like again, he was far more observant than I gave him credit for. What would it be like to be with a man like him, who would notice everything?

When I came back out, Tyrell told me some more news. He had people already searching for anything valuable not burned up or water damaged in my house. He said that he would go over there with me if I needed help, but there were people hired to go through it painstakingly and find anything that was salvageable. I thanked him for being so thoughtful. I did want to go over there, but I wasn't ready quite yet.

I questioned if I would ever be ready to see it, the house I almost had paid off and had spent a lot of time and energy making just the way I wanted it. It had been the first true sign of my success in making it. My family had not been able to own their own home. We’d always rented and moved from place to place. That house on Sycamore was my way of guaranteeing that I would always have a place to go. All of my dreams tore down by a space heater I brought with me from my mom's. I felt like I should have known better somehow, like I hadn't paid enough attention. I really didn't know how I felt. It was more than just a house to me. It was everything that I worked for, and now my future was unclear again, which did not sit well with me.

“You are doing too much, Tyrell.”

“No matter what I do for you, Justine, it will never be enough.”

It was just another comment that I didn't have an answer for, so I kind of smiled and wondered what he meant by that. We had breakfast and even though there was some crushing work going on next door, I was able to forget about it for just a little while longer. Tyrell had a knack of making me think of only him. Around noon I came to my senses and worried. I was supposed to be at work, and I had completely forgotten about it. That had never happened before, and I couldn't believe that I had missed my shift. I had to go in, and Tyrell asked me where I was running off to.

“I have to call into work. I was supposed to be there hours ago. They are going to be upset. I hope there is somebody there to cover my shift.”

Tyrell told me not to worry about it and it made me scoff. “We all don't have jobs like you, where we can go or not go as the mood strikes us. I might get fired for this. It’s big deal.”

“I called in for you when you were in the shower. I just told your boss that you were going to be unable to make it today after everything that happened. They didn't seem to mind at all.”

I felt relief at first, but then I had a few nagging questions like, “How do you know who my boss is?”

“You talked about her several times, so I just called the hospital and asked for Lauren. It worked. Someone came to the phone after a moment and once I explained the situation, she was more than happy to find you a replacement so that you could take some time for yourself. Nobody blames you for taking a day to figure it out.”

He made sense, of course, but I felt funny about it. He was just trying to help, but I was a big girl. I could have called into my own job. I preferred to do those kinds of things myself. I never had someone do them for me and I didn’t like it. I should have been more grateful, but I was irked more than anything. Just because Tyrell could make everything easier didn’t mean it was a good thing.

Another hard thing that I needed to take care of myself was going through my house. I was so grateful for everything that he was doing for me, but some things needed to be done myself.

“Thanks, you’re sweet. I'm going to go check out what's going on over at the house. I will be back in a little bit.”

Tyrell asked if I wanted him to come with me, and I assured him that he had wasted enough of his day helping me. When he insisted, I insisted just as much that I needed to go do it myself. I didn't think Tyrell understood. I think he was offended by it. I told him that he shouldn't be offended; it was just better if I was by myself when I did it. He agreed, but he certainly wasn't very happy about it.