“You do realize that the TV is the only thing on your walls?” Alicia looked around the stark room with no pictures. A couch and two chairs were placed in front of the wall.
A stone fireplace covered the other wall. It also had no decorations on the mantle.
“We hear about it every time Jasmine visits. She is itching to decorate the place.” Matt chuckled. He had just picked out a movie for them to watch.
Holly nodded in agreement, sitting next to her husband. “The last time she played it smart and asked Tony. I think he was off in a daydream. He grunted and she took that as a yes. She has plans now.”
“I wasn’t paying attention,” Tony complained with wide, fearful eyes. He was sitting in the recliner closest to the fireplace.
His panicked expression made Alicia giggle. “Don’t worry, she is busy with wedding plans. You got time before she remembers.”
The girls were going into the kitchen to get drinks when they heard the loud sound of raindrops hitting the windows.
“You should just stay,” Holly pleaded as lightning lit up the dark purple sky. “There is a guest room. It’s an ugly night out there.”
A loud crash of thunder shook the windows and bright lightning lit up the darkness. Alicia liked a good storm. It usually helped her sleep. She yawned, exhausted. “You sure?”
“Yes,” Holly insisted. “I am off tomorrow and we can have breakfast and relax. I think both of them have to work the morning shift, so it will be just us. I am sorry I haven’t spent much time with you, Alicia. I neglected our friendship and that made you hang out with Janice. I feel so guilty.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You have a husband who is your priority, as it should be,” Alicia insisted. “I made the decision to hang out with Janice and Kelly. No one forced me.”
Holly hugged her gently.
They went back into the living room. Holly ran her idea by the men and they agreed Alicia should stay. Alicia called Ray and let him know. “Holly will drop me off at the restaurant after breakfast. I can sit in Alana’s office and do paperwork. I don’t feel up to talking with people yet.”
After the movie, Alicia followed Tony to the back of the house where his room and the guestroom were. Matt and Holly’s room was on the opposite side of the house. She felt a little awkward knowing his room was right across the hall. Hopefully, she would not have a nightmare and disturb him.
“I forgot to ask Holly to lend me a nightgown,” she mentioned awkwardly.
“I can give you a T-shirt.” He looked her over and she felt her nipples harden at his heated look. He gave her an amused look as if he knew she was turned-on. He went in his room and she peeked in. She was curious. His room was very neat, not a thing out of place. He had a bookshelf filled with books, a bed and a dresser, and a La-Z-Boy chair was placed by the window.
“You like to read? So do I,” she told him as he walked to a brown dresser and pulled a drawer open. He searched through it.
“I like mystery and some sci-fi.” He came back with a green T-shirt in his hands and handed it to her.
“Bathroom is across the hall.” He pointed to a door.
Alicia went to change glad for the private moment to gather herself. The shirt reached her knees and smelled as if it had just been washed. She splashed cold water on her face. Her cheeks were rosy in color. It was from being so close to Tony, but hopefully he would not notice. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She wanted to act cool and collective but her stomach had butterflies dancing like crazy.
He was waiting in the hallway for her. He leaned back against a wall with his arms folded across his chest. The hallway was dark, but she could see his features from the glow of the bathroom light. “You look cute.”
She held her discarded clothes in her arms nervously and looked down. “Thanks.”
He led her into the guest room, opening the closed door, and then turned on a small lamp on the nightstand. Alicia set her clothes on a chair in the corner of the room. The room was huge and bare.
“It used to be Matt’s room, but he moved bedrooms when he and Holly married. More privacy,” Tony explained.
Alicia sat on the king-size bed and yawned. “I’m exhausted. I hope I don’t have another nightmare.”
Tony sat on the edge of the bed. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He was warm and she wanted to snuggle against him. She had missed him so much the last few weeks.
“I can sleep here with you. No hanky-panky,” he offered.
She tilted her head and pouted. She loved teasing him. He was so serious most of the time. “Why no hanky-panky, Deputy Smith? What if I like hanky-panky?”
He frowned seriously, trying to see if she was teasing him or not. “Because you’re injured.”
“Fine. Leave the lamp on. The dark bothers me,” she admitted, not understanding why. She had never been bothered by the dark before. The thunder was relaxing her, and the sound of the rain hitting the roof. She stood up and pulled the covers down.