Always (Bold As Love 4)

His voice still groggy from sleeping, he asks, “How was dinner with Mike?”

“I thought it was going to be me and him, but no. I get there and he's got his girlfriend and her two sons there. I didn't even know he had a girlfriend! Why I had to meet her tonight of all nights, I don't know? Overall, though, it went fine.” I've cuddled up to my man, tangle my legs with his, and relish in the feel of his fingers barely brushing over my back in that tranquilizing up and down motion.

“Mike's got a girlfriend? How long has he been seeing her?”

“Five months apparently.”

“Wow. Did you like her? What's her name?”

“Cherish and she's okay, I guess. I couldn't really tell if she was being nice because she was supposed to be or if she was being genuine.”

“If she meant what she said, you would have known it, Sweets.”

A lull inserts itself and silence evades our conversation. Before long, I have to interject.

“Love?”

“Mm?” He sounds half asleep.

I prop myself on my elbow and look at him. His eyes are hooded, but I can tell that he's looking at me.

“Jake Benson, don't you dare fall asleep on me.”

“I'm not.”

When his eyes don't open any wider, I smack my hand down on his stomach and roll towards the wall and away from him.

“Oof,” Jake breathes.

How can he be so tired that he doesn't want to stay awake long enough to spend some time with me before he leaves? Won't he miss me? Doesn't he care that he's going to be gone for a while and we're not going to see each other? So what if he misses a few hours of shut eye. Whatever. He can sleep all he wants.

“Sweetness,” he mumbles, tugging me towards him when he rolls onto his side. I don't budge. “I'm sorry. Talk to me. I'm up now.”

“I reckon you are, Jake. I hit you in the stomach. Just go back to sleep. I'm tired,” I fib.

“No, you're not. C'mon, Sweetness.” He kisses the crook of my neck and then my shoulder, running a hand up and down my bare arm. When I don't make a move, he kisses just below my ear, swirling his tongue along my skin.

“That's not going to work, Jake.”

“Even if I told you that I love you and that this is the last time these lips are going to run across your body for a couple of weeks? That wouldn't persuade you at all?”

“No.” It's tempting, though, when he puts it that way. How wrong would it be for me to be disappointed? I honestly expected him to be awake and waiting for me, ready to spend time with me before he leaves tomorrow. I thought we would stay up for a while and talk about everything and nothing. None of what we said would have mattered much because we were with each other and loving every second. Yet he was asleep and couldn't wake up enough to even kiss me goodnight.

“Sweetness,” his voice ever so gentle. “I don't want to leave with you mad at me.”

“I'm not mad, Jake.” And I'm not, but I know the defeat seeps through my words. “Let's just go to sleep.” To ease his worry about me being mad, I grab hold of his wrist and wrap his arm around my waist. My eyes drift to a close and a few seconds later when Jake tugs me closer, letting the issue go, I pretend I don't hear his small sigh of agitation. How is it that he gets to be annoyed? This is all his fault! He's the one who fell asleep early. He is leaving tomorrow. He hasn't kissed me tonight, except when he was trying to suck up and that hardly counts. Pray tell, why does he get to be aggravated?

The sound of that pesky sigh runs through my mind for the next five minutes and each time I hear it, I become more and more angered.

“Okay, now I'm mad.”

No answer.

Rolling over, the blow of disappointment washes over my body. Jake's sound asleep and he didn't hear me. Fury sweeps in and the only thing I can think of doing is thumping him on the forehead. His eyes instantly open and he blinks.

“What the hell, Emily?”

“How are you sleeping right now?”