91

Of course I left. I ran away like a damned chicken.

Steph didn’t even glance at me when I got home, which gave me the priceless chance to take my chicken ass straight to the shower. I lingered under the warm rain, trying to decide whether I felt relieved or regretted declining Big Ellie’s last temptation.

The bed was vacant when I finally left the bathroom, still incapable of telling how I felt, so I got in it. Time for Steph to try the couch. Yeah, anytime. She could be proud and stubborn, but she was no fool. She wouldn’t give up her half of the comfy mattress.

I rolled over, turning my back on her, and she got in bed without a word, staying as far from me as the king size allowed her to, so we didn’t brush each other even by mistake.

Midnight found me awake, listening to her slow, deep breathing from what seemed a world away, while I tried to find some kind of clarity in the swamp my mind was.

I didn’t want to give up on her, on us, just yet. Couple have rough patches now and then.