Page 3

Only One Bed

“I don’t want to go to the apartment,” she blurts. “Can we just…I don’t know. Go to a hotel? Would that be weird?”

“It wouldn’t be weird at all. Whatever you need.”

I know the area well since I lived around here my entire life up until a little under a year ago, so I pull off the highway and head toward one of the nicer hotels in town.

“Is this okay?” I ask when I stop in front of the hotel entry.

She nods. “I didn’t bring anything with me.”

“Do you want to go grab anything?”

She shakes her head. “We’ll go tomorrow when he’s at work.”

We head inside to the front desk, and the clerk working there immediately recognizes me. I did attend the university in this town, and I did play for the local pro football team for a number of years, so I guess I’m somewhat well known around these parts.

“Miller Banks,” the clerk says. “Wow, what an honor to meet you. ”

“And you,” I say politely.

“Can I get a photo with you?” He pushes his phone across the counter toward Sophie.

I chuckle. “Do you mind?” I ask her.

She’s used to this. She snaps our picture, and then the clerk asks what he can do to help us.

“I’m looking for a room tonight. A suite if you have one, preferably with two beds.” I clear my throat awkwardly. I don’t want two beds, but Sophie certainly does.

He taps around on his computer. “We’re sold out, but let me see what I can do.”

“Sold out?” I repeat.

“It’s the Duel in the Desert tonight,” he explains, which means the University of Arizona is up here from Tucson playing the Arizona State University men’s basketball team.

“Shit,” Sophie mutters.

We exchange a glance.

“Looks like we have one room available, but it’s just a regular king room. Will that work?” he asks.

Only one bed.

I look over to Sophie. “Your call.”

She presses her lips together as she nods. “We’ll take it.” She looks at me. “It’s fine.”

“I can sleep on the floor,” I offer.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She looks at the clerk. “We’ve been best friends since high school, and I broke up with my boyfriend tonight.” It’s cute that she’s justifying this to a complete stranger.

He raises his brows, and I can hear his sarcastic, okay, sure . He doesn’t voice it even though his face doesn’t hide it.

We move the car from the entry to a parking space, grab my suitcase, and head up to our room. It’s small, and there’s not even a couch that I could try to get comfortable on .

She collapses on the right side of the bed, and I collapse next to her on the left a minute later.

“You doing okay?” I ask.

“I just…I don’t know. It’s like I’m waiting for the phone to ring to confirm I’m fired, and I don’t know what to do. I’ll tell you one thing, though. I don’t feel bad about dumping Tyler anymore.”

I laugh as we both stare up at the ceiling. “I always knew you deserved better, Soph.”

“I love you, Millby.” Millby, or Mill-B, short for Miller Banks, is the nickname she gave me when we were freshmen in high school, and hearing it brings me back to that time in our lives.

Everything seemed so much simpler back then.

Back then, it was just a crush on a cute girl. It wasn’t deep feelings of love for my best friend. It wasn’t the risk of losing someone I’ve been close to for more than half my life.

It’s too far out of left field to even consider it at this point.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t think of her every minute of every day. It doesn’t mean I don’t pine for what could have been if I could’ve gotten up the nerve to ask her out when I was fourteen.

I didn’t. Bryce McDaniels did before me. They dated for two years, and it was too late by that point. I was firmly stuck in the friend zone, where I’ve spent the last sixteen years.

“I love you, too, Summers.” More than I can even admit to her.

She yawns, and I realize how late it got. It’s been an emotional day for her, and a strange one for me, too.

“Bet you didn’t think you’d end up in Arizona for your thirtieth,” she says.

I chuckle. She’s not wrong about that—not when the day started out in Vegas, anyway .

But sharing a bed with her? Not the worst birthday present I can think of.

We get ready for bed. She uses my soap to remove her makeup, and she finger brushes her teeth with my toothpaste. And then we get in bed.

“Goodnight,” she says quietly.

“Night.” I flip off the light, and we lie in darkness for a few minutes.

I think she might be asleep, but I ask the question anyway. “Do you remember the promise?”

“Hm?” she murmurs.

“That if we’re both thirty and neither one of us is married, we marry each other.” I whisper the words.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’m game.” I realize there’s another month to go before we have to worry about that, but I’d marry her in a heartbeat if I could.

She doesn’t say anything, and I hear even breathing after that.

I’m not sure I’ll have the nerve to bring it up again, but at least we’re sharing a bed tonight. It’s a step in the right direction.

And I sleep better than I have in months. Years, even.

When morning dawns, I’m thirty and single, she’s twenty-nine and single, and I have an erection the size of Texas.

My arms are around her.

She’s snuggled into my chest.

I could stay like this forever, but I also don’t want her to wake up and find herself in my arms. That’s not what this is supposed to be…as much as I want to let her help with the Texas-sized erection.

It’s just not in the cards for us. Instead, I sneak out of bed to take care of the problem in the shower .

The relief of a release helps, but the ache is back the second I step out of the bathroom and see her sitting in the bed we slept in together. She’s rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she talks on the phone.

“I understand. Thank you for the call.” She hangs up, lowers the phone from her ear, and stares blankly at the phone.

“Everything okay?”

She glances up at me, her brown eyes misty as she shakes her head.

“That was my department chair. They’re just starting their investigation, but she’s not very optimistic things will work in my favor.

I mean, people have kept their jobs in worse situations, but this was advertising a personal side hustle to kids. ”

I sit next to her. “I’m so sorry. What do you want to do?”

She sighs and averts her gaze to the window.

I can’t help but study her in the natural light coming in the window.

She’s gorgeous even with no makeup, her face fresh and bright despite the desperate situation she currently finds herself in.

She sighs and glances back at me. “I don’t know. Get breakfast?”

I nod, and we head down to the restaurant in the hotel.