Page 83 of The Girlfriend Agreement (Conwick U #1)
Vale más dar que recibir - It’s worth more to give than to receive
Translation: Love and compassion hold more value than wealth…so I intend to make a difference with mine.
True to my word, I return to the waiting room with enough M that bouquet took up more arm space than I was prepared for and was severely impacting my ability to efficiently stockpile candy.
The waiting room is quieter than when I was last in here, and I immediately clock that Blondie is nowhere in sight.
It’s like I have an internal radar that was designed to detect her, and its sudden silence is unnerving.
I don’t see Gina anywhere either, and I can only assume they’re with Carol, which bodes well if she’s able to have visitors now.
For Blondie’s sake, I hope that’s the case.
Ronnie and Andie are here, at least—still sitting in the same seats as before—so I saunter over to join them, rustling, overpacked bag in hand. Ronnie glances at me when I slide into the empty chair beside her.
“Hey,” I say. “Any news?”
She shakes her head. “Not really. Though, I think I overheard Gina say they’re going to transfer Carol out of the ER soon, which is good. Lexi is with her now, so we should know more once she’s back.”
I nod. If they’re moving Blondie’s mom to a different ward, that must mean she’s stabilized. Definitely a good thing.
Ronnie snorts. “Are you planning for the apocalypse or something?”
I follow her gaze to the bag dangling from the tips of my fingers between my open legs. “Lexi said she wanted M&Ms,” I state simply.
Ronnie stares at me blankly for a moment. “So, you robbed a candy factory on the way over here?”
I bark out a laugh, and to my immense surprise, the she-devil grins at me—not like someone plotting my death, but like someone who might actually, one day, be my friend.
“I didn’t get a chance to say it before, but thanks for texting me,” I say to her, and I mean every word. “Really. Thank you.”
Her lips twitch at the corners, that smile faltering, a hint of sadness peeking through. “Thanks for coming. I’m sure Lexi won’t ever come out and say it, but she’s glad you’re here. And I am, too,” she adds reluctantly, her voice a disgruntled grumble.
I smirk as I lean back in my chair. “Is that your way of saying you want to be besties?” Ronnie scoffs and rolls her eyes when I hold out my hand. “How about it, Red? Will you be the Alice to my Bella?”
Her lips purse, and with a delicate sniff, she retorts, “Jessica is the best I can do.”
I consider that for a moment, then nod. “A fair counter-offer. Frenemies, it is.”
Ronnie takes my hand, and we shake, affirming our newfound friendship…although, truce might be a better word to describe it. On her other side, Andie huffs out a soft, mocking laugh.
“And you call me a nerd.”
Roughly ten minutes later, Blondie returns, and I jump up from my chair the instant I spot her, my chest tightening when I notice her eyes are red-rimmed from crying. Shit. I hope that doesn’t mean anything bad. I weave around the chairs blocking my path until I’m standing in front of her.
“Hey.” God, she looks so dejected and meek, and so damn small in spite of her height.
I want to grab her hand, or hug her, or just do something , but I’m not sure she wants to be touched.
I know I didn’t. But then, maybe I would have if Blondie had been the one who was there with me all those years ago when I was in her shoes.
Swallowing the rising lump in my throat, I ask in a muted breath, “How’s your mom?”
Despite the redness ringing her eyes, a look that can only be described as relief crosses her exhausted—and definitely hungover—face. “She’ll be okay…which I already knew from Gina, but it helped to see it for myself.”
“Of course.” I understand that well. Unfortunately, I never got that moment with Jamie.
“Thanks for staying,” Blondie whispers, giving me a shy smile before dipping her chin to look down at her shoes. “I— Jesus , how many packs of M&Ms did you buy?”
I follow her bewildered gaze, which has shifted to the bulging plastic bag by my side.
“All of them, I think? In this hospital, at least—well, excluding the staff rooms.” I don’t bother clarifying that “all of them” includes the gift shop stock on top of what I found in every last vending machine that crossed my path.
It might seem excessive, but if M&Ms were what my Blondie desired, then I would bring her as many of those small chocolatey candies as I could physically get my hands on.
Despite the weariness on her face, Blondie cracks a smile—dimples and all—and chuckles. “You’re ridiculous.”
My heart does a somersault in my chest at the fucking delightful sound of her laugh. “Just doing my part,” I declare with a grin, and I wonder if she can sense what I’m desperate to say to her. If she can read it on my face.
The words push at the boundary of my lips, and they’re about to slip out when I hear a familiar voice behind me.
“Lex?” Andie interrupts, and I turn to see the cousins anxiously inching toward us.
I completely forgot about them the moment Blondie re-entered the room.
I’m certain they caught sight of her, too, so I can only assume they hung back to give us a minute alone.
But now, I can see on both their faces how eager they are for news of her mom.
Blondie puffs out her cheeks and blows out a loud breath before offering them each a tentative smile.
“Mom is okay,” she assures them, answering their unspoken question.
Glancing between the three of us, she gives us a brief rundown on what’s happening with Carol, and what she plans to do in the interim.
“Gina said there’s no point sticking around since I won’t be allowed in with her outside of visiting hours, so I’m thinking of going home and coming back again in the morning.
Gina will be here overnight, and she said she’ll call me if anything changes. ”
“I’ll get you home,” I offer before quickly adding, “if you want.” Blondie’s face flushes when our eyes lock, causing my heart to do something entirely new, something weird, and fuck…if this feeling writhing inside me isn’t love, I don’t know what the hell it is.
“Okay,” she says, her voice so soft it barely qualifies as a whisper.
Ronnie clears her throat, and Blondie blinks rapidly as if suddenly woken up from a trance. Her long dark lashes flutter against the porcelain of her cheeks.
“Th-thank you both for being here,” she stammers, remembering herself as she breaks my gaze and glances between her friends’ faces. They each respond with the same patient smile.
“Any time, Lex, you know that,” Andie murmurs.
Ronnie steps forward and clasps Blondie’s hands in hers. “Call us if you need us. For anything, regardless of the time, okay?”
“I will,” Blondie promises as the two girls throw their arms around her.
We part ways with Ronnie and Andie outside the hospital, the cousins crossing the road to the lot where Ronnie parked her car, while Blondie and I wait at the drop-off loop by the main entrance for our Uber.
When I got Ronnie’s text, my first instinct was to jump in my car and race over here, but then I considered how much time I might waste looking for a free parking space, assuming there were any at all, and though I was ready to ditch my darling Renesmobile in the middle of the street if I had to, taking an Uber seemed preferable to causing a potential traffic collision.
It took longer than I would have liked—not to mention the pit stop I made to buy flowers—which meant calling the hospital from the car to take care of Carol’s bill so the Dornans wouldn’t have to worry about it, but in hindsight, I think it was the best choice.
I doubt I would’ve been in the right headspace to drive, and now, it means I can give Blondie my full attention on the way to her house.
When the Uber arrives less than two minutes later, I climb into the back seat with her, the bag of M&Ms sandwiched between my feet on the floor, and my heart gallops when she opts to sit in the middle, gluing herself to my side.
My eyes dip to her hands, which she clenches nervously in her lap, then lift to her face—to her eyes, which shine behind her glasses.
I don’t think as my arm seems to move of its own accord, sliding around her shoulders and pulling her close to me.
I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do.
I’m not sure if I should give her space.
But those doubts are silenced when she lets out a stilted breath and sinks into my chest with a sigh.
Neither of us says a word during the car ride.
I just hold her to me, occasionally pressing my lips to her hair, trying (and failing) to ignore her hand on my thigh.
There’s nothing remotely sexual about what we’re doing—this moment is strictly about comfort—but embracing her like this, having her so close that her scent is the only thing my brain is aware of, is only making me all the more attuned to how fucking much I want her.
And not just in bed, but in all the ways. I want every part of her.
Because I love her.
I fucking love her.
That realization rings through my head in a constant loop right up until we pull in front of Blondie’s house. Then, as we walk the short path to her porch, all I hear in my head is tell her , tell her , like my heart is pumping those words into my blood so I feel them everywhere.