Page 17 of Trophy
In that vague, groggy moment, just as he was waking up, Rob knew something good had happened.
It didn’t take him long to remember what. He was feeling particularly relaxed and satisfied, and he realized he was naked as he stretched under the covers.
Allison. Allison had happened last night.
With a surge of excitement, he rolled over to look at the other side of the bed and was hit with surprise and disappointment when he saw it was empty.
The covers were rumpled and the pillow at a strange angle.
She’d been sleeping there last night. He remembered waking up once briefly and feeling her warm little body near him.
She wasn’t here now, though.
Rob sat up, breathing until his head cleared. Then he searched the floor and saw that her clothes weren’t in sight. He got up to check the bathroom and the kitchen, but his house was empty.
She’d left.
It was only five in the morning. She hadn’t had to run off to work yet. He didn’t know why she would have left without saying goodbye.
Talking himself out of his bleak reaction, he made coffee and showered. He was pulling on trousers and a decent, only slightly wrinkled shirt when he saw a flash of color in the tangle of the bedsheets. He went over and pulled out Allison’s pretty pink underwear.
Last night had been incredible. Allison had been so real and passionate and tender. He knew she’d enjoyed it. She couldn’t have been pretending or exaggerating for his benefit. Everything about her had been genuine.
He remembered her face as he’d gone down on her—that look of awed astonishment and deep pleasure.
Surely she wouldn’t be regretting it this morning.
He went out to get his newspaper, which he still had delivered since the local paper didn’t have much of a web presence. Allison’s house was quiet. She parked her car in the garage, so he couldn’t tell if it was there or not.
He could hardly go over at 5:40 in the morning, pound on the door, and demand to know why she’d left him without a word.
He was about to head back inside when he saw her garage door open. She must be leaving for work.
Giving up any fantasy of acting cool and nonchalant, he strode across the street and stood in her driveway.
She put her car in park when she saw him.
He was walking over to her when the car door opened and she got out. She wore a pair of black trousers that hugged her curves and her blue Dora’s shirt. She watched him soberly as he approached.
“Hey,” he said, smiling as if nothing was wrong. He felt a rising panic but kept telling himself there was no reason for it. “I wondered what happened to you.”
She took a shaky breath and just stared at him.
She looked scared, he realized. Instead of being offended or indignant, his heart went out to her. He reached up to stroke her face gently. “What’s the matter?”
Allison shook her head, her eyes wide and her expression deeply disturbing.
“Allison,” he murmured, pulling her into a soft hug. “Tell me what’s wrong. I thought last night was good.”
“It was good.” Her voice was slightly muffled by his shirt, since she was burrowing into him. “It was really good.”
She felt small and delicate and needy, and he tightened his arms around her. “So what’s the problem, then? Why did you run out on me?”
She hugged him back for a minute, obviously taking comfort in him, but then her body tightened as if she’d resolved herself. She pulled away. “I don’t know if I can…”
His heart dropped, although he’d kind of known what was coming from the moment he’d woken up and seen she was gone. “You don’t know if you can what?”
“I can’t… do this. I’m not ready.” She’d gotten her face under control, and he could tell this was what she’d been planning to say to him all along.
He fought back the panic that was surging up into his throat.
This was wrong. This was all wrong. He and Allison were too good together.
She seemed to really need him. She wasn’t anything like Dee or Marie.
She wasn’t going to be a huge mistake waiting to happen.
She wasn’t going to turn him into someone he didn’t want to be.
He took a breath and realized he could hardly spill all that to her as they stood in her driveway. It would only scare her even more. He had to make things feel safe for her, and he suddenly knew how he could do it. He gave her a little smile. “You’re not ready for what?”
“For this.” She gestured between the two of them with one hand. “For a… a…” She trailed off.
“A relationship?” he murmured, still giving her that same smile. “Who’s talking about a relationship?”
She blinked at him, clearly surprised.
He stepped closer but didn’t touch her. “We haven’t even been out on a date yet. Do you usually jump right into a relationship after one night?”
He could see her swallow, and her face was starting to clear. “Oh. Well, to tell you the truth, the only relationship I’ve ever had was with Arthur.”
He chuckled, feeling better now, like he could do this, like he could hold them together if he was careful enough. “That makes sense, then. We should take it slower and just see what happens. I know you’re still getting over your divorce. No one is asking or expecting a relationship.”
“So you want to…”
“Take things slow and see what happens.”
Her cheeks had been pale, but now they flushed slightly. She dropped her eyes. “Last night didn’t feel slow.”
“So we don’t have to have sex again until you want to. Why can’t we still hang out?’
She looked up at him quickly. “I don’t know. I just kind of thought… you’d… you’d want… more.”
He silently cursed himself for his stupidity last night in babbling on about how much he wanted to be married. It was true, and he’d felt safe telling her, but he’d known he shouldn’t let himself be seen as so needy and sentimental. She was thinking that was what he wanted with her.
Maybe it was. He didn’t even know. All he knew was he couldn’t let her slip out of his life. Not like this. Not so soon.
“More comes later,” he murmured. “All I want to do is spend more time with you and enjoy myself. No expectations. No relationship. What’s so scary about that?”
She blew out a breath, looking like she believed him. “I guess it’s not. Sorry if I overreacted. It’s strange to do this after a marriage like the one I had.”
“I totally get that. We can take this at any pace you want.”
“Are you sure? Because I haven’t lived here long, but it seems like as soon as two people go on one date, the whole town assumes they’re a couple and just waits for the engagement announcement.”
Rob gave an amused huff. “That is true. What if we don’t go out, then?
In public, I mean. We live across the street from each other, so it won’t be hard to manage without everyone knowing we’re spending time together.
I’m serious about this, Allison. I’m not putting any pressure on you.
I just don’t want to you to dump me for no good reason. ”
She laughed softly, and he knew he’d convinced her. He felt better. Intensely relieved. And like he was in control once again.
He didn’t mind that she still had issues and hang-ups from her marriage. He kind of liked that she was vulnerable that way. It made him feel like she needed him, like he could really help her.
“I need to get to work,” she murmured.
“I know.” He leaned down to kiss her softly but pulled back quickly. “I better not do that when we’re out in your driveway.”
“Right.” Her eyes looked soft and sweet again, the way they had last night. “Good thinking.”
“What about if I come over tonight to your place? It’s a little neater than mine is. I’ll bring dinner.”
“You don’t have anything in your house that could pass for dinner.”
“I know how to pick up a pizza.”
She giggled again. “Okay. That sounds fine.” She paused. “You’re really okay with no relationship or anything serious? Because I don’t know if I can?—”
“I just told you I was. What kind of men have you known, that you expect them to be disappointed when you tell them no strings attached?”
This was evidently the right thing to say. She laughed uninhibitedly and moved to get back into her car. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Actually, I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“Right. See you then.”
Rob watched her drive off in that ridiculous ancient Cadillac, and he felt better about the world. If he could keep her looking at him that way, he’d be perfectly happy.
Dora’s was fairly busy, so the day passed quickly for Allison. When she wasn’t focusing on work, she was thinking about Rob.
She’d been silly to blow the whole thing out of proportion.
Rob had seemed completely fine with keeping things low-key and casual.
She was actually a little embarrassed that she’d assumed he wanted a serious relationship.
She had very little experience with men other than Arthur, but she knew enough to know that relationship talk was what usually scared guys away.
Rob must have thought she was crazy.
But things were settled between them now. He’d seemed quite happy at the end of the conversation, like he was getting exactly what he wanted. And now she could relax and enjoy his company.
Maybe Vicki was right. Maybe she could just have a little fun while she was here and not worry about it just being temporary.
Rob didn’t seemed worried.
All in all, she was in a good mood when she came back from work. She had a couple of hours before Rob would get off work for the day, so she did some laundry, changed the sheets on her bed, and cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms.
She was settling down to work on a bracelet before he arrived when there was an unexpected knock on her door.
She glanced at the clock in surprise. It was barely six. Rob usually worked until five thirty or six, and he had said he was going to pick up a pizza, so she hadn’t expected him until six thirty at the earliest.
She was smiling as she opened the door, but her smile froze on her face when she saw who was standing there.