Christmas sucks.
When Emily Shepherd's boss boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend, she loses everything in one night-love, friendships, job, and home. In a weird fit of desperation (or some deep-rooted need to punish herself even more) she m...
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Somehow, she was able to get back into the bed and relax enough to at least try and fall asleep. It wasn't easy. Her mind was racing, every sense on edge, waiting for the intruders again. Plus, all the lights were on. And, probably most significantly, she kept thinking of Leo.
Specifically, she kept thinking of how she ran to him without a thought, and how he wrapped her up in a tight, protective hug without a second of hesitation. That was special. That was reassuring. That was comforting. That was...
"That was so sexy." She almost wondered at her own reaction to it. But yeah, it was sexy. Leo was not the typical alpha male, but that was some straight up alpha behavior. And she didn't normally seek out the typical alpha male, either. "But damn. That was sexy."
She smiled and turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She had to stop thinking things like that. I didn't mean anything. Leo was a nice guy. That was just a nice guy thing to do. Any nice guy would have comforted her, given her his coat. That was just polite. She was just shocked by it because she hadn't dealt with a nice guy for a while. She had gotten used to Jake.
She almost laughed at the comparison. How did she ever end up with someone like Jake? Even when they first started dating, he was a rat. Remember how he used to split their dinner checks because they worked together and he was her boss, so he didn't want there to be any question about him showing her favoritism? Why did she fall for that?
Remember how she'd always listen to his stories, always take his side, always agree with him on everything? But when she needed to talk, he would tell her she was being dramatic, making a big deal out of nothing. He would cut her off, tell her she was imagining things. Remember how rarely he ever thought she was right?
Remember when she took a French fry from his plate in a restaurant one time? And he said, loudly enough that two other tables turned to look at her, that if she'd wanted fries, she should have ordered them? And then he shoved his plate at her and told her to finish the job, he'd lost his appetite? Remember how he'd apologized for that? I shouldn't have been so loud, but if you wanted fries, you should have ordered them.
Remember when her mom had that skiing accident last year and broke her leg and Emily wanted to fly to Colorado to be with her? Remember how hard it was to get off work, even though her boyfriend was literally the one who was making the decision?
What would Jake have done if she had called him in the middle of the night to come save her from axe murderers in the house? That was a sobering question and she was not happy with the answer. Rather, she was not happy with the fact that she had accepted the answer for so long.
What would Jake have done? Not rush over. Not hold her tight against him. Not offer to stay so she would feel better. Well, actually Jake would offer to stay. But he'd use it as an excuse to have sex. Like, it would start out comforting, but then...
He sure wouldn't offer to sleep on the floor, like Leo.
She should have said yes. She should have said, sleep in the second bedroom across the hall from me. Then she would feel safe from axe murderers. Then, she'd be falling asleep to the sound of his breathing—snoring? Did he snore?—from the guest room.
