She blinks, but I continue my thought. “He still cheated on me and we had been together since we were kids. If someone wants to cheat, it won’t matter if they’re famous or a lazy bastard like Joey, they’re going to do it. Opportunity is what they make of it. If I were you, I would give Jesse a chance, he might surprise you.”
“Nobody ever has,” she snaps.
Hutton chuckles. “You’ve never given them the chance.”
Laurie’s eyes narrow on Hutton, then shift over to mine. “I’ll do it. Not because that’s what everyone else wants, but because I want to be able to tell my baby that I tried.”
Hutton makes a noise behind me, but I don’t turn around. Instead, I close the distance between me and Laurie, taking her hands in mine, I squeeze them.
“Even if it doesn’t work out, even if it ends in disaster, you will know that you gave it your all. You’ll be able to be proud of yourself for trying. That’s all that really matters.”
Without a word, Laurie lifts her arms and wraps them around my shoulders, bringing me in for a firm hug. “You were talking about yourself, weren’t you?” she whispers against my ear.
My arms hold on to her just as tightly as she’s holding on to me. “Yeah,” I whimper.
“It’s going to work for you, babe. I can feel it.”
After our hug, Laurie takes a step back and clears her throat. “Okay. That’s enough of that emotional shit. Do you want me to call the shelter and see if they have anyone that can pick all this stuff up? And your bed and furniture, what do you want to do with that?”
I lift my gaze to meet hers. “I think it needs to all be donated,” I whisper. “Maybe I won’t need it any time soon.”
“You won’t,” she mouths as she brings the phone to her ear.
Chapter Twenty-One
TULIP
Sinking down into the warm tub, I lean back against Louis’ body, between his thighs. I pretend not to notice the hard length that’s against my back. Right now, it isn’t about sex, it’s about relaxation. Sex will happen soon enough.
Closing my eyes, I turn my head to the side against his chest and touch my lips to the underside of his jaw. This is exactly what I needed, a night off.
“You get all your stuff done?” he asks, running his warm hands up and down my arms, massaging me gently.
I hum. “I did. The women’s shelter came and picked up everything except what I’m keeping.”
“You could have put your stuff in the barn. I don’t have any animals out there, I use it to store my own shit. You didn’t have to get rid of everything until you were ready.”
I don’t know if I could fall in love with this man any more than I already have. He knew I was struggling with getting rid of everything, he never asked me to, never demanded that I do it. Honestly, he probably would have found a spot for every piece of furniture I owned, if I asked him to.
But I needed to let it all go. That furniture is my past. It’s my life with Joey. It’s my life after my parents died. It’s the life of me struggling just to eat and pay my rent. That isn’t the life that I have now. Hopefully, it will never be my reality again.
“I think I figured out what I want to do,” I offer.
Louis wraps his arms around me. “Yeah?”
Nodding, I inhale a deep breath. “It’s probably stupid, but me and Laurie were talking. Hutton isn’t at the shop really and it’s just Laurie there. She needs help, but she doesn’t want to hire just anyone.”
“You want to do hair?” he asks.
I slowly turn around in the tub to face him. I expect to see him looking at me like I’m ridiculous, but he isn’t. He’s watching me like he’s truly interested in what I have to say and that he’s really thinking about it.
Nodding my head once, I smile. “I want to do makeup, nails, and hair. I want to be available for weddings and anything else that comes. I want to learn as much as I can at the school.”
Louis’ lips turn up into a small smile. “Only my girl would see an opportunity and not only want to do that, but add about a dozen more things to her plate. I love it, Tullie. I think it’s really smart.”
“I’m going to go to the school and talk to them about prices and financial aid. I’m just really excited to finally have settled on something, and it’s something that I can do on my own terms, be my own boss.”
Louis reaches out, cupping my cheek with his palm. “It is, baby.”
I don’t tell him that it’s also something that will no doubt keep me busy and will be easy to drown myself in when he eventually turns his back on me and walks away. I know that he will, too. It’s just a matter of time, but for now, I’m going to enjoy every second with him as if it’s my last.
Louis leans forward, touching his mouth to mine, then rests his forehead against my own. He inhales a deep breath, letting it out on a sigh. “Can’t believe I found someone like you.”
“I don’t deserve you,” I whisper aloud.
He snorts. “Other way around, baby. Let’s get out of the tub and I’ll show you just how fucking grateful I am to have you.”
An hour later, we’re both panting, having shown one another just how grateful we are to be in each other’s lives. Louis wraps me in his arms, pulling my back against his front as he slips his thigh between mine.
“Gary won’t say shit to the media, Tullie.”
Biting the corner of my bottom lip, I let out a hum. “I wouldn’t care if he did. This fight isn’t about me. Nothing is about me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he rasps against the back of my neck. “Everything is about you, Tullie, because you’re everything to me.”
Without another word, we both fall asleep. What feels like seconds later, I hear a noise. It sounds like a wounded animal. My eyes pop open and I look to Louis’ side of the bed, but he isn’t there.
I hear the noise again, coming from the corner of the room. Blinking a few times, I allow my eyes to adjust as I sit up in bed. Focusing on the corner of the room, my mouth falls open in surprise and I let out a hiss as the moaning starts again.
It’s Louis. He’s sitting naked in the corner, his back to the wall and I watch as he rocks back and forth, the low moaning erupting from him again.
Slowly, I sink to my knees and as calmly as possible, my heart pounding against the ribs in my chest, I crawl toward him. I call out his name the closer that I get, hoping to wake him up before I reach him, but I don’t.
Sitting back on my knees and ass, I reach forward as I call out his name a bit louder. Before I can touch his skin, he wraps his hand around my wrist. His eyes are open and he’s staring at me, but I can tell by the void look in his green gaze that he’s not really awake.
His grip is strong, firmer than normal and I know that one wrong move and he could break my wrist in a split second.
“Louis, I need you to wake up,” I plead as tears begin to fill my eyes.
He grunts. “I didn’t mean it,” he rasps.
“I know you didn’t, Louie. You need to wake up, please.”