Wes ~

With my gym bag over my shoulder, I took long strides toward my truck, scratching the back of my head in disbelief of my own actions. I had broken my own cardinal rule and I had no clue why.

Why had I let Gracie sleep in my bed? There were other options in the house - plenty of chairs and couches, but I couldn't help myself. Did I offer out of gratitude for cleaning? Was it a moment of temporary insanity?

My mind buzzed with questions that I didn't have the answers to and I fucking hated that. I hated feeling like I wasn't in control of my own thoughts and feelings and the confusion that clouded my brain put a deep scowl on my face.

Tossing my bag in the back, I settled my body in the driver's seat and reached for the keys that were not in my pocket.

Fuck.

I huffed an irritated breath and flung the truck door open as I made my way back inside to grab my keys.

I'm all over the damn place today.

The house was silent as I entered despite it being full of people at the moment, and the only sound that hit my ears was occasional snoring.

Once I reached my room I did everything in my power not to make a sound, twisting the knob slowly and bracing my hand against the door to stop it from creaking as I gently pushed it open.

My eyes searched for Gracie who was under my covers, tucked against my pillow.

Using every ounce of muscle control I had, I took the slowest steps possible, trying to stay completely silent as I moved across the room toward my keys that were sitting on my dresser.

As I got closer I realized that she wasn't falling asleep, she was already completely out and unfazed by me moving around the room. Her chest rose and fell with deep even breaths and her arms wrapped around my pillow like it was a person.

It took a second for my mind to register what my eyes were seeing and...enjoying?

There was a female in my bed, wrapped in my sheets, clinging to my pillow with her long light brown hair draped over the side, exposing her neck and shoulders. She looked like a damn angel and I felt warmth gather in my chest the longer I stared at her.

Letting out a soft hum, Gracie shifted her body beneath my sheets, causing me to freeze in place, trying to become invisible. She weaved her arm out of the covers and pulled the blankets to the side, exposing one of her smooth tanned legs, but her eyes remained closed and her face remained peaceful.

Realizing she must have gotten hot beneath my comforter, I moved toward the wall and flipped the fan on, but I was unable to pull my eyes away from her.

God she's beautiful.

The longer I stood there the more I felt like an absolute creep, but walking away from her while she slept in my bed felt wrong and was difficult for some reason. I knew I was going to be late, but my body protested against the logical side of my brain, fighting to stay in place as I admired her.

In an effort to physically break my gaze and force myself to leave, I shook my head and grabbed my keys, taking hold of the door knob, before I stole one last glance and the gorgeous woman laying in my bed.

She had shifted herself so that one arm and one leg was exposed and the light from the slowly rising sun peeked through the blinds, bouncing off of the tiny diamond on her left hand which sobered my mind almost immediately. The small reminder placed the scowl back on my face as I opened the door and walked out of the room.

She's fucking engaged, Wes. Find someone else, because it can't be her.

I internally scolded myself for even considering my attraction to Gracie and left in a hurry, to try and rid myself of the uncomfortable and unfamiliar feelings I had just experienced.

Landing in the driver's side seat of my truck with a thud, I ran my hand through my hair roughly with a scowl that wouldn't go away.

Why did seeing Gracie in my bed get me so rattled? And why am I pissed off that she's engaged? I don't even really know her and there are plenty of women out there that have begged to be in that bed and would love the opportunity. My mind instantly started making plans to go out to the bars later that night with Blake in order to distract myself from the strange events of the morning, but even that idea didn't sound all that appealing.

What the fuck is wrong with me today?

*****

Later on that morning, I had opened the gym, replaced all the towels, and was half way through my workout when my phone started going off, interrupting the music in my head phones which was irritating.

Who the hell is calling me at 7:00am?

Ignoring the call completely, I continued to move through my workout circuit, but a second call came through, causing me to throw my hands down and snarl my lip as I took angry steps toward my phone on the bench.

"What?" I snapped at Blake, answering his third call in the past two minutes.

"Sorry dude, I know you're at the gym, but there's a chick in your bed." Blake said, knowing exactly how I felt about shit like that.

"Yeah, I know. I put her there." I said flatly.

"The fuck?" Blake replied, confused by my last statement and rightfully so.

"Relax it's just Gracie." I admitted, trying to calm him down, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"Bullshit." Blake's voice was a mixture of shock and excitement.

"You slept with Gracie?"

The pitch of Blake's voice raised and I could practically hear him smiling through the phone.

"No I didn't sleep with her." I said in an irritated tone, pinching the bridge of my nose and squeezing my eyes shut.

"She came over around  5am to take care of Maggie and the rest of her roommates and needed a place to crash until her 8am class."

"We've got couches you know" Blake said in a sly voice.

"So?" I said flatly.

"So there were other options, But you wanted her in your bed?"

Blake was clearly enjoying the conversation a hell of a lot more than I was.

"I didn't want her in...You know what, first of all fuck you, second of all this isn't even worth talking about. She needed a place to sleep - I had an empty bed. End of story."

"Okay okay, whatever you say, Wes."

"But you know she's engaged right?" Blake's additional comment was unnecessary and set my nerves on edge for some reason.

"Yeah. I'm fucking aware." I said coldly, raking my hand down my face.

"What's the deal with that anyway? Didn't seem like the girls were very fond of her fiancé"

I said the word fiancé but I hated the way it tasted in my mouth.

"Chad would probably be able to shed more light on that than I would, but it's the same guy she was dating when we used to hang out. He's scum of the earth, man. Total dick. Showed up when we were out once and yelled at her in front of everyone. That was almost two years ago, but according to Amanda and Maggie, things haven't gotten much better. Maybe even worse."

"Yelled at her?" I repeated before gritting my teeth as images of someone yelling in Gracie's face flooded my mind which seemed to set my blood on fire.

Who the hell could yell at Gracie? She's one of the nicest people I've ever met and I've only known her for a few hours.

"Yeah...it was bad dude." Blake confirmed which only caused my jaw to clench tighter.

"What a piece of shit." I snarled into the phone

My mind raced, trying to figure out why Gracie would agree to marry a guy like that, but I quickly reminded myself that it wasn't my business. That wasn't my problem to sort out and I needed a distraction and needed one fast.

"Anyway, are you down to go out tonight?" I asked, trying to change the subject and hoping he'd agree.

"Sure. Where do you wanna go?" Blake asked happily.

"It's Friday night which is ladies night at Lucky's." I suggested, hoping to find someone who could take my mind off of Gracie.

"Yeah I'm down. I'll tell Chad."

My workout had been a decent distraction up until that point, but after my quick phone conversation with Blake, my mind had refocused itself on Gracie. I worked out most of my frustrations at the gym and gave three lessons that morning before heading back home to grab some lunch before class.

I held my breath as I rounded the street corner and my stomach dropped slightly when I didn't see Gracie's car in front of the house.

What the hell is wrong with me right now? Of course she's not here. Why would she still be here? It's 1pm in the afternoon and she left before 8am.

Cracking my neck back and forth to release some tension, I parked my truck and headed inside to make a protein shake. I didn't see anyone in the living room and took note of the empty pullout couch that had been folded back into its rightful position which meant Gracie's roommates had left.

Another quick pang of disappointment hit my gut, which pissed me off because it didn't make any sense.

Why do I care that her roommates are gone?

I was too irritated to eat and continued past the kitchen toward my room, opening the door and taking immediate notice of the bed.

"Of course she made the bed." I chuckled to myself, as I surveyed the perfectly made bed with fluffed pillows arranged along the headboard.

Not only that, but everything that had cluttered my bathroom counters was still there, but had been neatly arranged. She had even straightened out my shower curtain, pulling it flush with the wall on both sides.

Jesus Gracie could you be any cuter?

Shaking my head with an uncontrollable smile on my face, I flopped down on my bed, pulling my phone from my pocket to kill some time before class, looking for a distraction.

My head sank down into the pillow that Gracie had been laying on and despite my better judgement, I leaned my chin to one side and inhaled deeply. Sure enough the sweet scent of Gracie's shampoo lingered on the fabric next to my face. The scent was faint, but it was enough to undo me. I closed my eyes and inhaled again, pressing my face further into the pillow and found myself wishing that she was still here.

Get a hold of yourself, Wes. She's engaged.

I couldn't believe my own reaction to a simple smell and my confusion quickly overpowered my moment of temporary inner peace. My body jolted up, as if the pillow was to blame for the strange feelings that had haunted me all morning and I rubbed at the center of my chest, trying to physically rid myself of the unfamiliar sensations.

What am I doing? I don't do feelings. I don't let women in my bed - in my space. What's wrong with me today?

********