Chapter Six

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Gracie ~

Chad had left the door unlocked, allowing me to cautiously and quietly enter the house that smelled even more like stale beer than it had before.

I carefully side stepped piles of empty beer cans and bottles as I made my way through the living room toward the guest bathroom, trying not to make a sound.  My eyes swept over the large living room that was littered with sleeping people on just about every piece of furniture in the room, but they were all sound asleep - dead to the world and completely unaware of my presence.

Amanda's voice carried down the hall from the guest bathroom, calling out my name with a pathetic sounding groan that echoed off the tile floor.

"Graaaace." she moaned as I rounded the corner and saw her in a crumpled pile on the bathroom floor, clutching the toilet for dear life.

"Aw Mandy-Mae you're a mess." I said with a laugh and a smile as I crouched down next to her and gathered her hair behind her head, holding it in a bunch at the nape of her neck.

We sat there together for a while with her hair in my hands, but it seemed like she had already emptied the contents of her stomach and just needed to sleep the rest of it off.

"Come on Sis, let's get you changed and moved to the pull-out couch with Laura."

"I can't move...I'm dying." Amanda said, letting her head flop backwards onto her shoulders as she straightened her posture and looked up at me.

"You're not dying," I chuckled as I tried to help her stand and get her changed.

"Yes I am Gracie...everything hurts and I'm dying...dyyyyying." Amanda groaned, latching her arms around my neck as we stood together.

"Okay fine you're dying, but wouldn't you rather die on the soft couch than die on the dirty bathroom floor?" I asked, taking most of her weight as we took a few steps out of the bathroom.

"Good point. How'd you get so smart Gracie?" Amanda said sloppily against my neck.

"One of life's great mysteries." I huffed as Amanda's legs became more and more uncoordinated and clumsy, requiring more effort from me to keep her upright.

Luckily the pull-out couch where Laura was sleepy was only a few more steps away and within my arms reach before Amanda's legs went lax and her body weight dropped. I somehow managed to get her onto the couch without letting her collapse onto the floor, but I'd be lying if I said it was an easy task.

I was out of breath and tired, but I was able to cover both Laura and Amanda with blankets after rolling them onto their sides so their backs were touching.

"Sleep tight besties. You're going to feel like shit in a few hours." I whispered over them with a laugh before I headed back toward the guest bathroom to survey the damage Amanda had done there.

To my surprise the bathroom wasn't too bad, but she had managed to miss the toilet by a few inches at some point while she was praying to the porcelain Gods.

"Again, you're lucky I love you so much Mandy." I muttered under my breath as I went to the kitchen and grabbed what was left of a roll of paper towels.

It only took me a few minutes to get everything cleaned up, but just as I was about to stand and wash my hands, a deep voice echoed from behind me.

"How come every time I see you, you're trying to clean my floors? You lookin' for a job or somethin'?" Weston's deep voice was gritty as it hit my ears and sounded even deeper when he was tired.

The corner of my mouth lifted into a smile at the sound of his voice as I continued to clean.

"Very funny," I sassed, turning over my shoulder to give him a sarcastic smirk, but the second my eyes landed on him I suddenly forgot how to breathe.

There he was, leaning in the doorway, looking down at me with a half smile that made me melt. He was shirtless and bed-headed and I was mesmerized. My eyes danced up the corded muscles of his torso, over his muscular arms that were folded over his chest, then up past his scruffy chiseled jaw line until they finally landed on his deep brown eyes.

I suddenly became aware of my jaw that was slacked and hanging open before I snapped it shut and shifted my gaze back down to the floor.

Way to be creepy Gracie.

Straightening my legs, I tossed the wet paper towels into the trash can and started washing my hands, trying to hide the blush that was burning in my cheeks and currently traveling down my neck at the sight of shirtless Weston.

I raised my gaze toward the mirror only to lock eyes with him again as he gave me a knowing grin through the reflection.

"So do you just drive around all night helping drunk people?" Weston scoffed.

"Something like that." I joked in return, drying my hands on the towel that was hanging by the sink.

"I mean I couldn't just leave my roommates passed out at some random dudes house." I said forgetting that he was in fact one of the random dudes in question.

"Yeah, I hear the guys that live here are real assholes, better not take any chances." He joked with a wink that sent a swarm of butterflies to my stomach.

Letting out a playful sigh, I put my hands on my hips and dropped my chin at his comment.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." I said with a smile.

"What are you doing up anyway? I tried to be quiet. Was I too loud?" I asked, with a pang of guilt.

"Nah, I didn't even know you were here to be honest. I just saw the bathroom light was on and came to turn it off, but imagine my surprise to find you...cleaning the floor again." Weston's smile raised high enough on his cheek to reveal a dimple and a perfect row of teeth.

"So what, you couldn't sleep?" I asked, tucking a strand of my long hair behind my ear as I craned my neck up at him. Being barefoot only made the height difference between us that much more evident as he stood well over a foot taller than me in the doorway.

"I'm always up at 5:00am. I work early shifts at the gym and open it up every morning."

So he works at a gym, that makes sense.

"Like Planet Fitness?" I asked, naming the only gym I could think of.

He chuckled at my suggestion with his smile growing wider, clearly indicating that my guess was wrong.

"No, not like Planet Fitness. I'm a trainer at a boxing gym." he corrected me.

Great. Amanda was right after all. He's a fighter and a player...everything I don't need.

My mind helplessly wandered to a dark place without my consent as I started involuntarily imagining Weston storming around drunk, fighting everyone in sight...fighting me the way Colt usually did. Weston's large frame suddenly became intimidating and I felt myself retreat inward slightly as I became acutely aware that he was blocking me in the bathroom with no way out.

"Hey" Weston said in a soft voice. "Where'd you go?" He asked with a smile that pulled me back to reality.

Realizing that I had been staring blankly off into space, I quickly schooled my expression and rubbed at my face with both of my hands, irritated by my mind's betrayal.

"Nowhere, sorry. I'm just exhausted I guess." I admitted as a half truth.

"Have you slept at all tonight Gracie?" His facial expression went from soft to serious, but not in a mean way. His stern expression and drawn in brows communicated something different, something I wasn't used to. Weston was concerned about me and I wasn't sure how to react.

"Nope." I confirmed, unsure what else to say.

It was obvious that he wasn't happy with my response and I shifted my weight awkwardly under the heat of his pointed stare.

Shit, I think I might have made him mad. Is he mad? Quick, say something to fix it.

"It's no big deal though, I've got an 8:00am class that I need to get to on campus so I don't really have enough time to get home and sleep before I'd have to get up again. I'll just crash after class." I tried to let the words fall out of my mouth casually and hoped that Weston would accept them and soften his expression.

"You could sleep here for a few hours." He offered, softening his tone and expression immediately.

"I might actually take you up on that since you guys live so close to campus. I'll curl up on one of these chairs or something until I have to go." I pointed in the direction of the living room at one of the small mismatched chairs that was vacant.

"Or you could sleep in my bed." He offered casually.

I swallowed hard at his offer and could feel my eyes widen before I could stop them.

"Relax Gracie, I won't be in it." he reassured me with a laugh. "I've gotta go to work, remember?"

"Right, I remember." I said awkwardly, trying to regain my composure.

Amanda's words flashed hot through my brain as I recalled what she had told me earlier about Weston never allowing women to sleep in his bed.

"Are you sure though? I know you're not crazy about women in your bed and I..."

"Now where did you hear that?" He asked, cutting me off and grinning at me as if I had discovered one of his secrets.

"Umm...well...people talk." I said, desperately trying not to admit that I had been gossiping about him a few hours prior.

"Well in this particular case, people are right. I don't allow women to stay the night in my bed." His voice started to become lower as he continued which made my stomach start flipping and my breath catch in my throat.

"So you'd be the first." His gaze was so intense that it seemed to suck the air from my lungs all at once. I swallowed hard against my need to inhale and somehow managed to form words.

"Are you sure?" I asked again, never wanting to be a burden to anyone or an unpleasant obligation.

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure. And from what I can tell, you aren't going to steal my shit or puke on my sheets." He said, flashing me a devastating smile that made me weak at the knees.

"Nope, definitely not on my to do list today." I joked in return.

"Good. Let me go grab my bag real quick and get out of your way then." he said with a smile.

Get out of my way? This is his house, his room, his bed, and he's worried about being in my way?

I reluctantly trailed him down the hall toward his room, following him inside as he shoved a few things in a gym bag before slinging it over his shoulder with ease.

"I probably won't be back for the rest of the day, but make yourself at home, Gracie. And get some sleep." He gave me another devastating smile and shot a wink in my direction before closing the door behind him, leaving me alone inside.

My body reacted before I could command it to stay still and I rushed toward the door, grasping the knob and turning it beneath my hand to make sure it wasn't locked. Letting out a sigh of relief I internally scolded myself for having such a dark thought and assumption about someone who was doing something nice for me.

I guess I'm just not used to kindness from men without a hidden agenda.

Walking slowly over to Weston's bed, I pulled the dark comforter back examining it carefully before crawling inside. His sheets swallowed me whole as I let myself relax beneath his bedding, curling my small body around one of his pillows and nestling my face against it

I was pleasantly surprised when Weston's clean masculine scent wrapped itself around me with every deep inhale against the fabric of his soft pillow. His scent alone was enough to send waves of goosebumps down my arms and spine which caught me off guard, but felt amazing. I pressed myself against his bed sheets and pillow, feeling every muscle in my body start to relax one by one as Weston's scent lulled me into a deep peaceful sleep that I desperately needed.

*****

Okay loves how am I doing so far? This writing style is still new to me, but I'm trying to get better with each chapter. Good, bad or indifferent - your feedback is priceless and helps me grow!

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