Valiant

I smile, but my lips tremble.

“I’m sorry you have to go through that.”

“Oh, seriously, stop it, woman. I don’t mind at all. She only gives me so much lip before I threaten to lock her in her room and take her phone. I’ve got back up. She doesn’t try too hard. Honestly, she sleeps most of the time. It’s been fine. Plus, your place is a nice escape from mine right now.”

Some of the pressure eases in my chest. “And nothing else has happened?”

“No, not at all. Why? Is something wrong?”

“No,” I say quickly, probably a little too quickly.

“Baylee ...” she says. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just had a bad dream, and honestly, I just wanted to call. It’s stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid at all,” she sounds relieved. “I don’t mind you calling to check in. You’re only gone one more night, enjoy it, okay? I promise you I’ll call you if anything goes wrong. You know I will.”

She will.

I know she will.

“Thank you,” I say softly. “Seriously, that makes me feel better.”

“Now, for the love of God, stop worrying about brat of the century and go and enjoy that fine as hell biker boy you’re lucky enough to be there with.”

I laugh softly. “I’ll do that.”

“Good girl. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I hang up the phone, put it down, and push out of bed. I leave the beautiful, big room I’ve got all to myself and walk across the hall and into the bathroom. I move to the marble sink, turn on the tap, and splash my face, trying to calm myself down. It works, just a little, but I’m still anxious, so I head downstairs into the kitchen. Warm milk. My mom used to give it to me when I was little and couldn’t sleep.

It always worked.

It’s worth a shot now.

When I get into the kitchen, I see Diesel sitting at the counter, doing the same thing. I can’t help but smile.

“Here I was thinking warm milk was my trick.”

He looks up, slightly startled, and then relaxes when he realises it’s me. “Yeah, don’t tell anyone, imagine the shit I’d get for it.”

I smile. “Your secret is safe with me. Mind if I join you?”

He waves a hand to the free stool at the counter. I give him a grateful look, grab a glass, and put some milk in it before putting it into the microwave. After about thirty seconds, I pull it out and join him.

“What keeps you awake at this time of the night?” I ask him, sipping the milk.

It makes me feel better instantly.

“Can’t sleep sometimes, no particular reason. You?”

I shrug. “Same.”

“Plus, Mercedes can snore.”

I giggle. “Gosh no, she’s far too pretty to snore.”

He chuckles. “Don’t let her looks fool you, she can get one hell of a snore up when she’s been drinking. But I don’t mind, it’s kind of fuckin’ cute.”

My heart warms. The way he loves her. It’s so sweet.

“It’s good when you can love all the parts of someone, even those annoying ones,” I say to him, sipping my milk again.

“Yeah, good feeling, that’s for sure. How are things with you and Jack?”

I stop drinking and look to him. “We’re just friends.”

“And pigs can fly.”

I give him a look, and he winks at me.

“Honestly, I’m not in a good place for anything more,” I say, softly. “It’s not that I don’t want to. He’s such a good guy. The best I know.”

“He isn’t like that with everyone, he’s different with you.”

“He is? Why do you think that is?”

Diesel studies my face, his brown eyes soft. “We all have that one girl. We can have a handful of relationships, and they might be good, we might even fall in love with those people, but there is always going to be that one girl. The thing is, you don’t know it until you meet her, but when you do, it is like nothing else could ever compare. She has the power to change everything. She makes you a better person. She brings out the good in you. She knocks back all the bad. You honestly don’t know yourself when you’re with her. But you just know, she’s the one to bring out the absolute best in you. It's a connection unlike anything you've ever felt, almost like you've known her forever. It's more real than anything you've ever experienced. You don't feel a single bad vibe. And for the first time, you honestly wonder how you ever managed before you met her. Mercedes was that girl for me, and I honestly think you’re that girl for him.”

My heart twists.

Tears form under my eyelids.

I don’t want to be that girl for Jack, because if I can’t give him what he needs, that means he’ll end up hurt and broken.

I would never want to hurt someone, let alone break them.

“What if that one girl can’t be the girl you need?” I whisper.

He studies me again. “I don't believe that. Because I think you meet her exactly when you need her, at the exact right moment, so even if at the time it might not seem like you can go with it, or she can go with it, she’s there and she’s there for a reason. She’s sent to you right when you need her, trust me on that.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” I say, because I don’t honestly know what else I can say.

He believes those words, because for him, Mercedes was that woman. The one that changed him. And maybe he thinks I’m that for Jack, but I’m not.

I’m just not.

I want to be, so badly.

So damned bad.

“At least give him a chance, even if you take it slow, I might not be an expert at this stuff, but I know what I see, Baylee.”

With that, he finishes his milk and stands, looking down at me. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Diesel.”

He disappears, and I watch him go.

Damn it all.

I think I’m falling in love with Jack.

~*~*~*~

“Spa time!” Molly squeals, skipping through the house in her swim suit, hair flying around behind her. She finds Roman and throws herself at him. He catches her with a grunt, and she plants a kiss on him. “Get ready, Roman. It’s time for the spa!”