Free Saving Each Other (BWWM Romance) by Interracial Love, Tyra Brown

just anger, I glared up at him but he didn’t drop his snarky smile. I tried to step away from him but he blocked me.
     
    “Can you move please?” He was so close to me that I could smell his expensive cologne, and his warm breath was on my face.
     
    “I really hope you aren’t just fooling us. Dan may seem like a tough alpha dog but he has a soft heart, so don’t break it.” My brow furrowed in confusion. Could Dan have that much feeling for me? He must have told Justin something that I didn’t know. “He didn’t tell me much, but I know him. After Abigail, he can’t take much more heartbreak.”
     
    “Who is Abigail?” I asked him quietly. He peered at me suspiciously, reading my eyes.
     
    “His ex, they dated for a long time. He was going to marry her, but she just packed up one day and left. Then he found out she was cheating on him, ran away with someone he knew in law school.”
     
    “Why are you telling me this?” I wondered aloud.
     
    “Because I haven’t seen my best friend look at anyone the way he looks at you. Not anyone. I just hope that when you are rescued, and you will be, you won’t do the same thing she did.” He stepped aside so I could walk away.
     
    His words rang in my mind, losing me in my thoughts. I felt so bad for him, he was so hurt at one point in his life. Even if-when I am rescued, I didn’t think I wanted to be with anyone else. It’s not like Dan ever really hurt me, he was fighting for what he believed in. That’s all I could ever want in a man.
     
    “Tamara?” Dan called my name loudly, but not quite shouting. I hadn’t even realized I had made my way to the stool in the kitchen and sat down.
     
    “Yeah, sorry.” I rubbed my eyes, suddenly I was very tired.
     
    “Are you okay?” He asked me.
     
    “Yeah, yeah I was just thinking.” I smiled softly to reassure him.
     
    “Okay. I’m making grilled chicken and sweet potatoes.”
     
    “Sounds good,” I smiled. He grinned but his eyes were still concerned.
     
    I watched him as he moved around the kitchen. Domesticity suited him, I didn’t really take him for a good cook but when I tasted the food it was amazing. Definitely better than my cooking.
     
    “This is really good,” I said after a few bites.
     
    “Thanks.”
     
    “Where did you learn to cook like this?” I asked him.
     
    “My dad was a chef…he died a few years ago.”
     
    “Oh, I’m sorry.”
     
    “It’s okay, he lived a great life.” He smiled at me.
     
    When we finished, he took our plates and washed them. I drank more of the water, I was very thirsty all day and I was having headaches more often. I thought my malnutrition had finally taken a toll. Before I knew it, I was racing to the bathroom to regurgitate what I had just eaten.
     
    I wasn’t surprised that Dan had followed me, he rubbed my back soothingly as I kept dry heaving. I really didn’t want him to see me like that, it was kind of embarrassing.
     
    “Are you okay?” I flushed the toilet twice.
     
    “I’m fine, I’m just not used to eating stuff like that yet,” I tried to reassure him. He rubbed my cheekbone with his thumb softly.
     
    “I’m sorry.” He looked at me sadly.
     
    “It’s a necessary evil, remember?” I gave him a small smile. Finally his eyes relaxed, I reached up to straighten out the furrow in his brow with my finger. He grabbed my hand and kissed it softly, holding it to his cheek.
     
    He had a little bit of stubble growing on his face, I ran my hands along it. We sat like that for a while, just holding each other. He picked me up easily and carried me to his bedroom, laying us down on the bed. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I just pretended until he fell asleep.
     
    I unlocked his arms from around me gingerly, careful not to wake him. I laid on the floor right next to the bed, I was more comfortable that way. I just couldn’t sleep on the soft bed, the hard ground soon put me to sleep.
     
    The sun rose and