Page 110 of Sex Positive

She should be happy he’s offering. But if Gabriel agrees, Wes will lose his autonomy to decide his own future, and she can’t feel anything except despair about that.

“I don’t want you to be like him,” she whispers. She doesn’t mean to say it, knowing the comparison between himself and his father is something he fears, but she’s too distraught to temper her words.

A flicker of hurt flashes in his eyes. “I won’t be. I’m not afraid of him. I’m more afraid of losing you.”

“Youhaveme,” she insists. “That has nothing to do with the clinic.”

“Why won’t you let me take care of you?”

She stares at him, his words overwhelming.

He takes her hand. “You are always so strong. So capable and independent. And I love that about you. But you don’t always have to do everything on your own. Let me take care of you. This is something I can fix, Charlie. It will ensure that the clinic stays open and people continue receiving the care they deserve. Don’t you see? Good can still come of this, even if it means I’ll have to work for that asshole for the rest of his life.”

She shakes her head even before he finishes. “I don’t want you to be miserable because of me.”

“This is my choice.” He presses his lips to her palm.

Tears fill her eyes, but she swipes them away, refusing to let them fall. Her mind spins; he’s willing to give away his chance of doing something fulfilling with his life for her. “It’s not worth it.”

He kisses her, his touch reassuring, and despite everything, she feels the truth of his words, his determination.

“It is to me.” Tangling his fingers in her hair, he drags his nose down her cheek before brushing a kiss along her jaw. When he pulls back, he looks at her with sincerity mixed with misery and adoration—a heartbreakingly beautiful combination. “I know how much you hate giving up control, but I promise it will all work out.”

She looks at him, a hollow ache in her chest. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Half an hour later, Syeda ambles through the front door dressed in workout gear and running shoes. She pauses when she spots Charlie curled up on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest.

She slips off her shoes and crosses the room. “Who do I need to fight?”

Charlie lifts her gaze; she’s been trying to watch mind-numbing reality TV since Wes left fifteen minutes ago and not think about him calling his dad. “The patriarchy.”

Sy arches a brow, folding elegantly into a pigeon stretch. “Did he hurt you?”

Charlie sits up, tugging on her bun. “No.”

“Then why do you look like someone died?”

Charlie’s horrified when the tears she’s kept at bay finally fall. She covers her face with her hands.

The couch dips, and Sy pulls her into her arms. “Oh, babes. Come here.”

She basks in the warmth and her best friend’s familiar scent—lemon verbena mixed with sweat, but not unpleasant. Her guilt flares when she realizes she hasn’t shared the details of what’s happened between her and Wes. She owes Syeda a long-overdue explanation, especially given Wes’s appearance at their door that afternoon. But it’s a testament to their friendship and Sy’s endless patience that she hasn’t probed further, allowing Charlie to explain in her own time.

Her bout of crying leaves her wrung out but a little more stable. Drawing back, she wipes her cheeks with her palms, reining in the last of her tears with a deep, steadying breath.

Sy peers at her with concern. “Is it the clinic?” Charlie already relayed the news about the fire when she arrived home a few hours earlier.

In a dull voice, she explains the board’s decision before admitting what Wes is doing.

Sy’s frown deepens, mixing with confusion. “But…why? Don’t get me wrong, what you’re doing is incredible and important, but why would Wes do that?”

Charlie’s face heats before she flashes her friend a small, rueful smile. “Because he loves me.”

Syeda listens with rapt attention as Charlie confesses to all that has transpired between her and Wes since that fateful day when she lied to Nash about sleeping with him. She gasps and laughs in all the right places and softens when Charlie tells her about Wes’s unexpected appearance at their door on New Year’s Eve. By the time Charlie arrives at Gabriel’s offer and what Wes did after he found out, Sy appears impressed.

“What’s that look for?” Charlie asks.

Her best friend shrugs. “I guess I was wrong about him. Especially if he’s willing to go back to his asshole dad.”