My head whipped back to the door as if I’d be able to see him through it. Turning the lock as quietly as I could, I pulled it open, pressing a finger to my lips. Rugsy was bound to go off if he spoke, and the last thing I wanted was to wake Jamie again.
He nodded in understanding and stepped inside. He’d made the time to go home and change into his hoodie and sweats before coming over, and my imagination went wild with all the reasons he might have had to change clothes.
Knowing he’d follow, I made for my room. I crawled across my bed, slipping my arms under the comforter to uncover my lazy guard dog, petting her head as I let her see Garrett so she wouldn’t bark.
He reached an arm back, pulling his hoodie over his head and revealing a plain white shirt underneath. He tossed it over the bottom of the bed before coming to sit next to me, graciously giving Rug some scratches.
“You two okay?”
I gave him a side-eye look. “That depends on what you’re about to tell me.” His expression flattened, and I sighed, flopping back on a pillow. “We’re fine.”
He rubbed his jaw, looking back at my prostrate form. “I’m glad. I’ve been worried about him.”
I rolled to my side, “My instinct is to apologize for worrying you, but I won’t.” He shook his head and opted not to answer. “He told me you were the first person he thought of to call.”
He cleared his throat, staring at the wall. “I’m glad he trusted me enough to call but fuck if it didn’t destroy me. For the rest of my life, I will never forget the way that boy’s voice shook as he begged me to save you.”
Jesus. I patted the spot next to me, scooting over so he had room to lie down. Our knees brushed as he got settled and faced me, curling an arm under his head.
“I was so goddamn scared of how I was going to find you, Maddie.”
“Can I apologize now?” I asked, snuggling deeper into my pillow. When I peeked up, he was glaring at me.
“Then will you tell me where you went?”
“I told you he’s not your concern, Madison.”
Oh, we were back to Madison, were we? Someone really didn’t want me bringing it up. “Will you at least tell me if I need to provide you with an alibi? I’m not the best liar under pressure. I’ll need to practice my statement.”
He flicked me in the nose. “And what will you tell them we were busy doing at midnight?”
My pulse quickened, and I darted my tongue out to lick my lips, suddenly feeling parched. His eyes lowered, and his stare went straight to my core, turning the switch to ON.
God, it’d been way too long since I’d had a release. I needed him to quit looking at me that way or this was going to get really awkward really fast.
“Playing bingo.”
“My favorite nighttime activity.”
I chuckled, turning to roll on my back and stare up at the ceiling. I couldn’t keep looking at him lying there next to me. It was making my heart do stupid things. Like telling me it wanted to see him there every day, smirking at me even when I had bad breath and a frizzy morning mane.
I dove my feet under the covers to get more comfortable and enjoy the few hours I still had before work. Yawning through the words, I closed my eyes and asked, “So, do you need an alibi?”
He grunted. “Ask me in the morning.”
Chapter Nineteen
I woke up to something poking me. Again. I groaned, cracking an eye open before quickly shutting it again. It was still dark, so my alarm shouldn’t be close to going off yet.
I sighed, determined to enjoy the last few moments of sleep, but that same sensation prodded me again.
Something was digging into my back. Rugsy often laid against me, but she typically aimed for my legs, and this didn’t feel like her. I slowly reached my arm back, wondering if maybe I’d fallen asleep with my laptop still on the bed again.
My hand hit something warm and hard. And slightly rounded? What in the world? I twisted, sliding my hand up in an attempt figure out what it was I’d almost fallen asleep on.
“Something in particular you’re searching for?” A rough, raspy voice asked, thick with sleep.
I dug my nails into the limb I was gripping, my eyes shooting open. A leg. I was touching a leg. A knee, to be exact, and it did not belong to me.
Inhaling sharply, the previous hours came flying back to me in excruciatingly vivid colors. Aaron coming over, Garrett disposing of him or who even knew what, and lying in bed together.
Ask me in the morning.
Holy hell, he’d stayed the night. Knowingly and purposefully stayed. Well, more like just a couple hours, but still, he’d come in with the intention of falling asleep.
Oh Lord, I needed to slow my roll. He was just being a friend. A friend who sacrificed his entire night to help me and be with me, but still. Just a friend.
I eased onto my opposing shoulder, painfully aware of every morning I’d ever woken up and how much of a zombie I always looked. He was sure to be tucking tail and ditching soon. Then again, he’d already seen me slick faced and puking, so who knew.
The first thing I saw as I finished my snail-like turn was an arm resting on top of the comforter an inch away from my own. My eyes traveled up its length, noticing with a mixture of both disappointment and relief that he was still wearing his shirt.
I continued my perusal, stopping at the scruffy jaw and lazy grin that greeted me. The dimples peeking out to say hello sent my heart aflutter, but it was the intense gaze, tracing every line of my face, that was going to be the death of me.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning,” I whispered. “What time is it?”
“About five.”
Good, I still had an hour before I needed to get ready for work. Thank God I was used to running on little sleep. Before thinking better of it, I heaved a sigh, puffing my cheeks out.
The moment the air left my mouth, I froze in horror, yanking the comforter up to cover my face. Morning breath was no one’s friend on a good day, but I’d fallen asleep without even brushing my teeth.
Oh, hell no.
I lunged up, knocking into his bent knees and practically climbing over him to reach the edge and jump off. Dashing into the bathroom with nothing but a quick, “I’ll be right back,” thrown his way, I shut the door on his responding chuckle.
Feeling minimally better after I’d brushed my teeth, I gathered my hair in a messy bun. Garrett was in my bed. Jamie could see him and would know he’d stayed over. I covered my face with my hands, what had I gotten myself into?
I splashed water on my face, giving myself a mental pep talk. I could do this. I just needed to get rid of him before Jamie got up. I opened the door, preparing myself for the eye candy sight of Garrett lounging in my bed, but the spot he’d been in was empty.
“Feel better?”
I jumped, twisting to see him standing near the edge of the bed, holding his phone. Blushing ten shades of red, I mumbled out a yes, and made my way past him to find a clean sweater.
He grabbed my wrist as I passed, twisting me to face him. His fingers brushed along the curve of my jaw, and my eyes widened, my pulse echoing in my ears. He leaned down, placing his mouth above the shell of my ear. “Then can I kiss you now?”
Like a deer in headlights, I stared up at him, slack jawed and completely caught off guard. “You want to kiss me?”
“I wanted to kiss you the moment I opened my eyes and had to bat your wild hair out of my face to see you snoring beside me.”
But why? Literally nothing he’d just said was attractive. He tilted his head to the side, his tongue pushing into the inside of his cheek, and I realized I’d voiced my question out loud.
“It baffles me how a woman as beautiful and amazing as you can see herself in such poor light.”
I frowned. I liked to think of myself as a good mom, and I definitely worked hard, but beautiful and amazing were pushing it.
His gaze intensified, hardening with his determination to prove whatever he saw on my face, wrong. “Have you never woken up next to a man who couldn’t wait to press his lips to yours? Where just the sight of you next to him was driving him wild?”