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Movement behind me pulls me out of my thoughts. Since I’m mildly paranoid right now, I turn quickly to investigate the sound.
Killian is standing in the open doorway to his bedroom. A gray towel is draped low on his hips and his chest is bare. He’s leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed, and I’m distracted enough by the sight of him that Toast gets offended and climbs off my lap.
“Hi,” I say.
Killian smirks. “Hi,” he returns, a touch mockingly. “You ready for bed?”
I nod, reaching over to give Toast one final pet before I get off the couch and join Killian in his room.
I’m nervous in a different way about tonight. Last night when I went to bed with him, it was after an orgasm, so I was feeling pretty good. It also wasn’t planned so far in advance. It wasn’t supposed to be the first night of many. He was a literal stranger, and now only a day later, I’m practically living with the guy.
Killian turns off the living room light and closes the door. I’m surprised since he didn’t close it last night, but he probably doesn’t want Toast to wander in during the night.
At least with the door closed, I won’t be convinced there’s a serial killer lurking in the shadows.
His bedroom is completely dark, and my eyes haven’t adjusted yet. I can’t see him, but I hear him toss his towel across the room and my mind snaps to the box of condoms he just bought at the gas station.
Given my reluctance to cross that road with anyone up to this point, I’m a little unsure, but as someone who also values being prepared, I tell myself his restock may have little to do with expectations of sex from me specifically.
Strangely, that doesn’t make me feel better.
I hear Killian climb on the bed, so I take small steps toward it until I can put a hand on the mattress to feel where I am. I’m sleeping in panties and one of his T-shirts again. I have my own pajamas in my suitcase, but before he took a shower, he tossed me one of his shirts and told me if I’m committed to sleeping in clothes to wear that.
I’m a good listener.
I also like wearing his shirts. They smell like him.
The whole bed smells like him, and as I get comfortable on my side, I sigh with pleasure over the fact. I remember last night after all the excitement when he snuggled me, and I wonder—
I don’t wonder for long. As soon as I get comfortable, Killian slides a strong arm under my body and pulls me to his side of the bed.
“Get over here, you.”
I smile as his face disappears in the crook of my neck. “It’s late,” I say mildly. “We need to sleep.”
“We will,” he murmurs against my neck. He leaves a soft, lingering kiss there that sends a current of awareness through my entire body, but instead of stoking any fires, he eases back. “I just wanted you close.”
My heart contracts hearing that, and I smile up at him. On impulse, I lean in and give him a quick kiss on the jaw, too. “I think I like you, Killian Walsh.”
My eyes have adjusted to the dark enough for me to make out the smirk on his handsome face. “I think I like you, too.”
___
It feels like more than a weekend has passed since I last set foot on this campus.
When I left Thursday, I wasn’t guarded and paranoid. Dread didn’t quicken my steps every time I rounded a corner or another student passed me too abruptly.
It’s a busy Monday morning, so it’s happening a lot. My hypervigilance is slowing me down as my energy is split between making my way to cellular biology and molecular medicine and taking inventory of every single person I see, then cross referencing them with that stupid basement and making sure none of them match.
I nearly spill my coffee as the tall, rude pre-med guy who sits in the row in front of me brushes past me.
“Jesus, the sidewalk is wide enough to give people space,” I mutter.
He’s long gone and doesn’t hear me.
I sigh, speeding up to follow him since I know we’re going to the same place. The sunny side of my brain think it’s safer to follow him since if someone did try to ambush me on my way to class, I could scream for help and surely he would hear me.
The less sunny side points out that even if he did, he probably wouldn’t help.
