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Her head rolls to the side. Blue eyes pin me into place. “You’re asking me to spend the night in your bed?”
“To sleep, yeah.”
I stand and walk over to my suitcase, pulling out a T-shirt, boxers, and a pair of pajama pants I haven’t worn since I arrived. Supposedly, my apartment building does have air-conditioning, but it doesn’t work that well. I usually end up opening all the windows at night, the air outside cooler than inside. But if Sophia stays, sleeping naked like I typically do is not an option.
I toss the T-shirt and boxers on the bed beside her. “Let me know what you decide,” I say before heading into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed.
I’m still a little buzzed, but it’s turning into lethargy. My muscles feel like dead weight I’m dragging along, my thoughts and worries moving much slower than usual.
When I step out of the bathroom, Sophia’s wearing my clothes. The shirt dwarfs her, but she’s tall enough that the hem doesn’t totally cover the boxer briefs.
“Do you have a spare toothbrush?” Sophia asks, brushing past me to head into the open bathroom.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “Under the sink.”
I head for the bed, telling my trodden ego it’s a good thing she didn’t look the least bit affected by the sight of me shirtless.
Inviting her to stay was an impulsive decision, which I make a lot of. But I’ve never just accidentally invited a woman to sleep in the same bed as me. The only person I’ve ever shared a bed with is Tripp, and that was because our bedroom was too small for two beds. When I hit puberty, our mom turned the dining room into Tripp’s bedroom. Not like we ever sat down for any family meals anyway.
I should call my baby brother soon. Should call my mom, too, but that’s an even harder conversation to have. I haven’t been in the right mental place to speak to either of them. Tripp, because he’ll worry if I sound too pessimistic. My mom, because I’ll probably end up saying something I’ll regret. Better for both of us if I say nothing at all.
Sophia opens the bathroom door and turns out the light. I can’t see anything as my eyes adjust to the dark, just hear the soft footsteps approaching the bed. Feel the unfamiliar dip of the mattress as she slips under the covers beside me.
“A gentleman would have offered to sleep on the floor,” she tells me.
“We are on the floor,” I reply.
“A gentleman would have given me the bed.”
“I knew what you meant. I’m more confused about how I somehow gave you the impression that I’m a gentleman.”
Sophia snorts.
We lie in silence, the only sound the distant street noise filtering in through the open living room window. It grows quieter and quieter, the later it gets.
I can tell Sophia hasn’t fallen asleep. Every few minutes, she shifts, tugging the sheets with her a tiny bit. Every time, my entire body reacts, the foreign movement beside me jolting me to high alert.
“What’s wrong?” I finally ask.
“I can’t fall asleep.”
“Why not?”
“If I knew that, I’d be asleep.”
I smile into the darkness. “Well, what do you normally do when you can’t fall asleep? Count sheep?”
“No.”
“Drink tea? Breathing techniques? Listen to music? Shot of vodka?”
“I make myself come.”
I choke a little. On spit, I guess. That wasn’t at all what I had expected her to say.
She exhales. “Never mind. Forget I said that.”
That’ll be fucking impossible.
