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Annalise took the bag and pulled out tissue paper, followed by what looked like a jewelry box. When she opened the box, she gasped. Inside was the most gorgeous necklace she had ever seen. Annalise ran her hand over the stone. “That’s my—”
“Your birthstone, I know. That’s why I thought of you. Well, that and the fact that it’s beautiful.”
Annalise shook her head. “It’s too much. This couldn’t have been cheap.”
Brinley waved her hand as if it was no big deal. “This is why I work all the time.”
“No, you work all the time to have money for medical school, not to waste it on me.”
“Nothing could ever be wasted on you. Plus, now whenever you wear it, you’ll think about me.”
Annalise’s heart felt like it might beat right out of her chest. Why is she so perfect? “I don’t need a piece of jewelry for that, trust me.” Annalise’s heart beat even faster when she remembered the gift she got Brinley—a gift that didn’t even come close to comparing to this necklace.
She went to the drawer where she had hidden the card and pulled it out then practically shoved it at Brinley. “This is dumb. I’m not sure why I thought it was a good gift. I can get you something else. I’m not even sure if this is something you’ll actually be interested in.”
Brinley gave her a warm smile that made her insides turn to mush. “I’m sure whatever it is, I’m going to love it.”
Annalise held her breath while Brinley read what she wrote in the card. When Brinley looked back up at her, her eyes were shiny almost as if tears were threatening to fall. “ You took off work the whole week leading up to my tes t? Just so you could take care of me?”
“Yeah. Whatever you need, I can do. I don’t want to bother you, obviously. I know you’re going to be spending every minute studying, so if you don’t want me there at all, I understand. We both know I can’t cook, but I thought I could at least pick up meals and bring them to you.”
“You don’t know how good not having to worry about cooking sounds. I’m sure that even microwaving something is going to feel like a chore between all of my studying.”
Annalise nodded, her anxiety easing up a bit. Maybe this wasn’t the worst gift in the world. “Cool. I can do that and anything else you need. That week is completely dedicated to you. I have nothing else planned so I’m good to come and go whenever you want me to.”
“Or you could just stay.” Brinley’s voice was so soft, Annalise was sure she must have misheard her.
“You want me to stay? For the whole week?”
Brinley shrugged, looking more unsure than Annalise had ever seen her. “You don’t have to. I just thought that would be easier than running back and forth.”
“Do you want me to?”
Brinley’s lips split into the softest smile. “I do. It’d be great to have company when I feel like I’m going crazy. I have to warn you that I’m sure I won’t be the easiest to deal with though. I’m going to be a combination of caffeine, takeout food, lack of sleep, and nerves all bundled into one. It’s going to be a side you’ve never seen and definitely not a good one.”
“I’m sure I’ll like any side of you.” You don’t know how much.
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
***
Spending the week with Brinley, doing nothing but taking care of her while she studied, only made Annalise like her more. Every night so far, Brinley had either passed out on top of her books or fallen asleep sitting up. Annalise would kiss her cheek and gently rock her awake, and a half-asleep Brinley would insist she wasn’t even tired and needed to keep studying. After a little bit of coaxing, Annalise was always able to get her into bed. She would fall in and snuggle up against Annalise, and Annalise would watch her sleep until her own eyes became heavy.
Wednesday night was the first night Annalise stayed over that Brinley actually chose to go to bed, but only because she read that two nights before an exam was the most important night of sleep. On Thursday morning, they woke up early and made breakfast together. Annalise offered to pick up food like she had done every other morning, but Brinley insisted on cooking, which turned into Brinley trying to teach Annalise the art of frying the perfect piece of bacon and Annalise burning half the batch. Brinley ate the burnt pieces and tried to act like she was enjoying them, but Annalise could tell she wasn’t.
After breakfast, Brinley reviewed answers from a practice test she had taken the day before while Annalise read another one of the books she had suggested. By noon, Brinley decided she had done as much as she possibly could and needed to relax.
“What do you want to do the rest of the day?” Annalise asked as they sat on the couch, Brinley’s arm around her shoulder as Annalise leaned against her as if this was something they had been doing for years.
“Nap, watch movies, and not think about the huge life-changing test I’m taking tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
They spent the rest of the day on the couch watching movie after movie, each of them dozing at different times. It didn’t matter if one, neither, or both of them were sleeping. They never once stopped holding each other close. Annalise knew exactly what Nathalie meant when she said, ‘This is all I want for the rest of my life,’ because that’s exactly how Annalise felt. The two of them didn’t have sex all week, and that didn’t matter at all. Having sex with Brinley was absolutely amazing, but she was just as happy snuggled up on the couch with her.
“You know, you don’t have to drive me to the test,” Brinley said as she got ready the next morning. “You’ve done so much for me. You deserve to go home and take care of yourself.”
“And miss out on helping you celebrate? Never!”
