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Spying my Elite duffle by the door, I went to it, rummaging around until I found another pair of AirPods. After pushing them into my ears, I palmed my phone and sagged when the familiar ASMR started playing, effectively muffling everything else.
Sweet relief flooded over me, and I exhaled. Tingles raced across my scalp, and I dropped back onto the bed, pulling my legs up to rip the socks off and toss them across the room.
I should have let Jamie take me sheet shopping.
Glancing at the window, I noted the dark sky beyond it and then looked down at my watch. It was late, but a lot of those big box stores were open all the time, right?
If you go get sheets now, then you won’t be able to go with Arsen tomorrow.
I wanted to go with Arsen. So much. But I wasn’t sure I could spend the entire night like this.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Somehow, the faint sound made it past the ASMR playing in my ear, so I squeezed my eyes shut and rolled onto my side, curling myself onto the tiny blankets.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I shot into a sitting position, hands fisted against the mattress as I gazed around the room with a rising temper. A flash of movement outside the window made me do a double take. The pads of four fingers tapped on the glass but this time so soft no sound could be heard.
Against the dark night, the silver band around one of his fingers glinted, and my stomach dropped, knowing exactly who it was.
Excitement crackled along my already frazzled nerves, and my breath shuddered, reflecting the uneven beat of my heart. My toes curled under the second my bare feet hit the damnable carpet but then flattened back out so I could tiptoe over to the glass.
The window was barely cracked when I started talking. “Arsen? What are you doing? How the hell did you get up here?”
My bedroom was on the second floor, too far for him to just stand beneath and knock.
“Hey, baby.” The casual greeting made my stomach dip, and obvious giddiness swept down the length of my spine.
God, I love the sound of his voice.
“I decided waiting until five tomorrow was just too long.”
He was still dressed in those plaid chinos and black NO REQUESTS shirt from earlier. The stripes down the outside of his legs were bright against the night, making his legs look even longer than usual. The white-and-red trainers were braced on the rough shingles of the roof.
“You climbed onto the roof over the front door?” I asked, astounded.
“It’s right under your window,” he explained as though it made perfect sense. Like it took no effort at all.
“We have a front door,” I pointed out.
“Where’s the fun in that?” His voice was playful, his orneriness punctuated by the white of his smile.
He was charming. I was undoubtedly charmed.
“I brought you a present,” he said when I just stood there staring. The rustle of a bag stole my attention as he held it up between us. It was huge and just further proof of how polarizing he was to me because I hadn’t even noticed the giant white bag until he told me it was there.
“That’s for me?” I asked, dividing my stare between him and his offering. “What is it?”
“How about you let me in and find out?”
I pushed the window up the rest of the way and stepped back, as he tossed the bag inside. Even though I was curious, my attention stayed with him instead of the gift, making me realize it didn’t matter what he could have bought because his presence was the thing I wanted most.
The second he straightened to his full height, the urge to rush him created a tugging sensation in the middle of my chest, and denying it actually ached. The bottoms of my feet burned, my skin screaming against the carpet.
“Come here,” he cajoled, lifting his arms and gesturing with his fingers.
