“Is it your parents? Grandma Dorothy?”
The knot in my stomach hadn’t dulled with an hour in the gym. It intensified under Charlie’s agonized expression. I swallowed a bite of pizza, but it was a struggle. “Grandma isn’t doing so hot. They have to put her in a home. It’s why they’re selling.”
“God, Liam, I’m so sorry.
I stood, suddenly unable to sit here with her soft brown eyes looking up at me. It made me want to hold her, comfort her. Those things were alright before, but hell if I understood why they made me so damn irritable now. I couldn’t deal with any of it. I didn’t want to. “I’m gonna grab us a six pack to go with this pizza.”
She took a step back, dropped her hands When she spoke, her voice was tentative and I immediately felt like a dick. “That sounds great. We can have another movie night and veg out, okay?”
“I’ll be right back,” I told her.
The short run to the convenience store down the road allowed me to put a lid on my bullshit. She had enough on her plate without dealing with me. I’d find another job and she’d go off to wherever and things would get back to normal. They had to. By the time I got back to the duplex, I had that lid screwed on so tight I practically vibrated with it. Sitting next to her on the couch was like torture.
“Thanks for the pizza,” I told her after the movie, getting to my feet almost before the credits rolled. “Even if you’re still fucking weird for not liking mushrooms.”
She pulled a face as she picked up our empty bottles and rinsed them. “They’re so gross. I still don’t see how you eat them.”
I licked my lips. “Mmm-mmm, good,” I said.
She laughed and slapped at my shoulder. “Do you mind if I take the first shower? It’s been kind of a long day.”
“No, go right ahead. I’ve got some studying to do anyway.”
With a nod and a small smile, she turned around, then paused and turned back. “I’m here if you need me, Liam.”
I lifted a shoulder. “Thanks.”
“I’m serious. You were there for me. I want to be there for you, too,” she said.
“You don’t owe me anything, Charlie.”
“Of course I do,” she said, then disappeared into the bathroom.
I heard the shower turn on a minute later, and I took my books into my room, turning on the light beside my bed before throwing myself onto the mattress. Five minutes turned into ten, and I realized I couldn’t remember a word of what I’d read. I shrugged my shoulders, figuring it was because I wasn’t used to having someone else in the house. After nearly four years of living by myself, I’d kind of gotten used to it, even though I’d spent most of my life crammed in a house with my sisters.
The truth was, I’d never had a woman stay the night at my place before.
Charlie would hang out, but sleepovers had never been our thing.
Now I realized why.
I slammed the book closed, tossed it on the floor, and relaxed back onto my pillows. I couldn’t seem to focus, couldn’t get rid of the tension in my shoulders. It was probably because of my parents and bills.
As my thoughts drifted, I found them going to the shower, to Charlie. For a second, it occurred to me that she was naked in the house with me. I stumbled to my feet and stubbed my toe on the book. I muttered curses and kicked the book across the room. Limping, I turned in a circle and considered going back to the gym for another workout, then rejected the idea.
Instead, I hobbled to the door, pulled on my shoes with a muttered curse and went out for a jog. Everything was going to shit and all I could think about was what my best friend looked like naked.
Chapter Twelve
Charlie
The blareof my alarm woke me from a dream, a moan still clinging to my lips. My cheeks were flushed, my thighs clenched, and my hands twisted in the mangled remains of my sheets. My ears rang, but it wasn't from the drone of the alarm. I'd been holding my breath and it came out in one long exhalation, lungs burning with the effort to draw new air in. Spots studded my vision.
"Jesus Christ," I managed as I sat up, carefully releasing my strangle-hold on the sheets.
With numb hands, I fumbled with my touch screen until I silenced the alarm. But it wasn't the sound replaying in my brain. It was the sound of Liam's groans echoing in my ear from the sordid dream I'd been torn from.
This was bad.
