“They do look happy. Thank you.” She gave him a small smile. At least he felt like he was doing something to make up for being such an ass last time they were together.
“I also got dinner.” She sat up in bed. He handed her a lap desk he found on the floor. He set out chicken nuggets, waffle fries, and her Oreo shake on it. He took off his shoes and sat facing her on the end of the bed.
“Doesn’t the bar open soon?” Astrid asked, nibbling on her chicken.
“Andrea can handle it. There’s not a game tonight, so it should be pretty quiet.”
Parker had started scheduling Astrid during the week on game nights since the aa baseball team season was in full swing. They were out of town this week, so he wasn’t too worried about Andrea becoming overwhelmed.
“Parker, you don’t have to stay. I know you need to be at the bar.” He ignored her as he gathered up her trash. He carried the trash into the kitchen and put the lavender heating pad in the microwave.
When the jet engine wound down, he walked with it back to Astrid’s bedroom. He studied the small bed for a moment. Finally, he met her eyes taking in how tired she looked.
“I’m staying,” he growled. “Now, sit up.” She rolled her eyes but complied. He slid onto the bed behind her. Leaning Astrid back against his chest, he handed her the remote control for her small TV.
“Find something for us to watch. When you’re ready, I have a painkiller that’s guaranteed to knock you on your ass without killing you. I think it won’t anyway, no promises.” With a sigh, she snuggled in against him. To his surprise, she picked something a little more manly to watch this time.
“Can I take it now?” she asked. He fished the bag out of his front pocket. He pulled one of the pills out and handed it to her. She looked up at him over her shoulder. “In case I’m too gone to say it later, thank you.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her on the top of her head. Within fifteen minutes she had fallen asleep. He eased the remote out of her hand. He gently laid her down when he was certain she was truly gone.
It took him less than half an hour to clean up the kitchen. He washed every dish, including the ones she had in her room. He watched the TV in the living area for a while with her door cracked so he could hear if she needed anything.
Finally, when he couldn’t stay awake any longer, he took off his shorts and T-shirt and slid onto the bed behind her. He pulled her against him with his chest to her back. He placed a hand over the heating pad to hold it against her.
She moaned as she shifted against him, trying to get closer. Resting her head on his bicep, he listened as her breathing evened out again. He had done everything he could think of to make her more comfortable. With any luck, she would wake up tomorrow feeling better. If not, he would just start over.
* * *
Astrid woke up feeling better than she had yesterday. She was snuggled into her bed with something warm wrapped around her. Wait, she recognized that soft snore coming from behind her. Parker. Had he spent the entire night here?
As much as she wanted to stay right where she was, Astrid needed the bathroom. Badly. She had finished off the entire cookie shake last night but didn’t stay awake long enough to go one last time. Easing out from under him, she quickly made her way to the bathroom.
Returning to the bedroom, she stopped a moment to take him in. The sheet had been shoved down to his waist and he had one leg kicked out from underneath. There was so much glorious muscle and miles of tempting ink showing. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to trace them with her tongue or color them with sharpies.
“It’s too early. Come back to bed,” he moaned, holding the sheet open for her. With a shrug, she climbed back onto the bed. Pulling the sheet back up over them, Parker settled her against his body before starting to snore again. Astrid fell back asleep within minutes as well.
The next time she woke up, she was on her side, cradled under his chin. He had kicked all of the covers off of them this time, but when she lay up against him, it was like having her own personal full-body heating pad.
“Parker,” she whispered. Her bed was tiny, so she couldn’t go too far, but he really was warm. He pulled her closer and wrapped his leg over her thigh, pinning her to his body.
The sometimes grouchy, sometimes charming bartender was a cuddler. Okay, she might have had an inkling since he was always touching her when she was near him. She lasted like this until she started to feel the sweat running down between her breasts.
“Parker,” she said a little louder this time. With a start, he turned her loose, trying to sit up in the bed. He fell off the side onto the floor. “Are you okay?” Astrid asked, leaning over the side. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
“Have I mentioned how much I hate your apartment?” he asked.
“A time or two.” He looked over at her with a scowl. She couldn’t help but smile back at him. He made no effort to move, so she lay down on her stomach to watch him.
“How are you feeling? You had me worried when I didn’t hear from you. You always respond. Even when I act like a complete ass.”
“Much better. I think I might live.” She watched him for a few minutes as he lay on the floor. “I have endometriosis. It means I have cysts on my ovaries. The pain is mostly controlled but every three months it feels like my insides are being ripped apart.” Parker lay perfectly still, listening, his eyebrows knitted together in concern.
“I never tell anyone about it. But, after everything I put you through last night, you deserve to know.”
“Okay,” he answered. Astrid wished she had a way to see what was circulating in his beautiful head right now. It looked like he was trying to decide what an appropriate response would be. No one ever knew what to say after hearing about it, which was part of the reason only a very small group of people knew. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
