“I love your house,” I said, craning my head so I could catch a glimpse of the dining room and kitchen that were also off the living room.
“Ah, thanks.” Giles ran his hand along the back of his neck. “I don’t really get too many visitors. Sorry, it’s not cleaner.”
“What are you talking about? If you don’t think this is clean, then I’m glad the power was out when you came to my place yesterday,” I joked.
“The cleanliness of your apartment wasn’t exactly top of mind.” He smirked. “Let me grab the rest of your stuff.”
His words caused a stir in the pit of my stomach, and suddenly my whole body was hot at the memory of last night. How had that been just one night ago? It felt like a week ago at this point.
Wait, would we share his bed tonight? Or would he want me to sleep on the couch?
Ugh.
Dating was hard.
Giles brought in the rest of my stuff and closed the door with his foot. I watched him from my perched position on the couch, waiting to see what he would do with my black duffle. To my disappointment, he just set it down in the entryway without a second thought.
Couch it is.
Giles hovered nearby. He ran his hand across his jaw, glancing around the room.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Starving.”
“Do you like Chinese food? That’s the fastest delivery in town.”
“I’m literally already drooling at the thought of an egg roll.”
He walked into the kitchen. “What do you want?”
I called out my answer as he relayed the order to the restaurant over the phone.
“Fifteen minutes.” He re-entered the living room and tossed me his phone, which I clumsily managed to catch. “Why don’t you call your family, and I’ll head upstairs for a few and give you some privacy.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at him. “For everything.”
He bit his lip like he might have wanted to say something else, but he just turned on his heel and went upstairs.
I dialed my mom’s number as soon as he was out of sight.
“Hello?” My mom’s confused voice came through the line.
“Mom? It’s Mattie.”
“Mattie? What number are you calling from?”
I ignored her question. “Look, I don’t want you to freak out, but—”
“Ron, get in here. Something’s wrong,” my mom yelled.
“No, no. I’m fine. I just got into a small accident today.”
“Oh my god.”
“What happened?” my dad yelled in the background.
“It’s nothing. I was snowboarding an—”
