With the apartment finally empty, I’m forced to take in Dalton’s space. Cozy and warm, just like him. I don’t know why I’d expected a modern, colorless flat, but it being the opposite of that has me feeling fuzzy.
“You know, you hold your alcohol pretty well for being so slender… I mean you’re in great shape. You can drink-” Myeyes widen at his sudden outburst but then we’re both laughing. Clearly alcohol makes him more honest. “Sorry, maybe I don’t hold mine as well as I thought. Seriously though, you probably shouldn’t drive home. I’d offer you my bed, but I haven’t changed the sheets in a while. I can change them if you want, but I’d have to wash them first.”
“Please don’t tell me you only own one pair of bed sheets.”
“One and only,” he groans as he falls onto the couch next to me.
Stretching out gently, I try to get a feel for what he’s truly thinking in regards to me staying over. “Amanda offered me a place to sleep.” There’s a pause. “Do you think I should take her up on that offer?”
Dalton takes a deep breath. The energy that I’ve felt a few times before sizzles in anticipation for his answer. The deep hazel of his eyes lock onto me as he shifts to front me. “No, I’d rather you stay here so I’m not alone.”
“Then I’ll stay,” I say simply, curling up against his side. That same secure arm that had comforted me earlier finds its way around me. This time, it stays put. As sleep’s pull drags me under, I feel a gentle kiss on my head and another arm wraps around my front.
Despite the danger in the heat of his touch, it’s the safest I’ve felt in a long time.
Chapter 20
Dalton
IF SOMEONE HAD asked me yesterday if I’d be spending Christmas Day alone, I would have probably told them yes. This morning, I woke up to find that Raleigh had stayed. I suppose it still remains to be seen if I will be spending the holiday alone as Raleigh’s just now starting to stir on my couch, and she hasn’t officially said she’ll stay.
Quietly bringing down two coffee mugs from the overhang above the island I see the back of her head appear as she sits up. Her hands go to her cheeks as she takes in the room around her. When she finally turns toward the kitchen she raises a hand in greeting and pushes the hair from her face. I raise my hand back, and debate whether I should tell her that I definitely was not watching her sleep as I started the coffee this morning. She doesn’t question me. Rising from the couch, she quickly swoops up the pile of sweatpants and t-shirt I’d put on the coffee table.I was hoping she wouldn’t bolt out of the apartment first thing this morning and that hope is fulfilled.
As she makes her way toward the bathroom, I make sure there’s a fresh cup of coffee at a place made for her at the kitchen table. I took it upon myself to make breakfast, just an omelet, but in all my days of knowing Raleigh, I’ve never seen her eat a big meal.
As I fold the egg over, Raleigh pads her way into the kitchen wearing Christmas stockings I hadn’t noticed yesterday. “Merry Christmas,” I say over my shoulder, not wanting to seem too keen. Though, all I want to do is look at her in my clothes with her messy hair.
“Merry Christmas,” she mumbles back, clearly still not fully awake. “Thanks for the change of clothes.” She thumps down into her hardback chair and pulls her legs to her chest. “And for the coffee.” Turning with her omelet on the spatula, I slide it onto her plate. “And breakfast…”
“Plenty more Christmas gifts this morning if you hang out with me today.”
“I don’t take kindly to bribes.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “Besides, it'd be rude to accept anything else since I didn’t bring you anything.” She lets out a nervous breath as I take the chair across from her.
“Trust me, your presence is more than enough.”
She smiles at that. With a playful swipe of her hair she pushes it back behind her ear and then digs into her omelet.
Our shared breakfast is easier than it should be. Raleigh and I eat our fill and sip our drinks in the aura of the radio. Raleigh receives a few texts throughout the meal. She tells me they’re from Mae, but I’m not so sure because she doesn’t light up as she usually does when it’s Mae contacting her.
My own phone ringing startles the both of us. “It’s my parents,” I say with a laugh. The two retired to Florida yearsago and they FaceTime me every year, or “Face Call” as they’ve named it.
Raleigh seems unfazed as I answer and am met with the two of them yelling, “Merry Christmas!” My mother goes on about their retirement community and how Sandra had the audacity to ride her golf cart through the lawn again. As the story drones on, my eyes flick over the screen to find Raleigh staring at me with a lopsided smirk on her face. I’m glad I could pull a smile out of her, even if it's from the humiliation of my parents.
“Son, we know you’ll be over at Dustin’s later so we’ll give you a longer call then,” my dad says with that same crinkle in his eye from my childhood.
“Yes dear, we hope you have a relaxing morning, and we’ll call you later. If you get lonely, you call us right back.”
“I will, Mom.”
Raleigh’s phone buzzes again, and this time she outright frowns. Before she can get up to gather her things and leave, I hurry through my goodbyes and press to end the call. I catch Raleigh by the hand right in time.
“I should really be leaving,” she says. I swear there’s a crack in her voice. I don’t want to press, but I don’t think I can handle her being sad, not on Christmas.
“Raleigh, I’ve got to ask . . .”
She tenses up before I’ve asked anything of her, but in her usual bravery, she squeezes my hand and steps back toward her chair. Pulling her hand away she crosses her arms. “What do you have to ask?”
A million questions cross my mind about her, her ex, her piano playing prowess and the performance she put on last night. I want to know everything about her, but in this moment, when I look into her eyes, all I see is hurt, and I want it to go away. “I just want to know if you’re happy. And if you’re not, if there’s anything I can do to help.”
