I must take too long to answer, because he says, “We just gave you two orgasms, and I don’t think I’m wrong to suspect it was the first time someone else has done that for you. It feels kind of shitty to just roll over and go to sleep after that. I want you to feel cared for.” I open my mouth to protest that we’re not dating, it’s not his job to make me feel that way, but he seems to anticipate this because he says, “I’m not trying to act boyfriend-y, or anything. You’ve made it clear you don’t want that, and I will respect it. But I think you deserve to be held, and I’d like to hold you.”
That’s … actually really sweet. And even though he says he’d like to do this, I know that if I say no, he’ll accept that. Which makes me not want to say no. “Okay.”
I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “Come here,” and pulls me across the gap between us, turning me so my back is against his chest, until I’m ensconced in his arms. “Good night.”
“Good night,” I reply, relaxing into him. I didn’t think I would like this. So much touching, and it seemed like not nearly enough space to sleep, but before I know it, the dark and quiet soothe me into sleep.
Chapter Eleven
The room is still dark when I wake up, and this bed is super comfy, nothing like the bed back in my dorm. I should get up, but I feel like I could sleep forever.
I roll over to ask Felix if he’s awake, but the words die on my tongue. The bed next to me is made up as if no one had slept on that side of the bed all night. Well, that answers that. I’m certain I fell asleep in his arms last night, so he’s obviously just already up.
Slipping out of bed, I peek into the hall. I don’t see any of the other guys, so I tiptoe across the hall and brush my teeth. We may have gotten intimate last night, but there’s a limit to intimacy and avoidable morning breath is it.
As I brush, I wonder what their morning routine is. Are they all early risers, or just Felix? Are they still in pajamas? Are they itching to drive me back home so they can return to their routine undisturbed?
There’s only one way to find out.
Quietly, I slip down the stairs. I don’t want to draw attention to myself. As soon as I’m near the foot of the stairs though, the most wonderful smell comes wafting through the hall. Coffee. I follow it to the kitchen and peek through the doorway.
Lukas spots me first. “Good morning,” he says, coming over to plant a quick, hard kiss on my lips before pulling me into the room.
I’m definitely glad I brushed my teeth now.
“I should go back upstairs and change.” They’re all in normal day clothes, sweaters and jeans, and now I feel completely underdressed. I do have a fresh outfit I’d packed in my overnight bag because I hadn’t wanted anyone to see me come home in the same clothes and think I’m doing the walk of shame.
“Later,” says Sebastian setting out the plates at the kitchen table, where they’ve squeezed a folding chair in to accommodate having an extra person. “Breakfast is ready. The eggs will get cold.”
“Yeah, and you look cute in your pajamas,” agrees Elliot.
“The fabric of her sleep pants is soft too,” says Felix. And when the others raise their eyebrows at him, he adds, “We cuddled last night. It wasn’t on her to-do list, but I felt it should be.”
The rest of the team nod in agreement as they start passing the plates of eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit around the table for everyone to serve themselves.
“Did you sleep well last night?” Elliot asks me. “If Felix’s bed wasn’t comfortable enough for you, you can pick a different bed to sleep in next time.”
“True, we’ll have to start a rotation,” agrees Sebastian.
“I slept fine.” I’m not sure what the point of asking me was for if they’re just going to start a rotation anyway. I haven’t even agreed to a next time yet. Sleeping over regularly feels awfully relationship-y.
“We can put it in our shared calendar so we don’t get it confused with the rotation of who gets to sit by her,” adds Elliot. “Or any other rotations.”
“There’s a calendar for who gets to sit by me?” I do love a good calendar, but this seems extreme.
“Of course,” says Sebastian. “Text us your email address and we’ll add you to it.”
“It’s not just for that, though. It makes it easier to keep track of all of our classes, poker nights, appointments, that sort of thing. It can be hard to maintain it in our heads when there are five of us to keep track of,” explains Lukas.
“Four,” I correct automatically.
“What?” asks Lukas.
“There are four of you.” These guys are literal math geeks. How could they miscount?
“Oh, yeah.” Lukas glances around the table. “Four. Of course.”
Yikes. Time to change the subject.
