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“What’s bringing up this trip down memory lane? It’s been, what, three years since we did that?”
“Yep . . . too long.”
My doorbell rang, and I stood quickly, my brow pinching together as I took quiet steps out of my bedroom.
“Um . . . there’s—”
“Are you gonna let me in?”
My heart took off, as did my feet, and I ran down my hall to the front door. Unlocking the deadbolt, I flung open the door to find Eli standing there—phone between his ear and shoulder, two shakes in hand, and wearing an old shirt and mesh nylon shorts.
“Chocolate, peanut butter for my wingman,” he said softly as he handed me one of the shakes.
&n
bsp; I stood there smiling and staring at the cup like he’d just given me something so precious.
“So I only seem to have insomnia when my best friend isn’t sleeping beside me,” Eli hinted with a shameless grin.
“I have the pillows propped up just the way you hate them,” I offered, still speaking into the phone.
His blue eyes darkened, and voice dropped low. “That sounds perfect.”
“Did you want to come in?”
He simply nodded, and everything in me heated. But I knew what this meant for him, and I knew what he was doing. I knew Eli far too well for me not to know.
He was making up for last weekend, tomorrow was Sunday morning at my place, and this way he was assuring me that he would be here.
He was apologizing for tonight.
And he was letting me know I was still number one for him.
If only he knew I wanted to be number one for an entirely different reason. If only he knew that having him protect me from someone tonight had made my week. If only he knew that him showing up right now—like this—meant the world to me.
Stepping back, I waited until he was inside before ending the call, and closed and locked the door behind him. I followed him down the hall and into my bedroom before climbing onto my bed. Watching as he moved around my bedroom, I tried not to let him see how much I loved this. The simplest acts, but acts I wanted with him every night. Flipping off the light, turning on the TV to find a movie for us to watch, and pulling his shirt off before he slid into bed next to me.
Holding his arm out for me to curl under, he pulled me in close as he got settled up against the pillows.
“Switch.”
I handed him my cup and took his from him before taking a sip. “Chocolate, banana?” He made an affirmative noise, and once he stopped moving, I got comfortable against him and sighed. “Thanks, friend.”
“Anytime, wingman.”
August 5, 2013
Eli
JASON SWUNG INTO my office and slapped his hand on the door. “Lunch?”
“Uh . . . yeah. Just let me send this last thing . . . done. Where are we going?”
“Deli around the corner? I can’t be gone long, I’m slammed with everyone taking their vacations.”
“Sure, are the girls coming?” I asked distractedly as I loosened my tie and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt.
“Nah, you’ll just have to deal with looking at my beautiful face.”
