“You’re very warm,” she said, yawning.
He really was. The room was very cold, but Derek was very warm. So warm.
“Sleep. And don’t pee on me,” Rutledge grumbled.
“I’m not a baby. I’m big. I don’t pee in bed!”
“Good. Now sleep.”
“You have funny hair on your chest. Shawn doesn’t have funny hair on his chest. Why?”
That gave Rutledge pause. “Sleep.”
“You don’t like me,” Emily mumbled. “You like Bee better.”
A heavy sigh. “Why do you think I like her better?”
“You gave her chocolate yesterday!”
Shawn frowned. Huh?
“Because she asked. You have to ask if you want something.”
“So if I ask, you’ll give me anything? Anything, anything?”
“If I say yes, will you stop talking and sleep?”
“Yeah!”
“Fine. What do you want?”
“I want a puppy! Black and fluffy! With a white star on its forehead!”
A pause. “Choose something else.”
“But you said anything!”
Shawn drifted back to sleep, still smiling.
* * *
“So,” Christian said, leaning back and rocking in his chair a bit. “What’s going on with you and Rutledge?”
Shawn looked up from his plate at him. “Huh?”
Christian laughed softly. “Come on. I’m not blind. It’s been going on for weeks. I thought you’d get sick of him by now, but you still look totally fucked out most of the time—”
“I don’t.”
Christian gave him a flat look.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Shawn admitted, “Yeah, all right. So what?”
Christian lifted his hands. “Hey, I’m not judging. Whatever floats your boat.” He shrugged with a crooked smile. “It’s none of my business if you have a crush on his dick.”
Shawn slumped back in his chair and looked at Christian grimly. “It might be a bit more complicated than that.” He ran a hand over his forehead, sighing. “I’m not even sure how to act around him in class anymore. It’s like my brain stops working when he’saround.” He grimaced. “I kissed him yesterday outside his office. I couldn’t help it. We were lucky it was late and no one saw us—I think.”
Christian’s eyebrows almost reached his hairline. He whistled. “Wait, are you, like, in a relationship?”
