“Yeah. We have that in common.”
I nodded. “You know, it’s good that we slowed down. Otherwise, this would be over way too quickly.”
“Ah, well.” He rubbed his neck. “That was definitely an option.”
“Really? You were that into it?”
“Have I ever not been into anything with you?”
“Good point.” I propped my head on my knees. “Yousolike me.”
“You’re so annoying,” he muttered. “But I do.”
“I’ll let you cool off, old man. We do have a movie to watch after all.” I looked back at the screen. “Though, I have no idea what’s happening.”
“I ... wasn’t watching it at all.”
“Maybe we should start it from the top.” I reached for the remote and restarted the movie, giving Theo a smile while I did so.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him take in a deep breath and let it out, his shoulders loosening slightly.
As much as I hadn’t planned on watching the movie, I enjoyed it once I focused on it. Theo must have been feeling better, because he talked through most of it. Not about us, but little things he noticed about what was happening on screen.
I enjoyed every second of it.
But by the time the credits were rolling, my eyelids were heavy, and Theo had yawned five times in the span of ten minutes.
“You know,” I began, “I did say the commute was closer. You could stay at my place and take advantage of that. Sleeping only, of course.”
His eyes flicked to me and then back to the TV. “It does sound nice, but I have to get up at four thirty.”
I cringed. “Oh my God. How do you live?”
“I do it sleep-deprived.”
“Well, I won’t be waking up, but you’re still welcome to stay.”
My chest ached for him to, but I would never say that out loud. I had a thing about the idea of sharing a bed with someone, which is why it appeared in every single one of my books.
After living a lonely existence, the idea of someone holding me as I fell asleep sounded heavenly. To this day, as I drifted off, I would cuddle up with one of my pillows and pretend it was a person who cared about me.
Still, tonight had taught me there were things Theo wasn’t ready for, and I would wait. I would handle it if he didn’t even want that.
“I’ll stay, but ... I don’t know how this’ll go. I’ve never done that.”
“Really?”
“Back when I did some sleeping around, I was too busy to even think about staying the night. Technically, I still am, but it’s you who’s asking.”
His words hit me right in the chest. I had to take a shaky breath before answering.
“I’m up for anything.”
“Even if I get into your space?”
My heart skipped a beat. “Is that an option?”
“It might be. Anything can happen and you might not like waking up with someone next to you.”
