Page 288 of A Matter of Time

I nodded, smiling up at him.

“Shit.” He glowered, scooped me up, kicking the door closed behind him, and walking me to the kitchen. Once there, I was placed on the counter while he checked my lip, passed me a paper towel, and then put ice in a Ziploc bag.

“Is this really necessary?” I asked once the bag was wrapped in a dish towel.

“Just hold it on your lip,” he grumbled.

When he was done, I sat there, staring at him.

“What?” He did not sound happy.

“I was going back to your place.”

“Yeah, the note covered that.” He glowered at me.

I smiled at him before I hopped off the counter, gave him the bag of ice, and left for my bedroom to pull on a sweater as well as a belt. While I was fastening my belt buckle, he leaned into the room, holding on to the doorjamb.

“You should have woken me up. I would’ve driven you over here.”

“It’s fine.”

“I woke up and you were gone… I didn’t like it.”

“So that’s why you came? Just couldn’t wait for my return?” I teased him. “Or maybe you thought I wouldn’t show up.”

“No, I just wanted to talk to you, and I couldn’t wait.”

“Wait for what?”

He walked slowly into my bedroom. “I like your place.”

“Thanks.” I smiled at him. “It’s much bigger than the old one.”

He nodded. “So what now, J?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…was I gonna sleep over here with you? Were you planning to spend the night at my place? Were we getting dinner and then doing our own thing? I dunno what’s going on ’cause you’re not talking. I’ve told you how I want things to be, but you haven’t said anything.”

I stared into those dark, smoky-blue eyes of his.

“J?”

I took a deep breath. “I was planning to pack a bag and sleep at your place tonight, if I wouldn’t upset your morning routine too much.”

The light that came into his eyes was very satisfying. “No, you wouldn’t upset anything. That’d be great.”

“Okay.” I smiled at him. “Sit down and talk to me while I pack.”

He watched intently as I put things into my duffel, and afterward he carried it out for me as I followed him down to his car. He didn’t start the engine once we were inside, so I turned to look at him.

“What?”

“Last night you said it was just for the night. Did you mean it?”

I looked at him, studying his face. “Obviously not.”

“Don’t be funny, okay? I know this is really fast for you, so I’m trying to not push, but it’s killin’ me ’cause there’s stuff I want you to say and… I’m not sure what to do. Should I leave you alone for a little while, or… What should I do, J? Tell me what you want me to do.”