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Trace nods with a smile and then disappears into his bathroom. I leave for the guest bathroom, brushing my teeth while I’m in there, and still manage to make it back and into his bed before he walks out. He falters for a moment when he sees me lying in his bed. I opted for the side opposite of the nightstand. When he gets in after turning off the light, there’s plenty of space between us. I’m in the center of the right side, not too far away and not too close in case he wishes for some distance.
There’s silence for only a second before I feel his warm hand on my hip as he says, “I’ve already held you once tonight. Might as well do it again.”
A smile pops onto my face. I scoot closer until my head is resting on Trace’s arm, his other is draped over my waist, and only an inch or two between us. “I panicked over seeing a new therapist,” I blurt out. “I know I need to see someone, but you’re the only one I’ve had and you were really good. I couldn’t stop thinking about what if she sucks or I don’t like her, things like that. Her being late didn’t help.”
“Sorry; she forgot she had an appointment. Are you going to reschedule it? I think you’ll like Mrs. Rumley. She’s sweet, and everyone in the department highly respects her.”
“I’ll reschedule.” I pause, it hitting me that he’s met Rebecca. “So, how’d it go with Rebecca?”
Trace laughs. “She’s funny. She cares and worries about you a lot.” A beat of silence. “We both do, Britt.” Then he sighs, which confuses me a little. “Let’s sleep. I’m exhausted.”
I close my eyes, the corners of my lips tipping up when he tugs me closer. They lift higher when he presses a sweet, gentle kiss to my forehead.
“Trace. Trace. Trace.” A hard pinch to my side causes my eyes to fly open. “Do you always have a death-grip on things in your sleep?” Brittany asks. My arms are indeed locked around her. “I’ve been trying to escape for an hour.”
“Sorry.” I let her go, and she rolls away from me, getting up and heading toward the bathroom. Turning, I sprawl on my stomach and try to sleep some more. I don’t know what time it is and I don’t care. It’s Saturday and I have no plans. Unfortunately, sleep isn’t going to come again. I roll over just in time to see her walk out of the bathroom. She looks as if she’s run her fingers through her hair. What throws me off kilter is the smile on her face. “You’re smiling.”
“You have a crazy case of bedhead. It’s cute.” She shrugs.
“Want some breakfast?”
Her smile falters. “Not really hungry.”
“Want to lie in bed a bit longer?”
She nods, coming over to get back in. She lies next to me on her back with her head turned toward me. “So, am I hanging out with you today?”
“If you want to.”
“Okay.” Brittany looks up at the ceiling, closing her eyes tightly.
I notice her hands moving under the covers to rest on her stomach, and I suspect she’s squeezing her wrist. Her eyes pop open when I reach across, uncurl her fingers from around her wrist, and interlock them with mine, resting them on my stomach. “Normal stuff or something specific?”
“Normal. It’s not too bad, though it’s going up a little since you’re taking away my comfort.” She squeezes my hand to make her point.
“I’ll be your comfort.” I squeeze her hand back.
She smiles, but remains silent. We lie there for about ten minutes before I realize we need to get up. If we don’t, we’ll be here for most of the day. It’s already noon.
“C’mon, Britt,” I say softly. “Come watch me cook. I’m thinking we go with pizza instead of breakfast food?”
She laughs. “What am I going to do? Watch you watch the pizza cook in the oven? And since when is pizza not breakfast food?”
I grin. “You may just be the perfect girl.”
Her morning anxiety seems to fade as the pizza cooks, but she’s still kind of quiet once we start eating.
“Want to know a secret?” I ask.
“Sure.”
“When I was younger, I wanted to be a comedian.” Brittany bursts out laughing, and it’s tough to hold back a smile. “What?”
“You tell horrible jokes, Trace! Do you remember when you tried to cheer me up that one time? The best joke you could come up with was the knock-knock joke about the banana and orange! And it took you like two minutes to think of that one to tell me!” She holds her side as she laughs. “There’s no way you could ever be a comedian.” She picks up her slice of pizza and takes a bite, still giggling under her breath.
I smile, really happy to see her laughing and eating. “Okay, so maybe it was a far-fetched dream. Your turn to tell me a secret,” I tell her before taking a bite of my own.
“Hmm,” she ponders. Brittany smiles as she lays a hand on my thigh and leans towards me. “That knock-knock joke actually made me feel better.”
