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“You saved my life; you have nothing to be sorry for.” I offer him a small smile.
“Are you hungry? Can I buy you something to eat?”
“I think you’ve done enough for one day, but thank you.”
“Come on, Willow. You have to eat. Let me feed you and take you home.”
“This is my home.” I motion to the shop. I look up at him with tears in my eyes. For the second time today, I feel the tears bubbling up.
He brings his arms up, but before touching me, he stops himself, clearly worried I won’t want him to. I take a step toward him, and he wraps his arms around me. I gladly take the comfort he offers, needing it now more than I thought. Letting the tears fall, he rubs the back of my hair. I feel safe and comfortable in the arms of this complete stranger, and as much as that scares me, the thought of being alone right now scares me even more.
When my tears dry up, Archer walks me down the sidewalk, never taking his arm from around me. I don’t ask questions, and he doesn’t explain where we’re going. A few blocks down, we come to a fancy sky rise, and a doorman opens the door for us. Archer leads me with a firm hand on the small of my back. He brings out a gold card in the elevator and swipes it against a square reader, and the doors close.
“Is this the part where you lead me to some sex dungeon?”
He laughs and shakes his head as we move up. A few floors up, the doors open into a grand entryway. He leads the way, looking back at me with his hand outstretched. I take it, smiling gratefully. This is exactly the kind of place I would assume he lived. All luxury down to the marble floors with AA engraved in the middle of the room.
“I’ll have some food brought up. Is there anything that sounds good?”
I shake my head, not having an appetite, but I’m too exhausted to protest. He seems like a guy who takes control. He leads me to the couch and sits me down before leaving my side.
“I’ll be right back.”
He glances at me in concern, and I nod. As much as I want to act tough right now, I feel like a small helpless mouse that was almost eaten by the cat. If Archer hadn’t been there at that exact moment to snatch me out of the way, would I be alive right now? The question plays over and over in my mind, adding to my shock.
“Here,” he says, handing me some folded clothes. “They’ll be too big, but at least you can be comfortable. You can have my bed, and I’ll take the couch tonight. I have an office, but there’s no bed there. We can figure out a better plan tomorrow.”
“But—”
He held up a palm. “Before you argue, please just consider it. This way, you can just crash and not have to worry about anything tonight.”
Sitting beside me, he looks so genuine that I close my mouth. Instead, I thank him and take the clothes. “Where’s your bathroom?” The thought of going to his bedroom seems intimate.
He cocks his head but says, “Last door straight down the hallway.”
“Why were you out by my shop today?” I ask over my shoulder.
My curiosity stops me from leaving. I can’t help but want to know how I got so lucky, the cynical side of me thinking it is too good to be true. Knights in shining armor don’t exist in real life. Maybe he was there after banging some prostitute in the alley, or stealing money from the local convenience store.
“Uh, I was just in the area for work and decided to walk home since I was so close. I didn’t know that was your tattoo shop until after everything happened. Glad I was there, though. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.”
I smile a thankful smile and head to the bathroom, peeling off my clothing and opting to take a quick shower, washing the grime from the day off me. Changing into the oversized pajamas, I pull my hair into a messy bun. Taking a deep breath, I look at my reflection in the large oval mirror above the counter. This has been one hell of a day.
When I return to the living room, I’m surprised to see a feast already set out on the coffee table in front of him.
“Wow. Did you order from every local restaurant?” I laugh as he continues to pull out more takeout boxes from a bag on the floor.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I thought I’d give you a few choices.”
My smile grows, and the delicious smells make my stomach rumble. Die Hard is playing on the TV, and he hands me the remote when I sit down. I don’t change the channel, and while I eat my spicy fish tacos, I tell him how much I love the movie.
He looks at me in disbelief, and we get into a debate about how I can like action movies and still have a vagina. Soon, I’m laughing so much, I almost forget about how shitty and traumatic my day was. We talk about everything from movies to music to books we’ve read and want to read. I’m surprised we have so much in common, considering how different I thought we were, but I imagine our childhoods were similar.
I don’t mention that fact, not wanting to open that particular box tonight. We keep it light and off hot topics like my tattoo parlor, or that I’m in his house. Finally, after what feels like hours of eating and talking, I yawn.
“It’s getting late. I’m sure you're exhausted. My room is down the hallway, and the door to the left is my office. I’ll crash here tonight.”
“Don’t be silly, Archer, I’m not going to take over your bed. We’re both adults perfectly capable of keeping our hands to ourselves, right?”
“What are you suggesting?” He asks with a small grin.
“Can we share your bed tonight and just sleep?”
His face sobers, and his tone is serious. “Of course,” he says.
He leads me to his bedroom and a king-size bed that feels like absolute heaven when I crawl into it. I think I even moan out loud. If I did, luckily, he didn’t hear me. The sheets are so soft, and warmth engulfs me as I snuggle between them. My eyes flutter closed, and I take a deep breath, letting it out and expelling all the bad from earlier.
When he lays down beside me, I’m almost fully asleep, but I hear him tell me to sleep well in a low husky voice, and then I’m out, dead to the world. I sleep deep and peaceful. Feeling totally safe despite everything.
