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“Jealous of my grandmother now, are you?” I tease.
But his eyes soften as he looks at me through the screen. “Baby, I’m jealous of anyone who gets to be around you while I can’t be.”
My breathing stutters, the same way it always does when he says things like that. It’s like he has direct access to all my heartstrings, and he’s wrapping each one of them around his finger.
“I miss you,” I say honestly.
A small smile spreads across his face. “I miss you, too.”
We both lie there, just staring at each other the only way we can right now. It’s not nearly close enough, but it’s better than not being able to see him at all. I’m starting to think maybe Mali has a point.
“Is it a red flag how codependent we are?” I question.
He barely considers it for a second. “Not to me.”
Well, that’s all that matters.
The two of us stay on Facetime—not really saying much but both needing to know the other is there—and I manage to finally doze off to the sound of his breathing.
SATURDAY MORNINGS ARE SUPPOSEDto be the one morning I have to sleep in. With the guys having an early practice, it pushes my lessons back by at least two extra hours. During the playoffs, it’s even longer. But no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to stay asleep once the sun peeks above the horizon.
It's like my body knows that Hayes isn’t beside me.
So, after a quick shower and a stop for donuts, I head straight for his house. I’m half expecting him to still be asleep when I get there. Waking up early never has been his thing. But to my surprise, I open the door to find him in the kitchen, brewing a pot of coffee.
He turns to look at me, and the moment I put the box of donuts on the island, he crashes into me and wraps his arms around my body. It’s all the confirmation I needed to know that he missed me just as much as I missed him. And even with everything Mali has been saying about one night apart every now and then being healthy for couples, I don’t care enough to stop.
Being around him makes me happy. Why does that have to be a bad thing?
“I brought donuts,” I say, not moving.
He breathes me in and kisses the top of my head. “I see that. Thank you.”
“I don’t want to let go yet though.”
“Good,” he answers through a chuckle. “Because I don’t either.”
We stay there, sharing lazy kisses and just being close until the coffee pot beeps, signaling it’s done. Only then do we let go, but the way he keeps glancing over at me tells me he hasn’t had enough yet.
I hop up onto the island and pull a donut out of the box, while Hayes sits on one of the barstools. He looks up at me with that perfect smirk on his face, and I just know he’s thinking about how he ate me out in this very spot. My thighs press together involuntarily at the memory.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” he tells me as he grabs his own donut.
“No?”
“Nope, and it’s all your fault.”
A frown forces its way through. “Myfault?”
He takes a bite and nods. “Mm-hm. So, I’m going to need you to make arrangements to be here every night for the foreseeable future.” My jaw falls open as I stare at him. “May as well bring all your shit with you, too. Thanks.”
I sit here, gaping at him and wondering if I heard him wrong. The words that just came out of his mouth were spoken with such casualness that you would think we were talking about what we have planned today. Not some major life choice.
When he notices I haven’t said anything, he looks up at me. “What?”
“D-did you just ask me to move in with you?”
“No,” he says with a mouthful of donut, and my stomach drops for a second. “Itoldyou to move in with me. There’s a difference.”
