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And last, but certainly not least, the outrageously expensive snail mucin masks she adores are spread out on the bed.
Who would spend fifty dollars on one packet of snail goop?
Ah, who am I kidding? If she wanted to swipe my credit card for llama spit eye cream that cost a thousand dollars, I’d buy her as many bottles as her little heart desired.
I cross the hallway and stroll back into her room again before stripping the covers off her curled-up body.
“Go away,” she sighs, yanking one of the pillows over her face and scrunching into an even tighter ball.
“Come on, baby, get up.”
“Please just let me sulk.” She peeks over the pillow, her eyes red and puffy.
The sight of her like this sparks visceral anger in my blood. I hate that someone hurtmy girl.
“You can sulk all you want, but you’re not doing it alone.” I pull her warm body into my arms and lift her off the bed.
Lily doesn’t even try to resist. No protests. No pounding fists on my chest. No biting.
This is bad.
We enter my room, and Lily opens her eyes, peeking around the little sanctuary. “What’s all this?”
“A distraction.” I set Lily on the bed and swiftly collect the remaining blankets and pillows out of her room. I return before she thinks of an excuse to escape my surprise. “You said you’ve been wanting to spend the night in bed eating ramen and snacks, so here we are.”
“That was months ago.” Her voice is soft and gentle.
“Well, if I remember correctly, you had this whole list of things you wanted to do. Pretty sure it included getting fucked and hanging out. So we’ve done the first portion of your list. Now we can do the rest.”
She blinks at the television. “Notting Hill?” Lily perches against the headboard, piling blankets on herself like the room is a frozen tundra. “You hate this one.”
“I don’thateit. I just don’t understand how the actress sees him for a total of…what, five times before she professes her love to the bookstore owner.” My hands make quick work of tucking her in and easing pillows behind her back to help her sit up. “You need to explain it to me.”
“People fall in love in all sorts of ways. There’s no use trying to understand how and who your heart will pull toward. It’s why romance is fun. It’s entirely unpredictable.”
Like her.
Like us.
Lily’s face pulls into a brief smile. It’s nice to see some life come back in her. “Wait, did you get cake?” She leans forward out of her blanket cocoon.
“Triple chocolate fudge from Lua.”
“I love that one.” Lily half whimpers, half sighs as she slumps back into the castle of pillows around her.
I lower the overhead lights, grab the remote off the console, and join her in bed.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“You got it, kid.” My finger clicks the play button, and the beginning credits of the movie roll.
She glances over at me. “How many times do I have to remind you that I’m older than you?”
For the rest of my life, if you’ll allow it.
“You do enjoy those age-gap romances.” I shoot her a wink, and her eyes return to the movie.
The surprisingly dark scene about who gets the last brownie ends, and Lily laughs, finally.
