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He chewed on his bottom lip, holding back a chuckle. “Not on me, Miss Josie,” he said in a husky voice that sent shivers through me. Wow, okay, I was definitely attracted to him. But in the back of my mind, I screamed at myself to get my shit together. He was just another hockey player. And he was only here because my dad made him come.
He left the doorway before I could say anything else. I watched him wander into my bedroom. He poked at the stack of books on my nightstand and briefly picked up a framed picture of me and my parents before laying back on my bed like it was no big deal at all that he was encroaching on my personal space. To be honest, even if I did care, I didn’t have the energy to discipline him.
“Wooow,” he breathed out. “This is like laying on a cloud. What the heck is this girl magic?”
Despite how bad I felt, a laugh actually popped out of me. “A mattress pad?”
“Interesting.” He patted the bed. “Can you get that on Amazon?”
“Probably, yeah.”
“And you have so many pillows. This is amazing,” he said in awe. “How do you even leave this bed in the morning?”
I snorted at that. “Lemme guess, you have only one pillow?”And probably no bed frame,I mentally added.
“Yupp, just the one.”
“You need some upgrades,” I told him.
I sucked in a deep breath. It was taking effort just to stay sitting upright. I mentally chastised myself for not eating more today. I slept through dinner.
I heard him roll off my bed and wander further into my apartment, and I really had no concern over where he was going because I was busy counting back the hours and questioning whether or not I was allowed to take any more pain medication for my headache. Plus, I felt oddly safe with him here. He was very clearly a golden retriever kind of guy, not threatening in any way. And his presence did put my mind at ease, like if anything happened, at least I wasn’t alone.
He came back into the bathroom and unscrewed a Gatorade and water and left them within my reach on the counter. “You should drink,” he suggested.
I paused, shocked by the kind gesture. There’s no way Garrett would’ve ever handed me anything without my asking– begging– first. God. How did I let Garrett get away with giving less than the bare minimum for years? My bar was currently on the ground if I was impressed with a boy handing me a Gatorade. I quickly swiped the drink. “Thank you.”
He resumed his place in the doorway, this time, reaching up to rest his hands on the top of the doorframe so that his hoodie slightly lifted, giving me a glimpse of his impressive abs.
I pushed myself up, thinking it’d be a good idea to check on the cut in the mirror, but his voice cut me off. “Nope. Don’t release pressure just yet. Couple more minutes. Rest.”
“You know, I think it’ll be fine to just–”
His eyebrows pinched together. “Where did you live before?”
“What?” I looked at him confusedly. Where did that question come from?
“Sit. We’ll chat. Take your mind off it,” he suggested.
I rolled my eyes but decided to humor him. “Fine. Don’t laugh,” I said, eyeing him with a bit of unease.
He hopped up on my bathroom counter and kept his eyes trained on my bedroom. “Why would I laugh?”
I shrugged. “Because I lived at home.”
“That’s really nice,” he replied.
I studied his profile, and there wasn’t a hint of joking on his face. “Really? At 27?”
“Yeah. I hope one day if I have a wife and kids, I’ll make it so good that no one wants to leave. How nice would that be? Living all together like that… I’ve never had that.” He paused. “Is Coach a good dad?” he asked suddenly. “I bet he is.”
“Wow, well, that’s kind of an intrusive question,” I responded. My mind was still trying to process what he just said.
“Sorry, I’m just curious,” he said simply. “Like was he a disciplinarian? I’ve always wondered what that’d be like. Casey was tough but he was also my best friend, and we went through a lot of shit at the same time, so he didn’t have the best advice to give back then, ya know? Like how was he gonna give me a curfew or tell me not to drink when he was out partying with buddies in the backyard ‘til 2am?” He laughed. “And how was he supposed to know how to win a girl back or maintain a healthy relationship when he was still trying to figure that out for himself?” He gave me a pointed look then. “I basically had to orchestrate him reuniting with his now wife. I’m not trying to bash him or anything. It was just… different. He’s great with hockey stuff though. He still calls me with advice to help me out all the time.”
“Casey’s your…?”
“Brother.”
