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It wasdark and cold in her room when she surfaced again. Really cold, but the light from the living room was coming in the bedroom door. Rolling over, she cursed her lost days. Picking up her phone from the bedside table, she looked at the home screen and saw it was 8:00 pm on Thursday.
Cursing again, she saw that the timer she had set had not gone off. It should have gone off about two hours before, but it was silent. Next time she would have to come up with a better plan if the timer was going to fail her. Pushing the button, she saw she had thirty-three texts since she had taken the first pill. Most were from Natasha, thankfully.
Reading through them, she saw she had actually been high-texting Natasha most of the time. It was a good thing Natasha wasn’t on pills that messed with her head … and that she didn’t text anyone else.
Tess tossed the phone on her bed and rolled from her stomach to her back. Staring at the ceiling, she wondered if it had been a dream that Mathias had been there. Had it been a dream, or had she just thought he was there and had a conversation with air?
As she lay staring at the ceiling, trying to decide which had actually happened, she realized the blanket from the foot of the bed was laid across her cold body. Her cold, naked body. Her gazed snapped away from the ceiling to Mathias beside the bed. How long had he been there? Had she been naked the entire time?
“You’re awake.” He sat down on the bed beside her.
“How long have you been here?” She needed to know.
“Do you want water? Since 2:40 pm.” He got up to get her water.
“No, I have to get up.”
“No, you stay.”
“No, I have to get up.” She pulled herself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom.
Once inside, she emptied her full bladder and washed her hands, wishing she had just a scrap of clothing in the bathroom. Even something dirty, but no, there was nothing. With a groan, she decided it was nothing he hadn’t seen before; he had spent six hours in the apartment with her passed out naked on her bed.
Leaving the bathroom, she crawled back into the bed under the blanket he had laid on her. Math was no longer in the room, so she need not have worried. She could hear him in the kitchen. It was odd having someone in her apartment. She never actually had guests. Her apartment was small and was only supposed to be her home temporarily when she had moved to Landstad. But as the months went by, she just stayed, knowing she wasn’t staying here forever. She did love how close it was to her work.
Math walked back into the room, carrying a glass of ice water. Sitting up against her pillows, she took the glass from him and drank a little. It was cold and wet, and her body needed that right now.
“You did not have to stay.”
He sat on the bed. “I caused this, so of course I stayed.”
“I have dealt with it before. I know what to expect.”
“Do you want more drugs?” He started to get up.
“No, I am over it, mostly. It usually starts to fade after forty-eight hours. Did you shut off my timer?” Maybe she could trust the timer as long as Mathias wasn’t there.
“Yes, I didn’t want it to wake you. You were in such a fitful sleep as it was.”
“Side effect—sleepy with a hint of wakefulness. But worth the relief. Did I do or say anything odd or embarrassing?” She took another drink, a bigger one this time.
“No, just mumbled a lot. And you sent a lot of texts. I don’t know who received those, but you kept them busy.” He reached over her and grabbed her phone off the bed and put it on the nightstand.
“Tasha, my niece. I texted her as soon as I got home, so she knew what was coming.” She looked at the phone.
“Why didn’t you just tell me? I thought you were kidding.” He touched her arm.
“You taunted me. It is my weakness. I will show you I can do what you think I cannot do.” She set the now empty glass down on the nightstand by her phone. She snuggled further into the blankets because she was still naked. “Did you spend the entire six hours ogling my naked body?”
“Nope, I’ve been a gentleman,” he said, but his eyes traveled to her breasts just under the blanket.
“You are no gentleman, Mathias. The hives make me hot, and fabric irritates it. That’s why I am naked,” she admitted as his eyes moved back to meet hers.
“I figured as much. They started to fade at four. You really had me worried.” He ran a hand over her bare shoulder and then down her arm.
“No need to worry. I can take care of myself,” she replied, lifting her chin. She had been taking care of herself for most of her life; she didn’t need him.
“I got your shirt washed and went to the bank to drop it and your shoes off. The lady at the greeting desk thing said you hadn’t been in most of the week and that you were sick. I had just seen you, and you were fine. Then you opened the door, and I thought I should be taking you to the hospital.”
