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He gave me a soft smile, running his fingers through my hair. “Alright, I’ll bring something up instead. How does that sound?”
I almost wanted to cry when he said that. I needed time to recharge and he didn’t even argue about it. He just accepted it and held me until I was ready to let him leave. Normally, I liked to recharge alone but I didn’t mind James with me. He was quiet and he didn’t demand anything from me.
He went downstairs for food once my stomach started to growl but this time he wasn’t gone long. He handed me a bowl of the fanciest mac and cheese I have ever seen, smirking at my confused look.
“I don’t think Andre can do anything halfway. I put on way too much weight when he first got here. I had to start asking him to make me something separate so I could get back into shape.”
I snorted. I couldn’t imagine even an ounce of fat on James. But he wasn’t lying about the different food. His plate had lean meats, very little carbs, and a good amount of veggies. It looked a little sad and I made a face.
He chuckled. “You don’t have to eat it. Enjoy your meal, Andre said it’s comfort food.”
I tried not to think about why he knew I needed comfort food. The whole house probably knew about my freak out by now and that fact made me want to panic again so I shoved it away and focused on eating the world’s best mac and cheese. James grinned at me whenever I let out a contented hum. Each bite was creamy and perfect and I kind of wished I could move in permanently just so I could have Andre’s cooking.
James never pushed me into talking about what happened. He left our dishes on the nightstand and dragged me against him. I pulled up an anime on my phone and we just laid there together. It wasn’t until his phone went off for the third time in five minutes that I turned over. I was going to tell him to answer it but I hadn’t realized that while we were laying there that he fell asleep. His face looked so relaxed, I didn’t have the heart to wake him. Instead, I fished his phone out of his pocket. I figured I could send Liam a quick text to let him know James was asleep but it wasn’t Liam who was texting him.
There were at least twelve texts, each from different guys on the team. A few names I recognized. Most of their messages were work related and I didn’t pay attention to them for too long. There was only one from Liam, telling James that Jo was worried and to let him know if I needed anything. Damn, another reason not to hate Liam.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Since it wasn’t work related,it felt weird to answer Liam’s text, so I grabbed my phone instead, texting Jo that James was asleep so we were going to stay here for the night. Unless Liam needed him for work, I wasn’t going to wake him.
J: Thanks for telling me. I’ll let Liam know
J: Are you ok?
E: … it’s complicated
J: Maybe I can help?
E: Not really. I just need time to recharge. I don’t normally hang out with people this often and I think I just hit my breaking point
J: You’re an introvert!
I smothered a laugh,trying not to wake James. She said it like it was a scientific discovery.
E: Bingo
J: Wow, this really isn’t the best place for you, is it?
E: lol I’m fine, just need to take breaks more.
E: Is Viktor ok?
J: … It's complicated. I’ll explain more tomorrow. You get some rest. Liam said he shouldn’t need James tonight so you should be all good. See you tomorrow?
E: See you tomorrow
I putboth phones on the nightstand, clicking off the lamp. I couldn’t see anything but luckily, I found my way back to James without poking him in the eye. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him until he rested against me. He only moved enough to wrap his arms around me, otherwise he stayed asleep. I felt myself drifting off and finally, we had a night uninterrupted by James’s phone.
* * *
I wassurprised when James was still next to me the following morning. He was awake, scrolling on his phone, but he never left my side.
“You know, if you keep spoiling me like this, I’m not going to want to leave.”
He grinned. “Good, it’s working then.”
I laughed, snatching his phone and holding it away from him. He would have to lean over me to get it, which he took full advantage of, nipping at my bottom lip as he rolled his weight on top of me. He didn’t fight hard for his phone. Instead, he rolled his hips against mine, chasing my tongue with his.
