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Dex shakes his head slowly. “Sorry, I thought you knew.”
I didn’t know, and now my pulse is racing. I dig my phone out of my pocket, ready to call her, stopping when I spy a message from her from before lunch.
Claire Bear: I’m sorry Avery, but I’m going to miss the meeting today.
I shoot her off a text.
Me: Sorry I missed this, baby. Are you ok? Want me to come home?
Claire Bear: I’m fine, just not feeling well. You stay.
Me: You sure?
Bear: I’m sure. Cuddling with the zoo.
Me: Ok. Missing you here. I love you.
It takes her way longer to respond than I’d like, and I watch those three dots jump around the screen and stop several times before I finally get a response ten minutes into the meeting.
Claire Bear: I love you so much.
Claire isn’t at my place when I get home from work, and despite her message that insisted she was cuddling with animals, I can tell she wasn’t. The bed is still perfectly made from this morning, and her blanket and book are still scattered on the couch where she left them last night. Sully’s not begging to go out though, and his leash is on the counter, so I assume she’s taken him out at some point today.
Using my key to her apartment, I push the door open, peeking my head into her space. I spy her hunched over a drawer in the kitchen, a t-shirt hanging off one shoulder, a pair of running shorts barely covering her ass. Her hair is a beautiful mess on top of her head, loose curls tumbling down her neck.
“Hey gorgeous,” I murmur, moving toward her.
Her hand flies to her throat with a yelp and she jumps in her spot. “Oh,” she breathes out with a sigh. “Avery. It’s just you.” She slams the drawer and leans against it.
“Just me.” I slide my hands over her hips and pull her against me, noticing the red rim of her eyes, the tired purple circles underneath. “Were you expecting someone else?” I kiss her before she can answer, enjoying the way she opens for me, her body sinking against mine as her fingers find my hair.
“No,” she replies when I pull away.
I wrap her in my arms, breathing her in while I slowly twist us back in forth. “How are you feeling? Dex said you went back to the doctor. I wish you’d told me.”
Her soft sigh coats my collarbone. “I’m sorry. It was nothing, really. I’m just so tired.”
I hum my agreement. She’s been working way too much lately, and we’ve been going like crazy the rest of the time—cottaging with our friends, driving down to her dad’s, dealing with my crazy mom, and having Vivi over for sleepovers at least once a week. It’s rare that we get more than a night or two to ourselves. But she hates when I say she’s working too much, and I don’t wanna start that again tonight, so I don’t bring it up.
“What’d the doctor say? Did she have your test results?”
“Hmm? Oh.” She backs away from me, looping a hand through the air. “Yeah. Just low iron, adrenal fatigue, that kinda stuff.”
“So you need—”
She cuts me off with a chaste kiss. “We’ll talk about it later. I’m gonna grab a shower and I’ll head upstairs when I’m done.”
“Why don’t you shower upstairs?”
She pins her arms across her chest. Uh oh. I’ve fucked up.
“What’s wrong with my shower?”
“I didn’t mean it like that, Claire. You can do whatever you want.” I finger a curl, brushing it across her collarbone. “I just know how much you love mine, and I just wanna throw you over my shoulder and cart you up there.”
Her mouth twitches and her eyes roll with an amused huff. “I’m sorry. I’m on edge today. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.” Whew. Disaster averted. She squeezes my arm and smiles gently. “I’ll be up in fifteen, okay? Promise.”
I nod, kiss her cheek, and watch her disappear down the hallway. But when the water starts and I hear her pull back the shower curtain, my eyes land on the drawer she slammed shut. I’m not into secrets, and I trust Claire, but the tension tingling in my spine tells me that something’s not right here. She’s keeping something from me, and I don’t know why.
