Chapter 34
Thirty-Four
Emory
“Hi,” Enoch’s voice filled my ears through my headphones as I continued my set of pushups.
“Hi,” I breathed out, a smile on my lips. “What’s going on?”
“Um,” he paused, clearing his throat. The silence had my stomach tightening as I halted at the top of my pushup. I dropped my knees as the silence dragged.
“Enoch?”
“Would you mind if I stayed the night?”
My heartbeat picked up, and I sat back on my heels. “What happened?”
There was another long bout of silence and if it weren’t for the sound of his turn signal blinking in the background, I’d have assumed the call dropped.
“Of course you can stay the night,” I finally said when I realized he wasn’t going to respond.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I breathed, standing up to clean up and head back to my apartment. “How far away are you?”
“Maybe four minutes,” he said.
“Okay. I’ll wait for you downstairs. I was just working out in the gym.”
“You don’t have to finish. I can wait for you to be done.”
“No, I’m good. I’ll see at the door.”
I waited for him to say goodbye but instead he whispered, “Thank you.”
“Of course,” I said, shrugging. “It’s not a hardship to share a bed with my boyfriend.”
Enoch hummed and I could hear the smile in the voice. “I like it when you say that.”
I smiled, biting into my cheek, butterflies taking flight in my stomach.
Boyfriend. It still felt surreal to say that, to believe that Enoch was really here, that he was mine, that my future looked…happy. I didn’t think I’d ever say that about my life.
“I’m pulling up now,” he said, breaking the silence. “See you in a minute, baby.”
I hung up and quickly wiped down the equipment I’d used before grabbing my phone and water. I was just removing my headphones when the main door opened in front of me.
My smile fell when Enoch stepped into the light of the entryway. His eyes were red like he’d been crying. In the next second I was standing directly in front of him. A blaze of anger stoked in my chest as I wondered what or who had him crying.
Fuck, was it me? Did I do something?
Enoch dropped his duffle onto the floor as he pulled me into a hug, sighing deeply as he rested his head on top of mine.
“I don’t know if you wanna be hugging me right now,” I mumbled into his chest. “I’m rather sweaty.”
“I don’t care,” he whispered, his arms squeezing tighter around my back.
My mind raced, trying to figure out what had him clinging to me like his life depended on it. I let him hold me until he finally let go and stepped back, giving me a smile as his eyes scanned the length of my body.
“I missed you.”
I smiled back and nodded, “Me too.”
I motioned for Enoch to follow me, and I led us to the elevator.
I peeked over at him and he caught my stare.
I cleared my throat, rocking back on my heels.
The elevator finally opened and we made it to my apartment.
He stepped inside and I busied myself with locking the door and grabbing some water from the fridge.
“Thirsty? Hungry?”
Enoch shook his head and my eyes bounced around the space, unsure what to do.
Enoch chuckled and stepped into my space.
“Why are you acting like I haven’t already stayed the night here?”
I shrugged, studying his brown eyes.
“Well, don’t mind me. You gonna shower?”
My nose scrunched as I remembered I was sweaty and probably smelled. “Yes. You can watch TV if you want.”
“Sure.”
We stared at each other for another minute before he stepped back, allowing me to walk around him and towards my bedroom. As I passed my bed, my eye caught on my bedside table and my stomach dropped.
Fuck.
What if I grab my gun in my sleep, thinking Enoch’s him and I hurt him?
“Shy?”
I startled at the sound of his voice from behind me in the living room. I slowly turned, meeting his questioning gaze.
“I didn’t think about…the gun.”
Enoch’s brow rose as if he didn’t understand the problem before I watched recognition flicker across his face.
“Do you want me to move it? Put it somewhere you don’t know while you’re showering?”
“That kinda defeats the purpose of owning a weapon, if when I need it, I can’t fucking find it.”
Enoch’s shoulder rose. “I’ll give it back in the morning. But tonight, I’ll know where it is.”
“You know how to use it?”
“Yes,” he nodded with a smirk. “I’ve been going to the gun range since I was teenager.”
“Oh.”
Enoch watched as I debated his solution.
“But where are you going to put it that you’d be easily able to grab it?”
Enoch frowned. “You think something is going to happen tonight that will warrant needing the gun?”
I flailed my arms out with a breath of exasperation, “I don’t know. And that’s the point. Something could happen at any point in time. And I can’t sleep knowing that I’m not prepared.”
“But you sleep okay at my house.”
I sighed, dropping my arms back to my sides. “Mostly. Yeah. But it’s your house. It’s not a leased apartment under my name where someone would come looking for me first.”
Enoch nodded, mouth twisting with thought.
“Okay. How about this, I move the gun, and I also move your couch against your front door? It’s definitely a fire safety hazard, but it’ll mean that no one can open the door without us knowing, because they’d have to manage moving the sofa out of the way.”
I eyed the sofa and the front door. My gut hated the idea of being trapped, but at least it would mean that Enoch was safe from my unstable mind.
“Okay.”
Enoch nodded once and I continued on my path to my bathroom.
After a hot shower and getting dressed in some pajamas, I found Enoch had changed and was laying on my bed on top of the comforter.
Enoch’s eyes trailed up my body. “I was hoping you’d come out in your towel.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes but then paused, looking to my bedside table.
I opened the drawer to find my gun missing.
I resisted the impulse to look around the room for something out of place, an indication of where he might have hidden it.
There weren’t very many options when I had little furniture in the space.
“I moved the couch too,” he said.
I leaned my head out of my bedroom door to see he’d tipped it on its side and had shoved it straight against the door.
I let out a huff of a sigh and finally joined him on the bed.
“So,” I started, tracing a path through the creases in the comforter. “You want to talk about it?”
Enoch sighed, rolling onto his side to face me, tucking his hand beneath the pillow.
“I came home to find half my family drinking beer at our house.”
Our house. He said it like I had any claim to the space I’d inhabited for six days.
“And then what?” I asked.
I watched as his brows creased and he seemed disappointed.
“I left as quickly as possible. Might have said some things I didn’t mean in the process.”
I nodded, moving my hand onto his bicep.
“I’ll smooth things over tomorrow; I just needed some space tonight. Needed…you.”
My stomach flipped and I squeezed his arm, struggling to keep the ill-timed smile at bay. I hated that he was in his head about what happened, but I loved that he came to me for comfort. It made me feel like maybe I was useful, good for something other than stirring up shit in others’ lives.
Enoch’s hand moved to my face and he scooted closer, until our mouths were inches apart.
“Thank you,” he whispered before pressing his lips to mine.
I wanted him to kiss me forever, but he pulled away. I opened my eyes to find him staring at me.
“What are you thinking about?”
He bit into his bottom lip, my eyes drawn to the action. “You want the honest answer?”
“Always.”
“I’m thinking about how much I love kissing you.”
My eyes went wide, and a match lit inside me, heat traveling up to my face.
“But I don’t want to touch you,” I frowned, disappointment squashing the arousal. “I don’t want to use you as a distraction.”
My eyes narrowed, “But isn’t that exactly what you told me to do when you were convincing me to stay at your house?”
Enoch’s eyes flared, probably remembering the heated moment we had shared when he had said those words.
“I hadn’t been referring to anything sexual. But if that’s what you had wanted, I probably wouldn’t have said no.”
“Then why are you saying no now when I don’t mind. I’m happy to be your distraction.”
I hadn’t realized I’d been playing with the AA token hanging from my neck until Enoch’s stare landed on my hand. I dropped it back to my chest, reaching out to touch his arm.
“I mind,” he said, reaching forward to peck me on the lips.
I sighed as he pulled away, shoving my disappointment aside. As much as I wanted his hands on my body, I wasn’t going to push it if it made him uncomfortable.
“Then what can I do?” I asked.
He hummed in thought, adjusting his head on the pillow. “Talk to me.”
I drew in a deep breath, turning my body to lie on my back as I stared up at the ceiling.
“I have a random question for you.” I looked over to see Enoch nod. “Your mom and uncle Quintin are brother and sister right?”
Enoch’s brow raised. “Yeah?”
“How come she’s got a really thick accent, and Quintin’s is pretty much nonexistent?”