5. Emily
5
EMILY
The gentle warmth of the sun kisses my cheek as I drift awake the next morning. God, that feels nice . My lips lift into a sleepy smile and I exhale a relaxed, comfortable sigh. The pillow is soft against my other cheek, and I can hear a few birds twittering outside the window.
My sleep shirt has ridden up a little during the night, but I’m in too comfortable of a position to fix it yet. My whole body feels so relaxed. I don’t want to move an inch. I nuzzle closer against the warm body next to me, sighing happily at how perfect this morning is…
…wait. Wait . With a quick inhale, I open my eyes and realize that I’m curled up against my best friend. In his bed. Immediately I pull away from him, my heart suddenly beating overtime.
In a panic, my eyes fly up to Rock’s face.
Thank god he’s still asleep.
I shift further away from him, putting space between us in the bed, and fix my sleep shirt, pulling it down over my exposed belly. I’m so relieved he wasn’t the first one to wake up. Imagine how awkward that would have been, him waking to find me pressed up against him like that.
Rock shifts beside me. He remains asleep, but when he moves, his legs pull the sheets tighter across his lower half, and my eyes catch the outline of his…uh, equipment.
Jesus. Is he hard ?
I remind myself that guys get hard in the morning. It’s just a thing that happens. I’m sure whatever’s going on in his boxers doesn’t have anything to do with me.
At least it better not.
My phone starts ringing on the nightstand, making me jolt at the sound. I snatch it and quickly slide out from the sheets. Glad to see my landlord’s name pop up on my screen, I press the phone to my ear as I pad out of Rock’s bedroom.
“Hi, Jerry,” I say.
“Hello, Emily.” He clears his throat. “Just wanted to give you an update on your apartment. I was able to get someone in there this morning to take a look. Best case scenario, he said he should be able to have everything fixed in two weeks.”
My heart drops, but I remind myself that it will be over before I know it. “Okay. Thank you for the update.”
“Of course.”
“Again, let me know if there’s anything I can do to speed along the process,” I say, even though I know there isn’t.
“I’ll let you know when I have another update, dear,” Jerry says.
When I step back into the bedroom, Rock is awake, rubbing a hand over his face. He’s adjusted the sheets so they aren’t pulled so tight across his lower half anymore. I can’t shake the mental image of what I saw, though. To be on the safe side, I sit on the bed on top of the sheets.
“My landlord says it’s going to be a couple weeks at minimum,” I say.
Rock nods. “Not surprised to hear that.”
“I really should find somewhere else to stay. That’s too long to put you out.”
“You’re not putting me out.”
“You say that now, but you’ll feel differently the longer I stay.”
“Well, let’s just take it a day at a time, then.” Rock runs a hand through his messy hair. It’s weirdly intimate, seeing him first thing in the morning like this. My chest feels a little fizzy. I can’t tell if it’s discomfort or something else.
“You sleep okay?” Rock asks.
The lovely, dreamy sensations from this morning come back into my mind, making my lower stomach squeeze. “Yep. Fine.”
“Good. I was worried you were having nightmares or something. You kept talking in your sleep.”
I scoff. “Liar.”
“You don’t believe me? I’ll record you next time.”
“Don’t you dare.” I glare at him. The corner of his mouth lifts—that’s about as full-blown of a smile as you’ll ever get out of Rock —and then he gets out from the sheets, rolls his shoulders, and stands up.
My eyes catch the way his butt looks in the gray sleep pants he’s got on. In that thin material, the muscular strength of his legs is impossible to ignore.
What am I doing ?
I avert my eyes. Push my mind toward things it should be focused on. “So, I’ve been thinking a lot about what we should do to up our game before that other bar opens. What do you think about hosting some trivia nights?”
Rock shoots me a look like I’ve just suggested we put our bar up for sale. “No.”
“Oh, come on. What’s so bad about them?”
“They’re loud. Obnoxious. We didn’t open a bar to host trivia nights.”
“But what’s the harm in trying? I’ll organize the entire thing. You won’t have to do anything.”
“It’s not about that.”
I sigh. Rock is so frustrating sometimes. “At least let me put together a plan for one, okay? I promise you can veto it if you absolutely hate it.”
Rock grumbles something that sounds like fine, do it if you want as he walks into the bathroom. As he starts to brush his teeth, I follow in his footsteps and lean against the doorway.
“I was also thinking we could get a new sign,” I say. “Something fun and bright that we could put on the inside of the bar to draw people in.”
Rock can’t respond with the sudsy toothpaste in his mouth but he gives me a look in the mirror that demonstrates how vehemently he disagrees.
I step away to grab my phone and pull up the images I was looking at last night. “I was thinking we could get something like this. What do you think? Cute, right?”
Rock takes one glance at my screen, spits toothpaste into the sink, and shakes his head. “No.”
Argh. He is impossible sometimes. “Why?”
“It’s neon. Way too fucking bright.”
“Well, I think it looks good.”
He grumbles something under his breath before stepping around me to head into the kitchen. I promptly follow him. “I really, honestly think it will help, Rock.”
“Sure, whatever.” He grabs a carton of eggs out of his fridge. “Fried or scrambled?”
“I’m more in the mood for sunny side up. But I can cook my own.”
He shakes his head. “I’m making breakfast. You scuffed up my pan yesterday.”
I smile. “Control freak.”