Chapter 11
ELEVEN
This morning, I woke up on a naked chest, being held tightly and feeling warm and safe.
I remember falling asleep on Clay after he caught me binging.
Somehow, he managed to turn an embarrassing and uncomfortable situation into a not-so-bad one.
But as I take a deep breath and sigh, a cinnamon scent fills my nose, and I freeze. I’m not laying on Clay. It’s Joshua.
Fuck.
I need to get my feelings in check quickly. I can’t keep pining for all of them. Joshua is my boyfriend—my perfect, kind, and wonderful boyfriend. I need to shove Xander and Clay out of my head, pronto.
I pepper Joshua’s chest with kisses, my eyes still closed, making him chuckle. “Good morning. How are you feeling?” he asks, his hand coming up to run over my hair.
“Better. My head doesn’t hurt as much, and my stomach feels better,” I mumble, keeping my lips on his skin.
He strokes my back. “That’s good. We have to go back to work today, but I can stay if you don’t want to be alone?” he offers.
“No, it’s okay. I’m fine. I have some stuff to do anyway. Like going to the bar to beg for my job.” I grimace.
Oh, this is going to be so much fun.
I can practically hear Donny shouting at me already.
“Clay handled that,” Josh simply states.
“What does that even mean?” I ask, lifting my head from his chest to look up at him.
I then realize we’re in his room, not the one I chose at Sophia’s.
Oops.
“It means you don’t have to worry about your job. You can return after New Year’s and still get paid as usual,” he says with a yawn.
“Wait, what? How—”
“He’s an idiot but also an evil genius.” Joshua shrugs.
I let out a soft laugh. That sounds just like Clay.
“So, rest. Watch TV, read a book, take a bath. Whatever helps you recover…” he pulls me up his body, and his hand slips inside my leggings to squeeze my ass, “… because I really need you to be healthy again,” he whispers in my ear.
A tingle spreads between my thighs, and my hand glides to his neck, lightly scratching the back of his head with my nails.
“I told you, I’m fine,” I whisper back, teasingly shifting my knee between his thighs, making him groan.
“And I told you I’m going to fuck you when you’re fully recovered.” His promise sends shivers down my spine. He pecks my nose, then removes his hand from my leggings, giving my ass a playful slap. “Let’s get up. I’m going to make you breakfast.”
After Josh goes to work, I leave to buy Chiara’s laptop, a few essentials for us so we don’t have to rely too heavily on Sophia’s generosity, and everything I need to make bracelets for everyone.
I work on the bracelets in my room at Sophia’s until late in the evening, sitting cross-legged against the headboard.
Chiara is already wearing the pink one I made for her. They are two-toned and thin, so they’re not too conspicuous. I hope the others like them. Even if they don’t wear them, it’s fine. I simply want to show my gratitude.
Chiara lays on her stomach at the foot of the bed, engrossed in her new laptop and listening to music. We only had our own rooms before my parents died, but not for the last few years, so I think she’s a bit codependent, but I don’t mind.
The door, which was slightly ajar, opens further, and Sophia peeks in. “Hey, Costa girls,” she greets. “Fancy a cup of tea?”
I smile at her. “Sure, come in.”
She hands Chiara a mug before sitting next to me and passing me mine.
“What are you guys up to?” she asks before taking a sip from her mug.
“Chiara’s obsessed with her new laptop,” I tease, earning a finger from her. She doesn’t even glance up from the screen. “And I just finished your Christmas present.”
Sophia’s eyes light up. “I get a present?”
I smile and set my mug on the nightstand, then reach out to grab hers and place it beside mine. I take Sophia’s hand, draw it into my lap, and fasten the white and light blue bracelet around her wrist. I adjust it so the prettiest side faces up and whisper, “Thank you for being my friend.”
I don’t know where I would be if Sophia hadn’t been so inviting and amazing from the start. I can’t even imagine how different life would be now if my professor hadn’t taken a leap of faith in me, putting my name forward for the internship. I’m incredibly grateful for them both.
She practically tackles me, and we both tumble back onto the bed. “Forget friends. We’re besties,” she corrects, and I laugh, hugging her tightly.
“Can I come back to work tomorrow, boss bestie?” I ask when we sit up again. “I really need to do something, or I will go crazy. I am feeling way better.”
“Sure, it’s not like we’re doing heavy lifting, and you can take breaks.” She shrugs.
“Anyone home?” Xander’s deep voice echoes from downstairs.
“Up here!” Sophia calls out.
Xander knocks on the open door a minute later, then scans the room, his gaze shifting from one of us to the other. “What are you guys doing?” I can’t help but chuckle. “What? It’s unfair. You have a girls’ night, and I’m over there alone, boring myself to death with some documentary about farming.”
“Who watches documentaries about farming?” Chiara asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, I obviously don’t,” he retorts, sitting beside me, the mattress dipping under his weight, causing me to lean into him.
“Hey,” he mutters, glancing down over his shoulder at me with his signature half smile.
“Hey,” I reply with a smile of my own. “I have your Christmas present. But it’s okay if you think it’s silly. You don’t have to wear it, I—”
He silences me with a finger over my lips. “Show me.”
I grasp the hand he just shushed me with and pull it into my lap. I reach out to get the solely black bracelet I made for him and secure it around his wrist, adjusting it.
My heart is beating fast, worried he might not like it or think I am silly.
He examines it, turning his wrist this way and that before a genuine smile forms on his face.
My heart skips a beat when he directs that full-on smile at me.
Shifting closer, he leans over me, placing his hand on my other side.
We’re face-to-face now, and he leans in, planting a soft kiss on the spot just below my earlobe.
He lingers for a moment, then whispers, “I’ll wear it even when I wear nothing else. Thank you.”
Goose bumps erupt on my skin, and I exhale sharply. He chuckles as he pulls back.
Oh, he knows exactly what he’s doing, the cheeky bastard.
“You guys up for a movie downstairs?” Sophia asks. “I’ll make popcorn.”
“Sure,” I reply, rising as Xander does the same.
“I’m going to video call with Leo,” Chiara announces, scooping up her laptop and heading to her room.
“There you guys are! I thought I’d find you in her bed, babe.” Clay’s teasing voice stirs me from slumber.
I am warm, safe, and comfortable. Taking a deep breath and recognizing his woodsy scent tells me Xander is holding me.
I remember him telling me to lay my head in his lap when my eyes got droopy and how he let his fingers glide through the strands of my hair, playing with some of them.
When did I fall asleep?
And how did I end up with my cheek pressed against his chest?
“Shh… she’s sleeping,” Xander whispers, his voice muffled beneath me.
I feel a gentle hand on my head, and Joshua asks, “Did you guys have a good evening?”
“It was nice. We watched some movies. Sophia went to bed a few hours ago,” Xander says softly.
Right after the second movie, she excused herself with a knowing grin, telling us to stay and watch as long as we wanted. I thought about going to bed then too, but when Xander asked if I wanted to watch another movie with him, I just couldn’t say no.
I don’t think I even can tell this man no.
“Why didn’t you go to bed?” Clay asks, now sounding even closer.
“She fell asleep on me,” Xander answers, his shrug gently moving me with the motion.
“You could’ve taken her upstairs,” Joshua points out, his voice slightly agitated. “You know, to her bed. Where she sleeps.”
Is he mad at me?
“I don’t think I could’ve resisted joining her if I did. And I think you would have liked that even less,” Xander huffs out, making me furrow my brows. What is he even saying? Is he trying to provoke him? “Which bed should I put her in?”
“Xander,” I murmur, knowing I have to get up before they get into it even more.
“That’s a good choice since it’s my bed, too,” Clay chimes in.
Not helping the slightest, jerk.
“No,” I mumble, pushing myself up from where I was lying on Xander and standing. “I meant I can walk, Xander. Thanks.”
I take Joshua’s hand and lead him toward the stairs. My eyes are barely open, but I have to get him upstairs and make sure we’re good.
“I need to shower and change first,” he says, stopping to pull me into a hug. “But I’ll hurry and come back to snuggle with you under the covers, okay?” He kisses my forehead, easing my worries a bit.
“Night, kitty cat,” Clay says as he and Xander join us in the hallway, pulling me out of Joshua’s embrace and into his own.
My hands are on his chest, and I turn my head to look at Joshua, who is biting his lips while Clay is squeezing me to him. I can’t read Joshua’s expression, but a new tension surrounds us.
The moment Clay lets go of me, Joshua pushes him toward the door saying, “Come on, dickhead. You need a shower too. You fucking stink,” making Clay chuckle as they pile out of the door.
Xander leans down to kiss my temple before he makes his way to the door, following them without another word.
I don’t know if it’s the exhaustion pulling me under or if I’m imagining it, but I swear there is a strain between them.
Much like the edginess I felt in the room when I woke up in the hospital.
But every time I go to say something, it’s like they notice, and it quickly disappears, making me feel like I’ve imagined it all.