Sugar Crash
Dahlia
The muted tones and sharp wit wake me up from the sweetest dream. Vex was cuddling puppies while watching children toddle around.
I’ve been spending too much time with the Vincentis.
A cramp twists my pelvis. A groan escapes as I move my hand towards my abdomen. Only my hand isn’t on my bed or even on top of my covers. It’s resting on an impressive set of abs.
“You okay?” Vex’s voice rumbles through his body into mine.
No. No. I’m not okay. I’m a mixture of sheer bliss and abject humiliation. Mixed together, they come nowhere close to okay.
I just pictured the man I fell asleep on caring for our babies. And we haven’t even been on a real date.
Not to mention he’s a murderer.
There’s something very wrong with my mind.
The cramps decide to up the ante on the twisting, which causes a sharp shooting pain that stabs its way through me.
I yank my knees up, searching for any kind of relief. Only to feel a clot slide out of me with a rush of blood.
There’s too much blood.
Way too much blood for the napkin I have on… for any napkin to hold.
What do I do?
Every second it seeps farther up my underwear. There’s no way I don’t have a spot on my bed, not to mention a stain on my pajamas.
What do I do?
Tears pour out.
“Dahlia. What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you okay?”
No.
No.
No.
I shove my face into his chest and let them pour out avoiding the humiliating mess growing under me.
Why did this have to happen?
Because my body hates me. That’s why I hide for the first full day of my period. That’s why I didn’t want to let you in. That’s why I need to be alone now.
Well, just as soon as I stop crying.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He pulls me in even closer. “Should I rub your back?”
Yes, I almost say, but even though that might help with the pain… his hands would get too close to the mess.
What am I going to do?
“No,” I manage to croak out through the tears.
“What can I do to help?”
“Leave.” So, I can die of embarrassment alone.
“Other than that.”
Why won’t he make this easy? “Please. ”
His arms tighten around me. “Why? What happened between you falling asleep and waking up? What did I do wrong?”
Huh? Him? I shake my head and push myself up on my elbow. “Other than being a man that I like more than I rationally should, you did nothing wrong.”
“Then why do you want me to leave?”
For the first time, I see insecurity in a man capable of taking on the world. “Because my body hates me, and sometimes—” All too often. “—my body doesn’t work well with the protection I’m wearing, and I need some privacy.”
His eyes widen with understanding and I wait for him to be grossed out and run. “Why don’t I run downstairs and refresh our drinks? Would you like a cup of tea or another glass of milk?”
“Tea sounds wonderful.” But his calm acceptance feels even better.
Vex gives me one last squeeze and carefully pulls away from me. “It’s just about lunchtime. I could order us something to eat.”
He’s not running away in disgust. “Pizza sounds good. There’s a great place that delivers just a block or two away.” That’ll give me time to clean up, shower, and change the sheets.
“Any toppings you like or dislike?” Vex takes my half-empty glass from the nightstand.
“I’m not picky. Whatever you want is good with me, except for anchovies or pineapple.” How can people eat salty fish on pizza? “They have these amazing garlic knots. And cannoli. Oh, cannoli sounds so good.”
He smiles down at me and reaches out to brush away a stray tear from my face. “Do they have anything that resembles a vegetable there?”
“You and your healthy stuff. They have a spectacular antipasto.”
“One of these days you’re going to slip up and eat a vegetable.”
“Yes, Mom.” I wink at him.
He turns away with a smile playing on his lips and stops right before the stairs. “Dahlia.” The tone of his voice is startlingly different.
Firm?
Confident .
“I’m going to give you the privacy you asked for, but hear me when I say this. There’s nothing about your body that will ever bother me. And I mean nothing. You don’t need to feel uncomfortable about a little blood. Or vomit. Or anything that might ever come out of your body. So, this one time, I’m walking away, but you need to figure out how to relax around me. Because I’m not going anywhere the next time.”
He means it. Those aren’t just words men say to pacify women. A tear pools in the corner of my eye again. “That sounds like a threat.”
“It’s a promise.” With that, he turns back to the steps.
I can’t just let him walk away not knowing how much those words mean. “Vex.”
His head swings around.
“Thank you.”
He nods.
***
A shower and a change of clothing can totally change my mood. I step out of the bathroom ready to face the challenge of changing my sheets, and then finding another blanket for Vex.
Especially with pizza to look forward to—
What happened to my bed?
Everything is different from the purple stripe sheets to the purple and pink quilt I made with my grandmother when I was sixteen.
What happened to my bed?
My phone beeps.
Vex: Ready for me to come up? The pizza is here.
He’s done so much more than just order a pizza.
Me: Sure. Can I help carry anything up?
Vex: Nope. I’ve got it .
Now what do I do? There aren’t enough chairs in the reading nook to eat together. Plus, the television is over here.
This is silly. I’m a mature woman. I climb up onto the bed and fold my legs under me.
Vex doesn’t make me wait long. He had to have everything set up before climbing the stairs.
How in the world did he carry all that up without dropping something? I don’t eat much up here because of all the stairs. It’s just not worth the effort to carry it up, but he makes it look so easy. “Hey.”
“Feeling any better?”
I actually am. “Yes, thank you for… um… everything.”
“The sheets are in the dryer, and I folded your blankets on top of the machine. It’s odd that the laundry room is on the first floor.” He sets another beer and my tea down on his nightstand.
“Um, there’s one here too. It’s in a closet in the bathroom.”
“Ah. That makes sense.” He takes a big beach towel off the top of the stack of things balanced in the other hand and sets it on the bed.
“All the other floors have a laundry chute so that I don’t need to carry anything down.” Whoever designed this place was smart about that. “What’s the towel for?”
“The pizza box.”
Duh. Of course. After the big deal I made about him lying on the bed in his street clothes, Vex was thoughtful enough to protect it. He takes another one out of a bag and sets it on the spot he was lying before.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an incredibly sweet man?”
Vex laughs. “No.”