13. Chapter 13
Chapter 13
H e needed to get laid, and fast. Maybe then he could stop thinking about his best friend. What she looked like, what she smelled like, what she’d feel like underneath him.
Damn. Gonzo banged the back of his head against the elevator wall as he waited for it to ascend to his apartment. He was just gonna drop off his bag and head out to meet Sims and Hernandez. No matter how badly he wanted to stay home and hang out with Bailey, he wasn’t going to do it. He was meeting the guys, finding a willing woman, and fucking her brains out. Ever since Bailey had moved in, he’d been feeling all weird and confused. Over the past few weeks, it was just getting worse. He kept choosing to hang with her instead of going out like he normally did. It was ridiculous. He’d been acting like they were a couple or something instead of just friends. It was fucking with his head and he didn’t like it. Tonight, that stopped. And the best way he could think of to stop thinking about one woman was to fuck another.
He pushed open the door to his apartment. It was quiet. No sign of Bailey in the main living area. His stomach fell. The fact he was that disappointed not to see her solidified how badly he needed to fuck her out of his system. He wandered toward his bedroom. Bailey’s bedroom door stood open as he walked past. He glanced inside. Her bed looked like a tangled mess. The sheets were half-on-half-off the bed like she’d been thrashing around in them. Instantly, a wave of jealousy gripped his chest and he clenched his jaw. Was she having sex? The idea of Bailey having sex with anyone but him made him want to hurt someone. That was exactly why he needed to go out tonight and find someone else.
Suddenly, he heard the telltale sound of someone being sick coming from Bailey’s bathroom. He dropped his bag on the floor and rushed toward the sound.
At the bathroom door, he paused briefly when he saw Bailey slumped over the toilet, her head resting in her arms like she was too tired to move.
“Ah, Bay,” he said. That looked rough.
She lifted her head slightly and cringed. “God, please tell me you aren’t seeing me like this.”
He stepped further into the bathroom. “Afraid so, babe.” Sweat made her hair stick to her head. Her normally pale skin had a grayish green hue. His girl looked rough.
He grabbed a washcloth from the linen cupboard in the corner of the room and ran it under cold water. He placed the cool fabric against the back of her neck and she let out a loud sigh.
“Thank you,” she said weakly.
“How long you been sick?”
“Forever.”
He chuckled. Been there.
Suddenly, Bailey reared back. “Get out!” she yelled a second before her body convulsed.
There was no way he was going anywhere. He swept her hair back from her face and pulled it into a pony with his hand.
Bailey groaned. After several more convulsions. She finally emptied her stomach and dropped her head against the toilet seat. “Kill me now,” she groaned.
He rubbed small circles on her back the way his mom used to when he was sick.
After several minutes, she lifted her head and pushed back from the toilet. “I think I’m done.”
He helped her stand up and walked her to the counter, where he liberally added toothpaste to her brush and handed it to her.
He took in her sweat stained T-shirt and blotchy face as she leaned weakly against the counter to brush her teeth.
“Why don’t you hop in the shower? Nothing makes me feel better when I’m sick than a nice shower.”
“Don’t wanna,” she grumbled.
He chuckled. “I know, but you’ll feel better. While you’re doing that, I’ll change your sheets.”
“Oh god, you don’t have to do that.” She closed her eyes. “This is mortifying.”
“Why? I’ve seen you puke before.”
Bailey raised her head and looked at him, then smiled sadly. “Right.” With a sigh, she glanced at herself in the mirror. “Maybe a shower would be good.”
Happy to have something he could do to help, he turned the shower on to heat up. “You need help getting in?”
“God no, there’s no chance I’m adding to the humiliation of this by having you help me undress.”
The idea of seeing Bailey naked even under these conditions made his dick spring to life. Maybe it was better she didn’t need help. The last thing she needed when she felt like shit was him leering at her like a perv. “Kay, well call me if you need help.”
“Will do.” She slouched against the counter and closed her eyes.
“You sure you don’t need help?”
“What?” She blinked at him. “No, I’ll be fine.” She pushed her pajama pants down her legs and stumbled as she tried to step out of them.
“Just let me help you,” he said.
Tears filled her eyes when she looked up at him. “Ah, Bailey.” He stepped toward her and pulled her into a hug. Her entire body slumped against him as he wrapped her tightly in his arms. The smell of puke drifted to his nose. Yuck, it must be in her hair. He could only imagine how shitty she must be feeling.
“Let me help you. I promise not to look.”
“Like you’d want to,” she mumbled.
Oh, he definitely wanted to. That was kind of the problem. But what kind of asshole would he be if he took advantage of the opportunity when she was sick.
“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up. If you need me to come in and wash your hair just holler.”
“Thanks, Gonz.”
“What are friends for?” They were friends, first and foremost, despite what his body had been feeling lately, and he needed to remember that.
“Friends,” Bailey replied. Her voice sounded almost sad when she said it. What was that about? Was she having feelings for him as well? He glanced at her puke covered hair and pale face. Even if she was, now was not the time to discuss it.
“Alright, let’s get you in the shower.” He walked her closer to the shower door and pulled it open. A light spray of water misted their skin without the door to block it. Once he had her in place, he closed his eyes and peeled her T-shirt up and off her body. It took everything in him to keep his eyes closed. He’d never wanted to peek at something so bad in his life.
He felt Bailey move away from him and a second later, he heard the shower door click shut.
Forcing himself not to give into temptation and look, he left the bathroom.
Back in the bedroom, he pulled open dresser drawers until he found the one with her pajamas. He grabbed what looked like a comfy pair, then continued to root around until he found her underwear. He grabbed the first pair of panties he saw. Knocking once on the bathroom door, he peeked his head inside. “I’m just gonna leave some clothes on the counter for you.”
“Thanks.”
Gonzo stared down at the ground as he made his way to the counter. Bailey let out a little groan of satisfaction. He knew it was just that satisfied feeling that came from hot water hitting sore muscles, but the sound made him think of sex. He needed to get the hell out of here. She was in no place for him to be thinking about her like this. She trusted him as her friend.
He dropped her clothes on the counter and hustled out of the room.
While he waited for her to finish in the shower, he quickly changed the sheets and threw the dirty ones in the wash.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed out a quick text to Brandon to let him know he wouldn’t be meeting them after all. May as well get comfy since it looked like he was staying home tonight. He chucked his dirty travel clothes into the laundry basket and pulled on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt then made his way back to Bailey’s room to wait for her.
After several minutes, the bathroom door opened and Bailey stepped out. Although still ridiculously pale, she looked a million times better after her shower.
“How you feeling?” He asked.
“Better thanks.” She slowly made her way toward the bed. Her movement was slow and painful, like every muscle she had hurt.
He pulled back the sheets and helped her climb into bed.
Once he had her all settled, she looked up at him. “Gonz, I feel like shit. Can you just cuddle me for a bit?”
His chest pounded. Climbing in bed with her was probably a horrible idea, but how could he say no? “Uh yeah, sure.” He peeled back the other side of the bed and crawled in beside her. “How do you want to be? You want to lie on my chest or have me spoon you?”
“Spoon please.”
He tucked his arm under her head and pulled her against his body. She fit perfectly against him. She sighed and snuggled back, nestling her ass against his crotch. Fuck. The road to hell was paved with snuggling your sick friend, apparently. He racked his brain for things to think about other than how good she felt as he willed his cock to stay down.
“I love you, Gonzo, you’re the best,” she sighed sleepily.
“Love you too, Bay,” he replied like he always did when she said it. For the first time, the words caught in his throat, and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was because the meaning of the words were starting to change. Now what was he supposed to do?
Bailey shifted back against the warm, male body behind her. A hard cock pressed up against her ass. “Mmm,” she wiggled to get closer. Suddenly, her eyes popped open. Hang on a second. Why was there an aroused man behind her?
She peeled open her eyes and saw a hairy male arm wrapped around her, cupping her breast. Definitely not dreaming. She’d recognize that arm anywhere. Holy shit, Gonzo had her boob in his hand and he was obviously excited. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god . What should she do? She opened her mouth, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth like a dry sponge.
Immediately, memories of the night before flashed through her mind. Gonzo holding her hair as she puked, him holding a damp cloth to her head. And the pathetic way she’d begged him to cuddle her after.
Mortified, she scrunched up her face and cringed. He wasn’t in her bed because he wanted her. He was here because she was his best friend. And his body was having a very normal reaction to having a boob in his hand and an ass rubbed against his cock while he slept. The moment he realized it was her, he was going to jump out of this bed like the sheets were on fire and she’d really rather not wait for that to happen. It was bad enough she’d practically sleep assaulted him by rubbing herself all over him. The last thing she needed was to see the look on his face when he realized it.
She eased his hand off her breast and slid out from under his arm. She was just shifting her body toward the edge of the mattress when he spoke. “Where you going?” he asked.
“Umm, I need to go brush my teeth,” she squeaked. How was it possible his voice sounded even sexier when it was all rough from sleep and hers sounded like one of the chipmunks?
Gonzo scrubbed his hands over his face, like he was waking himself up, then shifted his body on the mattress. His eyes widened and he shot her a look and winced. “Please tell me I didn’t harpoon you with my morning wood.”
“Nope, you didn’t.” There was no way she was admitting that to him.
“Thank fuck, the last thing you want when you’re feeling like shit is a dick literally stabbing you in the back. If I did, sorry.”
Bailey glanced over at him. Why did he look so calm about it? Not even a hint of embarrassment about her knowing he was aroused. Did he wake up like that so often it didn’t even phase him?
“How you feeling?” he asked.
“A lot better, thanks. Sorry about last night. When I asked you to cuddle me, I didn’t mean you had to stay all night.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I tried to leave a couple times, but you just kept wrapping around me, mumbling about the best teddy bear ever. With that endorsement, how could I possibly leave?”
Bailey’s eyes widened. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Nope.” He chuckled. “For my birthday, I kind of want you to get me a human teddy bear T-shirt.”
Bailey closed her eyes and willed the bed to open up and swallow her. This just kept getting better and better. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled.
“Nothing to be sorry for, Bay. Not the first time I’ve seen you puke. I’m sure it won’t be the last.” He stretched, drawing her attention to the way his T-shirt pulled tight against his biceps. How the hell she’d compared him to a teddy bear when the man was rock hard, she’d never know.
“Besides, you were like my own little blast furnace. I slept like a log.” Gonzo looked at her and his forehead wrinkled. “Why are you being all weird?”
“I’m not being weird,” she replied, forcing herself not to look at his stomach as he scratched his bare skin. Why couldn’t he scratch on top of his clothes like a normal person? Unable to help herself, she flicked a quick glance, then instantly regretted it when her gaze dropped to below his waist.
“Busted.” He laughed. “You totally just looked at my dick.”
“What? I did not.” She shoved off the bed and stood up.
“It’s okay, Bay, I stabbed you while I was sleeping and now you want to know if it looks as good as it felt. I can’t blame ya, really.”
She stormed toward the washroom. “You wish, buddy,” she called over her shoulder.
He mumbled something, but she couldn’t make out what it was as she closed the bathroom door.
Too embarrassed to go back out, she flipped on the shower. She was just about to step in when Gonzo knocked on the bathroom door. “I’m just grabbing a quick shower as well, Bay. I’ll probably be gone when you get out. We’re on the road for ten days this time, so I’ll see you when we get back.”
Ten days. He was going to be gone for ten days. She wrapped a towel around herself and pulled open the door. Gonzo’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared as his gaze scanned her body. She glanced down to make sure she was fully covered. She was.
“Thanks for looking after me, Gonz. I really appreciate.”
“Anytime. Glad you feel better.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Take it easy while I’m gone.”
He turned to leave. She closed the door and slumped against it. Her hand touched her forehead where he’d kissed just a moment ago. Stupid, Bailey, stupid. She couldn’t have feelings for Gonzo. That was never gonna happen. Looked like she had ten days to get over her stupid crush on her best friend.