19. Reed
Reed hadn’t opened his eyes yet, but he was semi-aware that morning had arrived. Sunlight warmed his skin and lightened the darkness behind his lids, birds chirped up a storm outside, a door creaked, and the sound of music filled the room? Specifically that Van Morrison song his father always sang to his mother about being a brown-eyed girl.
His eyes flew open to see a woman stopped in her tracks at the end of the couch. She covered her mouth with one hand while the other clutched at her chest. He instinctively tightened his arm around Maya while he stared back at the admittedly harmless-looking blonde intruder.
After her momentary shock wore off, she puffed out a breath, adjusted her thick frame glasses, then extended her hand to shake his as if this wasn’t awkward and slightly frightening at all. “Hi. I’m Darby.”
He glanced down at Maya, somehow still sound asleep with her head on his chest and arm draped over his torso, then back up at Darby.
“Reed,” he whispered.
He extended his free hand from his spot on the couch. It wasn’t exactly proper manners, but it was the best he could do since he was pinned on his back under the weight of Maya’s limp body.
“Reed,” Darby repeated, drawing out the E as she studied his face. “Reed…”
At this point, Maya finally began to stir. She tilted her head upward slightly and was making an oh shit face. He also felt like they had been caught with their pants down, but thankfully, they were both fully clothed and had been the entire night. The kiss and the hug turned into cuddling, and they must have fallen asleep on the couch. It wasn’t by design, it just happened, and he was happy it had. Only he wished they were waking up on their own terms this morning because they had a lot to talk about.
“Oh! Officer Reed,” Darby finally realized.
“Oh god,” Maya muttered under her breath as she lifted her head from his chest.
“Yeah. That one,” he answered before meeting Maya’s eyes as she slowly came to. “How many Reeds do you have?” he teased quietly.
“Stop.” She swatted at his chest then pressed her hand against it to push herself up. She sat on the edge of the couch and rubbed her eyes. “What are you doing here, Darbs?”
“Watering Adam’s plants while he’s away,” she explained as she took a seat at the opposite end of the couch. “What are you doing here? You scared the heck out of me.”
“I’m sorry,” Maya said with a heavy sigh. “We needed a place to crash last night, so we came here.”
“Why?” she asked, completely oblivious.
Reed looked from Darby to Maya, feeling more than awkward that he was trapped behind them lying on the couch while they talked over him.
“We had some drinks and it was late,” Maya explained. “The bar was around the corner from here.”
“Oh. You know, I went on a great date last night, too,” Darby volunteered, absolutely lighting up at just the mention of it.
“Oh?” Maya asked hesitantly.
And that was his sign. He pushed himself up and slipped between Maya and Darby. “I’m gonna,” he started quietly as he nodded toward the bathroom.
Maya nodded back. He patted her knee with his hand then used it to push himself off the couch.