Page 68 of The Downside of Love
I give her a once-over and playfully say, “Yeah, I do mind. I like that dress.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s chilly.” She goes to stand, but the stupid part of me takes over and instead of letting her pass by, I pull her back onto the couch and drape my arm over her.
“Just snuggle under a blanket with me and you’ll be fine.” Reaching forward, I snag one of the throw blankets she keeps on the little shelf of the coffee table and drape it over us. I situate her against my body. “There, that work?”
She nods her head against my chest.
I take the remote from the coffee table and switch the TV to Netflix. “In the mood for anything in particular?”
“Nothing super violent,” she says, her hair brushing the underside of my chin.
“How about comedy?”
“Or romance.” There is a joking tone to her suggestion, but little does she know, I dabble in romance every now and then.
Knowing exactly what I want to watch, I type it into the search and when it comes up, I press play.
Pushing off me, she looks me in the eyes and asks, “Really?”
“What?” I smirk. “You don’t want to watch that?” The movie starts to play in the background.
“Top Gun?”
“There’s romance.”
“It’s the Navy,” she points out.
“All the more reason to watch it. Means I won’t be salty when Tom Cruise pretends to fly through the air. Come on.” I snuggle her back down into position. “If I start to cry, you can comfort me.”
Exhaling with a laugh, she gives in and snuggles in closer just as the song “Danger Zone” starts to play. This is all I need: Rory pressed against me, a movie playing in the background; my sole focus the smooth inhale and exhale passing through her lungs.
This night may have gotten off to a rough start, but we’re back to normal. We’re back to us.
* * *
“Hey,” I nudge Rory who’s tightly curled against me, sleeping. I stroke her head and whisper softly, not wanting to startle her. The TV is off, movie’s over, and with the usually bright moon covered by clouds tonight, it’s dark in the apartment. “Rory, wake up.”
Halfway through the movie, Rory changed into her pajamas, and we both brushed our teeth in case we fell asleep.
“The movie is over.”
“Mmm,” she groans, moving in closer, clinging to my shirt.
She’ll get a kink in her neck if she stays in this position, so I decide to take matters into my own hands . . . or arms. I pick her up, cradling her to my chest, and take her to her bed. I pull the covers back and then set her down.
When I go to lift away, she stops me. “Please don’t go.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Just headed to bed.”
Eyes sleepy, she shakes her head. “No, don’t go to your bed. Keep me warm.”
My heart stutters in my chest, my body going numb from head to toe, stunned.What the fuck do I do now?
I pull on the back of my neck. “I don’t know if that’s—”
“Please.” She tugs on my arm, pulling me close to the mattress. “Just lie next to me, Stryder.”
Just lie next to her. As if it’s that easy. To her, maybe, to me, it will fulfill a fantasy I’ve had since I met her. To her it would just be another night, to me it would be monumental. It would break down the walls I’ve tried to keep plastered together every moment I’m around her.
