Page 25 of Friends That Heal Us
“Magnesium. It should help you relax.” I hand him the cup. He eyes it before he takes it from me and drinks it.
When he’s done, I take the cup back and say, “Let’s go back to bed. I’ll massage your feet.”
He shakes his head. “No, you don’t have to do that. You should go back to bed. I’ll be fine.”
I grab his hand. “It’s fine. I know how it feels. I used to get this when I was younger. A massage does wonders.”
One side of his lip turns upward. “You’re okay with touching my feet?”
I giggle. “Yes, I’m okay with touching your feet.”
We both get upstairs, and he goes into his room, and I go into mine to grab a bottle of lotion.
When I walk back into his room, he’s sitting upright with his feet dangling off the side of the bed.
“Lay down.”
He eyes me like I’m crazy but scoots himself further onto the bed and rests his head on his pillow. I turn the light off and look over at the bed. The moon is bright tonight, shining through the window and illuminating the room. I didn’t realize I never put up blinds in here. I hope it doesn’t bother him.
I sit on the side of his left foot, pour lotion onto my hands and rub them together to warm the lotion and my hands up. He looks over at me as I grab his foot and start massaging the lotion in. His foot feels very tense, and I don’t know if it’s from the restless leg or if he’s not comfortable with me rubbing his foot.
“Relax,” I say softly.
He nods his head and lets out a breath.
I can feel and see his whole body relax as I get more into massaging his foot. His eyes flutter open when I move over to the right foot. After massaging more lotion into my hand, I get to work on his second foot. I look back up at him to see if he woke up, but his chest rises and falls as soft breaths come out of him. He fell asleep. His face, which had been tense, now looks more at peace. I pause for a moment, looking over him, my heart tugging a little at the care we have shown each other in such a short amount of time.
Slowly and carefully, I get up from the bed, making sure I don’t wake him. I pull the blanket up over him and tiptoe out of the room.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EZRA
I’m sittingat the kitchen table enjoying my cup of coffee waiting for Vi to wake up and come down. Usually, I’m at work by now, but I wanted to thank her in person this morning for doing what she did for me last night.
I’ve never had someone take care of me with so much thoughtfulness. Well, besides my mom.
She was busy and exhausted all weekend; the last thing she needed was to be awake helping me with my problems. But she put herself aside for someone else. Like she always has. I don’t know if she hears it enough from people, or at all, that she’s appreciated. I want to be the one to tell her. I want her to know this is the first thing that’s on my mind this morning and not wait until later in the day before telling her. Call me crazy, but it’s important to me.
I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. When Vi rounds the corner, it’s like everything else in the room fades away. My cheeks rise as I smile from ear to ear. There’s something about her presence that just…shifts everything. She catches me staring,and I can see the softness in her gaze. The tension I’ve been carrying feels lighter this morning. And it’s all because of her.
“You’re still here? I thought you would be at work already.”
The closer she gets, the more I notice how her pink workout clothes hug her in all the right places. Her tank top fits snug and accentuates her breasts. I remember her once saying she wondered if Zayn stopped finding her attractive because she didn’t dress up every day like she used to. If that’s true, then Zayn’s a fucking idiot, which we have already established. She looks fucking amazing no matter what she wears. Honestly, she could be in an old holey T-shirt and still leave me speechless. There’s something about the way she doesn’t have to try so hard. Everything works for her.
I clear my throat, breaking my stare. “I usually am. But I wanted to see you before I went to work.”
She halts her steps and tilts her head. “Is everything okay?”
I nod. “Oh yeah. Nothing is wrong. I wanted to thank you for last night and let you know I appreciate it a lot.”
“Oh,” she says, pausing for a minute, like she’s caught off guard from my thanking her. “You’re welcome. It was nothing though.” She shrugs, walking past me to the espresso machine.
I shift my body and get up from my chair, following her into the kitchen. “Vi, it wasn’t nothing. It means a lot to me. No one has ever done that for me.”
She quickly shifts back over to me and looks at me with sadness in her eyes. “You mean to tell me Rya never would help you?”
I shake my head.
