Page 48 of Seasons of Love
Two. See Wren and the guys.
Three. Research for my secret release. The one that no one knew about so it didn't create a frenzy of questions, because as far as everyone knew, A. Lawton was on a break.
Four. Four…what the fuck was four? Ah well, those were enough. I'd done those, right? Maybe another week or two and then I'd be back home, and Slade would be just a nice memory. A reminder that I wasn't the broken man Richard had left behind.
God, I hated getting drunk. I was always so fucking emotional.
I looked around to familiarize myself with Slade's place. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the best description I had for Slade's room was a sanctuary. The bed was huge and it was pillow central. I never knew you could fit so many pillows on a bed and still sleep comfortably.
The walls were painted a light grey and there were large photos on the walls. Landscapes, roads, buildings. I wondered what significance, if any, they had to Slade.
"Oh, you're up."
I sat back against the headboard, fluffing at least three pillows.
"There's a ninety-five percent chance I'll never leave this bed again. Just saying."
He smiled, putting two painkillers in my hand and holding the cup of coffee. "What does the missing five percent account for?"
"I'm gonna need to pee soon."
"You're something else, Aid—"
The phone rang again. Slade looked at it as if he wanted to throw it out of the window.
"What's up? Who is it?" I asked.
He silenced the phone and put it back on the bedside table.
"My ex-husband."
Slade had an ex-husband? He'd left a lot of personal stuff out of his conversations, but somehow I had assumed he'd always been single.
"Should you…um, talk to him?" I asked. We weren't in a relationship, were we? We were only two people who enjoyed each other. Surely he should find out what his ex wanted.
"I don’t have anything to say to him. Aiden, we divorced six years ago, and I haven't seen or spoken to him since. There's absolutely no reason for us to talk again."
Maybe he was saying it to reassure me, or to reassure himself, but he didn't seem convinced.
"I think you should take the call next time. If he already called a few times today, and from your face it's not just today, then something must be up."
Slade caressed my cheek and leaned over for a kiss. "I'll call him tomorrow. Today is our underwear day."
"Underwear day?"
"Underwear day."
True to his word, we spent the whole day in just our underwear. I had a chance to inspect his book collection, which he was only a little embarrassed about when I pointed out most of his books were mine, and he even had some titles twice that I'd recovered for a new edition.
We cooked together, laughed, and made out…a lot.
"You are a fun guy, Slade," I said when we sat on his couch after dinner. It was still early, so the sun wasn't completely gone yet. In fact, his couch was in the perfect spot to relax with the setting sun shining on us.
Slade had my feet on his lap and was massaging them gently. I was doing the same to him.
"I can't say I've ever been told that I'm a fun guy," he chuckled. "Moody? Quiet? Yes. Fun? Nope."
"Well, maybe people weren't paying attention."
