Page 10 of Solanum

"Okay." I respected her limits for the time being. "Tell me what you need then. As your friend, not your colleague or whatever."

"Nothing." She sniffled and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. "I'm fine."

"You're not." I scooted closer to her until my knees bumped hers. Her entire body seemed to relax when I drew closer. My brow furrowed, and her gaze flickered to mine.

We stared at each other, my heart pounding in my chest. Every bit of instinct in me screamed to touch her, ached to soothe some part of her left cold by her experiences. Her breathing, tense and quick, remained the same as she held my gaze for several intense seconds. I fought with myself, argued over the options, until I reached out and stroked her arm from shoulder to elbow. She closed her eyes then, offering me the faintest nod.

I closed the distance between us and wrapped her up in a full-bodied hug. It took her half a second to respond, her arms snaking around my middle as her body seemed to sigh along with the exhale that left her. I wasn't a beat behind. I drew in a slow breath, resting my head on top of hers while we held each other.

My heart rattled in my chest when a sharp flash of memory broke through. Pointed peeks of ancient pyramids belonging to the sandy desert of Egypt lingered in my mind's eye. I squeezed my eyes shut, and my ache to protect Nora suddenly inflated like someone pulled the cord of a life raft inside me. It took over, setting fire to every neuron in my body that sent shockwaves of passionate rage to my farthest reaches. I never, ever, wanted anyone else to touch her. To be near her or hurt her.

The dangerous cocktail of emotions spilled over and I squeezed her tighter to me. Her fingers dug into me as if she could sense it, too. I ran my fingers through her feathery hair and succumbed to my resolve.

She relaxed in my arms when sleep finally stole her away, and I closed my eyes, silently cursing myself for crumbling.

***

"It's so cold in here," Nora said while perched on my sofa. "Can you light a fire like last time?"

"Sure. It's not that cold, girly girl. Tell her, Brian." I toted over two beers and handed one to her and Roderick.

"It's slightly nippy," he said, pretending to rub his nipples through his Seahawks jersey.

"Idiot." We both laughed at him. "What time is Jenson coming?"

"No idea." He reached for another chip. "He better not miss the Seahawks in this Superbowl. I'm telling you. I feel good about this. Twenty-fourteen is our year."

I rolled my eyes at him, then dropped down to sit beside Nora with a beer of my own.

"I'm not even sure why I'm here," said Nora, taking a swig of beer. "Maybe the food. Definitely not the company." She frowned at Roderick who only laughed at her.

"Come on." He held his arms out to Nora. "Bring it in. I'll keep you warm."

"Shut up and choke on a wiener." She tossed a pig-in-a-blanket at him.

We all laughed when it hit him in the forehead. He picked it up and ate it anyway.

"Never the men, always the food." I reached for another pizza roll and burned my mouth as usual. "Ow."

"You've done that three times already." Nora laughed at me. "They're hot!"

"So are you, so shut the fuck up." I puffed out my breath to cool off the food before chewing it.

Jenson showed up a few minutes later with Taylor and his girlfriend. The crew of us sat down to watch the Superbowl, but mainly enjoyed the day off with buckets of food in between. Along with the giant three-foot sandwich, we ordered pizza and wings to go with our overflowing access to alcohol.

Nora wandered off boredly before halftime, as she usually did during social events involving sports. Jenson and Taylor shouted at the television while Roderick banged on the floor. Taylor's girlfriend, Julie, rolled her eyes but sat faithfully beside him. I watched the epic touchdown with much less enthusiasm than our crew.

When Nora didn't return within ten minutes, I set my beer down and headed off in search of her. I wasn't sure how much she drank, but it wasn't beyond her to end up hurling from it after a while or at the very least, falling asleep in oddly uncomfortable places like the stonework ledge beside the hearth on Christmas Eve.

I checked the bathroom to no avail, followed by the bedroom. She wasn't in either of those spaces and my brow furrowed. I crossed the hall to the second bedroom I mainly used for storage instead of the actual storage room. I found her standing by the partially unpacked totes, holding a picture.

"Are you snooping my house?" I called out, leaning against the doorframe to watch her.

"A little bit." She didn't startle at all, as if she expected me to find her. "You have a tote filled with sex toys."

"That surprises you?"

"No." She smirked and turned the photo around to show me. "Who's this? Were you in Egypt?"

---