He hangs up and a moment later, the door buzzes open. I take the lift up, too tired to contemplate the stairs. As the doors open and I step out, it’s a comfort to see Jack propping up the door frame to Cassidy’s flat.
“Hey, you look done in.” He frowns at me.
“Yep.” I’m exhausted. This was a mistake. I should have just gone home. He grabs me in a bear hug, taking me by surprise.
“Let’s get you hydrated and tucked up.” He pushes me into the flat, closing and locking the front door before he strides over to the coffee table and lifts a glass of water, passing it to me. I guzzle it down, not realising until that moment that it’s been ages since I drank anything.
“Shower or bed?”
“Is Cassidy asleep?”
“Yes, but she seems to sleep like a log. I doubt it would wake her.”
“Nah, don’t want to chance it. I’ll grab one in the morning. I’ll just head to the bathroom first.”
He grabs the glass out of my hand and goes to the kitchen to refill it while I go to the bathroom. When I come out, he’s waiting for me. He guides me into Cassidy’s bedroom and I stand, feeling confused, as he strips off my t-shirt, then his. Then he shucks my jeans down, crouching to pull them off my ankles as well as my socks. My shoes were abandoned by the door when I came in. I’m gripped in another bear hug before he pushes me towards the bed. We are both in our boxer shorts. He urges me into the bed beside Cassidy and then climbs in behind me.
“You’re being weird.” This is very un-Jack-like. He’s usually only taking my clothes off when he wants to fuck.
“Maybe it’s time someone took care of you rather than the other way around,” he says quietly. My eyes widen as my heart thumps in my chest.Maybe he does care?He spoons behind me, kisses my shoulder, and pats my abs before turning the light off.
Through all the activity, Cassidy hasn’t moved at all. She really does sleep hard.Just like she does everything else.She’s laid on her side, facing us. I shimmy across the bed so I can lay a hand over her hip and she gives a sigh, snuggling a little closer. It’snot long before I fall asleep, surrounded by Cassidy and Jack and feeling more relaxed than I have all day.
I’m vaguely aware of Jack getting up the next morning to head to the gym before we go to brunch. The sun is streaming in through the crack in the curtains when I finally wake. I look around the room, remembering I’m at Cassidy’s place. And I’m all alone in her bed, which feels weird. I give myself a moment to get my bearings and then stumble from the bed.
I find Cassidy curled up on the couch, with a laptop on her knees and her hands wrapped around a mug. She looks up as I open the door wide, giving me a giant smile. “Hey, sleepyhead, how you doing?”
“I’m good. What’s the time?”
She looks down at her laptop. “10:30.”
“Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep this late. Have you been awake long?”
“It’s okay, you must have needed it. Jack messaged me to say he’d gone to the gym and that you’d arrived late and exhausted. I’ve only been up for about an hour. Just been looking at some feedback Jack gave me last night on a scene I wrote. You want a cuppa?”
“A coffee would be great… and, uh, a shower, if that’s okay?” I ask sheepishly.
“Go for it. Jack left his key and said you can go and grab some clothes from his place if you don’t want to go back to yours before brunch.”
“Ah, sweet. I hadn’t thought of that.”
She puts the laptop and mug down before she walks towards me. “Are you not a morning person, big guy?” she asks with a laugh.
“Coffee usually helps,” I tell her with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, sorry for taking so long. Come on, let’s get you caffeinated.” She leads me through to her kitchen, where I lean my exhausted body against a counter while she makes me a drink with her pod coffee machine. She even froths the milk before she hands it to me. I give a grateful sigh as I cradle the mug and take a big swallow.
“This is delicious, thank you.” I lean over to give her a kiss. “What time did Jack leave?”
“He messaged about 8:30 am, so I guess around then.”Jeez, crazy guy.
“Shall I use the shower at his place?”
She bites her lips and stares at me for a moment. “Why don’t you just grab some clothes, then come back here and use mine? I thought we could share.”
I blink as my mind conjures up the image of us both naked, wet and entwined in the shower. “I can get behind that idea.”
When I let myself into his flat, I notice a stack of books on the table by the entrance. I can’t stop myself from peeking at the titles and raise my eyebrows when I realise they are all about New York city.He must be planning a trip.I make a mental note to ask him about it later as I make my way through to his bedroom to find some clothes.