Page 50 of Someone to Watch Over Me

Tom

I’m exhausted, but I don’t want to sleep while Lexi is stretched out next to me on the sofa while we watch a movie. She insisted I relax all day, which is what I’ve done, but my mind is anything but relaxed as I relive the hot kisses that’ve kept me on edge ever since.

I’ve waited so long to be close to her. In some ways, I feel like I’ve waited most of my life for this chance, and of course, it happens after I have a heart attack that has me at about fifty percent of my usual energy and fitness levels.

Timing, they say, is everything. Without the heart attack, we might’ve gone on as we were indefinitely as friendly roommates who did nice things for each other and spent quite a lot of time together but were stuck firmly in the nothing-romantic zone. Not that there was anything at all wrong with that. I’ve loved every minute I’ve spent with Lexi. It’s just that I’ve always suspected we could be something special as a couple.

Now I’m sure of it.

Kissing her was the best thing ever, but then, I knew it would be. However, here’s the thing… It waswaymore than I expected. Kissing is almost always pleasant and fun and leads to all sorts of good things. But kissingherwas different. It was like a full-body experience, like sex would be with someone else. Not that I’ve thought about sex with anyone but her since the night we connected in that bar. My friends with benefits were immediately forgotten the minute I saw her sitting on the barstool next to me.

Now that I know about her high school crush, I believe that night was fated. How else to explain two people who yearned for each other years ago meeting up in the same place at the same time when they were both free to finally have their first conversation and anything else that might follow?

It was fate. I’ll always believe that.

Just like it was fate that I asked her to move in and then she was the only person due home when I was fighting for my life on the living room floor. Without her as my roommate, I wouldn’t still be here.

“Do you believe in fate?” I ask her.

“What?”

I twirl a length of her curly hair around my index finger. Now that I’m allowed to touch her, I don’t ever want to stop. “You heard me. Are you a believer?”

“I mean… I guess so? Are you?”

“I am now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think this week, sitting still for the first time in a while, about how if fate hadn’t brought us together that night in the bar and I hadn’t asked you to move in with me, I’d be dead right now.”

“Tom… Don’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s true. You saved my life. If you didn’t live here, I’d have been long gone by the time anyone realized I was in trouble.”

“I can’t even think about that.”

“It was fate, Lexi. We’re fated. Everything has been leading to this for both of us, even the bad stuff. Without that, you wouldn’t have needed a new place to live. I wouldn’t have had any reason to offer that to you. I’d have been living alone when I had a heart attack. It would’ve been game over if fate hadn’t brought you into my life when it did.”

“I suppose all of that is true, but do you think it was prearranged by the universe or something?”

“I’ve never been a super religious person, but I do believe there’s something at work here that’s bigger than us.”

“Maybe it’s Jim. He was so worried about what would become of me after he died, especially because his illness created such a massive debt for me. He suffered over that.”

“I’m sure he did. It must’ve been hell for him that he couldn’t do anything to fix that for you.”

“It was. I often think it was the worst part of it for him, knowing he was leaving me with a huge mess to clean up.”

“Have you spoken with a debt counselor? There’re consolidation loans and stuff like that. You might also be eligible for some federal relief programs.”

“You think so?”

“You won’t know if you don’t ask. I have a guy who’s savvy about this stuff. I’ll hook you up with him.”

“Wow, that’d be amazing. I’ve sort of accepted that I’m going to be in debt for the rest of my life, which is fine because I wouldn’t have done anything differently. I wanted Jim to be as comfortable as possible. My very last thought at the time was the cost.”

“I get that. I’d be the same way for someone I loved. Whatever it takes.”

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