Page 41 of Tell Me What You Want

I nod. But then I see his movements are somewhat stiff.

“Are you OK?” I ask.

Surprised by my question, he just stares at me.

“Yes, it’s just that I have a little bit of a headache.”

“If you’d like, I have aspirin in the medicine cabinet.”

I see him smile. Then he kisses my head.

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll pass.”

I need to sleep, but I don’t want him to go, so I hold on to his shirt to keep him from leaving.

“I would like it if you stayed with me, although I know that’s not possible.”

“Why is that not possible?”

“I don’t want to have sex,” I whisper with an overwhelming sincerity.

Eric raises his hand and touches my face with a tenderness that, until this moment, I have never experienced from him.

“I’ll stay with you, and I won’t try anything unless you ask me.”

This surprises me.

He stands up and offers his hand. I take it, and he leads me to my room. Astonished, I watch as he takes off his shoes. I do the same. Then he takes off his pants. I do the same. He leaves his shirt on a chair and just keeps on his black boxers. Sexy. He pulls back the blanket and gets into the bed. In keeping with what I’ve asked, I take off my shirt, then my bra, and I pull an undershirt and pajama shorts from under my pillow. They feature the Tasmanian Devil. He grins and I roll my eyes.

After I put on my pj’s, I open a small round box, extract a pill, and swallow it.

“What’s that?”

“My birth control,” I explain.

An instant later, I’m lying next to him. He puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me toward him. Then he kisses the tip of my nose.

“Sleep, Jude ... sleep.”

His closeness and his voice relax me; and tangled up like this, I fall into a deep slumber.

16

My alarm clock rings. When I check, it’s seven thirty.

I reach to turn it off. I stretch lazily on the bed, and then my brain snaps awake. I look to my right and see Eric is gone. My mind becomes aware of all that has happened, and I quickly sit up.

“Good morning,” I hear a voice say.

I look toward the door and there he is, fully dressed. I check out his clothes and am surprised that the suit and shirt he’s wearing aren’t what he had on yesterday. He reads my mind.

“Tomás brought these over about an hour ago.”

“Did your headache go away?” I ask.

“Yes, Jude. Thanks for asking.”

I reply with a sad smile. I get up without being fully conscious of what a horrible sight I must be. My hair is a mess, my eyes are crusty, and I’m wearing my Tasmanian Devil pj’s. As I walk by him, I get on my toes and give him a peck on the cheek.

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