Page 44 of Becoming His Muse
Elion was stifling hot, and it pulled him from his sleep. His eyes opened to stare into the darkness, but he didn’t need to see to know what the cause of the heat was. Olani was lying on top of him. It seemed her fever had broken as she slept, and he felt like he was under a furnace. The T-shirts they both wore to bed were soaked—the front and back of hers and the front of his. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her, but he needed to get her out of the shirt.
He could roll them over and possibly remove the shirt without waking her, but that sounded creepy to him, and regardless of his intention, he didn’t want to undress her without her permission. Her head was on his chest as she straddled him, and Elion tightened the arm he had wrapped around her as he slowly sat up. Feeling around for the lamp on the nightstand, he turned it on.
“Sweetheart,” he called softly as he rubbed her back. She didn’t stir, and he pulled her away from his chest. “Olani, I need you to wake up for a moment.” This time, he shook her a little.
She groaned, her eyes slowly opening before she closed them again, turning her head away from the lamp and laying it back on his chest.
“I’m tired,” she mumbled.
“I know, baby, but you’ve sweat through your shirt. Can I take it off of you?” She nodded but didn’t move to sit up, and he refrained from chuckling.
He removed her from his chest again, grabbed the hem of her shirt, and pulled it up. She lifted her arms from him to remove it, and he dropped it beside the bed. Grabbing the back of his, he pulled it off, dropping it onto the floor with hers. She retook her original position, and he situated them in bed again before turning the lamp off. Her easy breathing was soon lulling him back to sleep.
The next time Elion woke up, he was lying on his side, Olani’s back to his chest, with his arm draped over her waist. He didn’t remember how or when they ended up that way. Slowly, he removed his arm from her waist so as not to wake her before he got out of bed. He went into her bathroom, opened the toothbrush he’d picked up when he’d gone to the store to get ingredients for her soup yesterday, and brushed his teeth. While he was out, he picked up a few other things, including the boxers he currently wore. He washed his face and stopped to pick up one of her socks that hadn’t made it into her hamper when they’d showered last night.
When he stepped back into her bedroom, she was still sleeping soundly, and he grabbed the shirts he’d taken off of them last night. He exited the bedroom, went to her laundry room, and moved his clothes from the washer to the dryer, starting it before placing the two shirts into the washer and leaving the lid open.
Elion went into the kitchen, remembering that he’d seen some oatmeal when he’d been looking for seasonings the day before. If, by chance, she still felt nauseous, it would help.
Once the oatmeal finished cooking, he added butter and brown sugar and made her a bowl. He set it on the tray, allowing it to cool some as he placed two pieces of toast in the toaster and sliced a banana while he waited for it to pop up. He buttered the toast, put it on a plate with the banana, and poured her some orange juice.
Tray in hand, he went into the bedroom, sitting it on the nightstand closest to her. Elion sat beside her and ran his thumb over her cheek. She didn’t feel as warm as she had the previous day, but he could tell she still had a mild fever.
It didn’t take long before her eyes fluttered open. She rolled onto her back, stretching as she yawned.
“Good morning,” she greeted.
“Good morning, Sweetheart. How’d you sleep?”
“Surprisingly well. What about you?”
“I had you on top of me for most of the night, so I can’t complain,” he responded with a smirk. “I made breakfast. You’re still a little warm. I’ll bring you some medicine after you eat. You want me to get you a shirt?” He placed the tray on her lap when she shook her head and sat up against the headboard.
“First homemade soup, now you’re making breakfast. I might have to keep you, Mr. Henderson.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for, Ms. Morgan.” He kissed her forehead. “Eat. I’ll be back soon.”
He went back into the kitchen and made his own bowl of oatmeal. He rarely ate breakfast, his body usually not craving anything until almost lunchtime, but he’d made a little too much and didn’t want it to go to waste.
After eating his breakfast, he cleaned the kitchen and was finishing up when Olani walked in, now dressed in a T-shirt andlounge shorts, carrying the tray with her. Elion took it from her with a raised brow.
“What did I tell you yesterday?”
“It isn’t heavy, and I feel much better.” She took the glass off the tray and went to the fridge, pouring some more orange juice.
He removed the bowl and plate from the tray, wiping it down before putting it away. “I think you just wanted to be stubborn,” he told her, turning the water back on. “Take your medicine, and we’ll watch a movie together.”
“I wasn’t being stubborn, but okay.”
He watched her leave the kitchen before washing the few dishes and drying his hands off. He turned the light out and went into the living room, sitting beside Olani on the couch. She leaned into his side as she chose a horror movie on Hulu. They were supposed to go out later that evening, but even if she felt better, he wouldn’t let them. Elion didn’t mind staying there with her, spending the day watching movies and making sure she felt better. Oddly, he preferred it.
19
Olani glanced over at Elion as he drove. She didn’t know where they were going. He’d only put on the site that it was a surprise, and he’d refused to tell her. She knew it wasn’t what they had planned the previous weekend when she got sick because she’d planned that date, and he’d asked her if they could do it the following weekend instead of making it up then. She hadn’t minded since her mother and aunt had pushed their visit back when a couple of their friends invited them to a concert weekend, and she’d never seen her mother turn down seeing Mary J. Blige in concert.
She didn’t have to wait long to see where he was taking her. They pulled up to the Municipal Rose Garden. Olani couldn’t remember the last time she’d been there but knew it’d been a few years, at least.
Elion came around to the passenger side, opened the door, and helped her out. With her hand still in his, he led her tothe entrance. They had an hour before the garden closed, and she figured he wanted to come later in the day since the crowd wouldn’t be too large.
