Page 43 of That First Night
He pauses, clearly trying to think it over. “You really don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
He moves quickly when he rounds the kitchen island and pulls me in for a hug. His arms circle my head while my arms wrap around his waist and my cheek is pressed into his bare chest. I suck in a breath, and he rests his chin on my head and whispers, “thank you, Peyton. I really owe you one,” before he pulls away. It was a quick embrace but the way he pulls away feels like he didn’t mean to do that.
“I’m going to jump in the shower and get ready for work,” he says as he walks out of the kitchen, leaving me with the thought of him naked and water dripping from his tattoo covered chest down his chiseled abs and then down to his…Get it together, Peyton.
I cut through my own thoughts and move to finish the dishes that are left. It’s the least I can do since he made me the most amazing waffles. He’s really become a pro at those vegan waffles.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been in the kitchen cleaning when I feel Thomas’ presence. My gaze travels to the entrance and I pause what I’m doing when I see him standing there looking like the boss he is. My mouth falls slightly open because he’s wearing his signature look. I swear this man only owns navy blue suits to get me hot and bothered. Does he know this color compliments his ocean blue eyes perfectly? Hehasto know.
“I’m heading out,” he says as he’s looking down and adjusting the cufflinks on his white dress shirt. “Please call or text if you need anything. I have medicine and a thermometer in the bathroom cabinet upstairs. I’m going to try to get home early today.” He lifts his gaze to meet mine. “Are you sure you’re okay staying home with him on your day off?”
“Of course. Get out of here.” I playfully slap his arm. “I’ll text you updates.”
“Thank you,” is all he says in a very flat tone. He moves towards the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water and a grab and go meal that Rosie had made. Then he pours himself a to-go cup of coffee not saying another word or acknowledging I’m still here. Next thing I know, he’s out the door and is gone without even a glance back.
Hmm, that was weird.
When I enter the living room, I find James still sleeping on the couch. As soon as I sit down, he wiggles in his sleep and wakes up to see me sitting next to him. He moves quickly to curl up next to me. His head falls onto my chest and his arm lays over my stomach.
“How are you feeling, James?
“My belly really hurts.”
“I’m sorry you’re sick, bud.” I tighten my arm that wraps around him. “Do you want to have a movie day with me?”
“Oh, yes,” he says with a little excitement in his voice. “Can we pull all the shades down and act like we’re in the movie theaters?”
I giggle at him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Over the next three hours, we have successfully watched two movies and neither of us has moved from the couch since we started. I haven’t updated Thomas, so I pull my phone out to shoot him a quick text and I see five missed calls from Avery and Kali. Deciding to call them back in a little bit, I pull up the text thread I have going with Thomas to text him.
Hi. I just wanted to update you that James hasn’t thrown up in three hours and I think his fever is coming down.
Ok.
Woah.
What the fuck happened between last night and this morning?
Is he… regretting last night?
Maybe I'm looking too much into a one-word response.
Looking back at the events that took place this morning, I begin to overthink everything and the more I do, the more I think he is regretting it. He didn’t so much as smile when he found me with James and offered me waffles. But he hugged me? When he came down after his shower, he was much colder towards me. He was barely able to look me in the eyes when he left and now, I’m getting one word text messages back.
Deciding to not respond, I look over to see James sleeping again so I make my way into the kitchen and decide to call Kali back out of all the missed calls. The video chat rings, and her face pops up on the screen and I prop my phone against the candle sitting on the counter.
“Hey, babe.” Kali beams.
I sigh. “Hey. What’s with the multiple missed calls from you and Avery. You two okay?”
“We can’t call you because we missed you?”
“I literally just saw you both yesterday.”
“How was last night?” she asks.
