Page 38 of Spiralling Skywards
I slid out from beside her, found the cupboard containing the boiler and switched on the heat. It didn’t escape me that we could just go to her place once she woke up. After all, her place was empty across the road, but I didn’t want to go there. I wanted to keep her here. Somewhere that was ours that nobody else knew about yet.
We’d had zero privacy the previous four weeks. It had been years since I’d kissed a girl in my car or on their front doorstep and then gone home alone, but that was just the way it’d had to be. Luke was going to be home the following day, and we planned to tell him that we were together then. I had no clue how he’d take, it and to be honest, I didn’t care. I was falling fast for Sarah, and I’d tell him that. I needed to tell her about Olivia first, though. We were married on paper only, she hadn’t been my wife in years, if ever, so it was no big deal. I’d just rather Sarah knew the truth and that she heard it from me.
I found the keys to Sarah’s house in her bag and left her sleeping while I went across the road to her place. I gathered up her sweats and trackies she’d had on the night before and some toiletries from her bathroom. Then, right before I left, I tucked some milk, teabags, beer, wine, and some cups from her kitchen into my bag too.
The place was warmer when I returned. I put everything in the kitchen before going back to the bedroom where Sarah was just sitting up and rubbing her eyes. I sat on the bed and watched her as she blinked a few times and took in her surroundings. Then she covered her face with both hands and mumbled, “Oh please tell me that didn’t really happen earlier.”
“Yep, I really rented the place across from yours.”
She spread her fingers apart and looked at me through them.
“That wasn’t just a dream?”
“Nope, you’re here, tied to the bed of your very own stalker.”
She actually sat up further and moved her legs, just to be sure they hadn’t been restrained. She looked across to me and gave a small smile.
“Kidnapped and tied to a bed by my stalker sounds like a much better dream than the nightmare of me having a major panic attack in front of him.”
I wanted say something funny in response, but my sense of humour vanished when I saw the tears shinning in her eyes.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“One day, just not right now.”
“I’m here when ya do.”
“I know. Thank you and I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. Like I said last night, it’s been an intense few weeks, and I just added to the pressure today.”
We sat and stared down to where our hands had found each other’s. We remained in total silence for a few moments.
“So my stalkerishness levels increased exponentially while you were sleeping.”
The dimple appeared as she gave me a smile. “Stalkerishness? Is that even a word?”
“Yep, just check in the dictionary of New South Austria.”
The light spilling in from the street and the hallway allowed me to witness the way her smile lit up her eyes and banished the tears that had been threatening. It made me feel good that I was responsible for that.
“I might just do that. So what did your new-found stalkerishness levels lead you to do?”
“I went down your bag.”
“What? Why?
“To get the keys to your place, I raided your fridge for wine, beer, and milk; your pantry for tea bags, a bag of Doritos, and a jar of dip; and your bathroom for some toiletries and clothes. Oh, and while I was looking for your PJs, I found your stash of sex toys.”
“What?”
She almost took off from the bed, and her shriek actually hurt my ears.
“What did you do?”
What the fuck? Why was she panicking?
“You actuallyhavesex toys?”
