Page 43 of The Love Audit
“No, ma’am,” the girl replied in a bored voice, followed by the scraping sound of a chair across the wooden floor.
“Teenagers,” Eleanor said with a sigh. “Now, have a seat and tell me about Jasmine. Can I get you a coffee first?”
“Coffee would be great.”
Spending the next thirty minutes talking to Eleanor only made me feel worse about the impossible situation I’d put myself in. I was pretty sure she attributed my dour mood to Jasmine’s illness, which was probably why she gave me another large container of soup and made sure I had Dr. Lyons’s number programmed in my phone.
When I returned to the apartment, I found Jasmine paddingaround the kitchen opening and closing cabinets, still dressed in her pajamas. Her laptop was open on the kitchen table, along with a notebook with a page full of scribbled notes.
“What are you doing out of bed?” My voice startled her and caused her to hit her head on a cabinet door.
“Damn it, Derek,” she squealed, rubbing the point of contact on her forehead. “Would you stop sneaking up on me like that?”
“I didn’t sneak up on you.” I laughed and placed the large paper bag from Eleanor on the kitchen counter. “You were too busy rummaging around the kitchen like a raccoon to notice.”
She ignored my statement and zeroed in on the paper bag.
“Is that from Eleanor?” She opened the bag and pressed her face inside, inhaling deeply. “Did she send me more of that soup?”
“Eleanor gavemesome soup,” I stated matter-of-factly. Jasmine narrowed her eyes at me. “But I’ll be willing to share with you if you go back to bed and rest like the doctor told you to.”
“You just want to stop me from working, so you can get the edge on me,” she quipped with a smirk, “and withholding food is a low blow, Derek Carter.”
“How about this.” I walked to the kitchen table and slowly shut her laptop. “You get back in bed, I’ll bring you your soup”—she opened her mouth to protest—“and if you eat it all, you can work in bed.”
“Fine.” She sighed and began to shuffle toward the bedroom with Tora at her side. She rewarded him with a pat on the head.
I transferred her soup to a bowl and her tea to a mug while I struggled to quell the overwhelming sense of contentment I felttaking care of Jasmine. How could something that was so wrong feel so natural?
I entered the bedroom to find Jasmine stretched out on the bed, scrolling on her phone with Tora’s head in her lap while she lazily scratched him behind the ear. She looked up when I cleared my throat to get her attention.
“Up, boy!” I called out to Tora, who let out a cross between a growl and a whine before moving out of the way so I could place Jasmine’s tray on her lap.
“Where’s my laptop?” she asked before she even picked up her spoon.
“You’re mispronouncing ‘thank you’ again.” I smiled at her. “And you’ll get your laptop after you eat your soup.”
“Yes, sir,” she quipped and rolled her eyes before beginning to eat. I know she was joking, but those two little words ignited a stirring in my belly.
The thought of her saying those two little words to me under very different circumstances caused me to turn to leave the bedroom before she could see how her words affected me.
“And, Derek,” she called to me just as I passed through the doorway. I turned to face her. “Thank you.”
I nodded and retrieved our laptops. When she finished her soup, I joined her and Tora on the bed, where we spent the rest of the morning silently working side by side, as if this were the way we’d spent every morning for a lifetime of mornings.
Tora and I returned from retrieving lunch to find Jasmine passed out in bed with her laptop open and her proposal displayed on the screen. Normally, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to get an edge on a rival. Today, even though my performance on this project would make or break my career, I closed Jasmine’s laptop and placed it on the bedside table. I slipped off my jeans and hoodie and slid into a pair of pajama pants so I could join her in the bed.
I’d watched her sleep for a few moments, when her eyes fluttered open and she gave me a quizzical look accompanied by a smile.
“Have you been staring at me like that the entire time I’ve been asleep?” She chuckled. “That’s big stalker behavior.” She sat up and reached for the glass of water I’d set out for her on the bedside table.
“Stalker?” I sat up. “I just got back from getting you lunch, and for your information, I was watching you to make sure you weren’t dead.” She chuckled, nearly choking on her water. “I came in here and you were knocked out with your laptop all open, notebook on the floor, drooling everywhere…”
“Shut up.” She shook her head at me, and her laughter faded, settling into a smile that lit up her face. She set the glass on the table before placing her hand on top of mine.
“Thank you for taking such good care of me, Derek.” Her expression was earnest, but her eyes were curious. I had no words, so I only nodded. “I appreciate it, but I don’t understand why you’re doing it.”
“Aside from being a decent human being?”
