Without another word, I head to the kitchen and pop her food into the preheated oven. I make some for myself too because I also love dino nuggets, but I’m mostly thinking of her. While it’s cooking, I peruse my statistics notes. It’s actually been a while since she’s tutored me but I’m not going to hold it against her. She’s been very busy on her own and her help has already been useful to me.
A double take shows Danika standing in the doorway in nothing but her underwear and t-shirt. “What are you doing? Get back into bed.”And where are your goddamn pants?
“I just wanted to stretch my legs a bit. Plus, I need to pee.” She gestures toward the bathroom. “May I?” She taunts and I shake my head as she closes the door behind her.
After a few minutes, she comes back out, just in time for the food to be ready.
“I’m not eating in bed so deal with it.”
“Fine,” I mutter, plating everything. “Just sit on the couch then.” She follows my instructions and I bring her the unhealthy spread of food. We eat for a few minutes before I grab the TV remote. Anything to break the silence.
“Do you want me to put on a movie?”
“It’s okay,” she says, chewing on a dino nug. “We can just talk.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
She thinks for a moment. “Do you need more help with stats? Your midterm must be coming up soon, right?”
“It’s on Thursday.”
“Arden!” She smacks my arm. “Why didn’t you tell me? Go, get your notes. Now.”
I’m shaking my head before she even finishes the sentence. “Absolutely not. We have all week to study. This weekend is for resting.”
“But I’m really busy studying on my own this week. I don’t know when I’ll be able to help you.” The dejected tone of her voice almost makes me break but I stick to my guns. She doesn’t need to be looking at tiny words on a bright white page. She needs to rest.
“It’s okay, brat. You’ve done enough helping so far. I think I got this one in the bag.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I take her hand in mine and give it a gentle squeeze. She gives me a tiny grin but nods in agreement.
The plates are empty and the clock shows just after ten pm. We really should be getting to bed. I’ve got a shift in the morning and I still want to be sure she’s okay before I go.
We take turns getting ready for bed in the bathroom and then Danika goes to her room to put on pajamas. I half expect her to try and stay there but she knows I’d just drag her out or sleep in there with her. I wasn’t kidding about keeping an eye on her.Plus, it’s an excuse to have her close.
I’m sliding into the bed when she walks in, trying my damn hardest to not look at her nipples through the threadbare tank top she threw on.
“I should’ve known you wouldn’t be a gentleman and attempt to sleep on the floor,” she teases.
“Why would I do that? I’ve literally been inside of you.”
“Oh my god, Arden.” Dani grabs the pillow and throws it at my head. I laugh, catching it and then putting it back where it belongs. Under her head.
She slides into her side of the bed and pulls the covers up to her neck, curling up to get comfortable. She turns her head to look at me and I almost lose my breath. Seeing her there, in my bed, tucked in like she belongs there. Because she does. Danika Freeman belongs wherever I am.
“Do you want me to put a pillow barrier up between us?” I am being serious even though doing it would kill something inside of me to do it. I’ve never been happier to hear a laugh in my entire life.
“No, Arden. I think we can control ourselves. Right?”
No.
To be clear, if she wasn’t injured, we would’ve already been together at least three times tonight but that’s definitely not happening so yes, we can control ourselves. Or, at least, we have to.
“Of course.” I pull the covers up on myself and turn the bedside lamp off, plunging us into darkness. I’m ready to close my eyes and forget the events of today, the fact that Dani got hurt worst of all. I don’t want to think about it anymore.
“Thank you,” she whispers.