“As well as can be expected. Sedatives are nice.”
“And…how are you?”
“I don’t get why you’re here.”
“I brought your car back. And…I thought maybe you wouldn’t want to come home to an empty house. But I can go…” He started to get up.
“No, wait.” She put her hand on his forearm to hold him in place. “Why do you care if I come home to an empty house?”
He shrugged. “I know I don’t like coming home to an empty apartment.”
“Then why do you live alone?”
He exhaled. “Kam, we’re both tired and not making sense. I’m here because I wanted to make sure my friend is okay. I’ll go if you want me to.”
“No.” Kamila tightened her hand on his arm. “Stay.”
He nodded. Their eyes locked for a few seconds. Kamila didn’t really think about what she did next. The surge of emotions from her day overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t bear climbing into her cold bed, alone. Very slowly, she shifted her body, swinging her legs up into the bed and under his covers. He slid over to make room for her, and she lay next to him.
She watched his face, and when there was no sign of objection, she rested her head on his shoulder. His arms immediately came around her. He fitted her next to him.
“I’m sorry about what I said,” he whispered. She could feel, rather than hear, the words.
“So am I,” she said. “Should we talk about it?”
He sighed, tightening his arms around her. “Yes, but not now. Get some sleep, Kam.”
She closed her eyes as her own heartbeat fell into sync with his slow breathing, and they both fell asleep.
***
The room was still dark when she stirred but less dark than it had been before. Rohan was still wrapped around her. But she’d slept—something she hadn’t thought she’d be able to do tonight. She checked her watch—five a.m. She stretched her neck a bit, shaking out the crick from the tight position. He stirred from her movement.
“You okay, Kam?” he asked, voice soft from sleep.
She nodded and shifted so her head was next to his, instead of on him. She said what she should have said before. “Thank you for being here for me. Even after I yelled at you.”
“S’okay. You were upset. And I yelled at you, too.”
“I don’t really deserve you.”
He smiled a sleepy smile. “Maybe, but you’re stuck with me anyway. Get some more sleep.”
She smiled. Yeah, that’s what she should do. His hand swung around and landed on her waist, and he closed his eyes. She knew this was weird, and probably wrong. She knew friends didn’t sleep wrapped in each other’s arms, no matter how terrible their days had been. But everything in her—her mind, her body, her soul—wanted to stay right here, with only this person.
Besides, it was barely dusk—the magical hour. No one was awake. No one was here. No one but the person who maybe saw more of her than anyone ever had. She didn’t feel she had control over her hand as it reached out and touched Rohan’s cheek, her palm flattening half over his soft beard and half over the smooth skin of his cheekbone. She felt him gasp softly with surprise. His eyes opened. He stared at her a few seconds. Finally, he whispered, “Kamila.”
She slid over and kissed him.
Right there on the lips…she kissed Rohan Nasser. He didn’t pull away. He only flexed the hand on her waist. She kissed him gently, slowly. Exploratively. It seemed so strange—this was Rohan. It shouldn’t have felt so…normal. True, kissing him wasn’t entirely new, but it had been over seven years since their lips had touched. Nothing was the same as it was then.
Even this kiss was different. More restrained, sadder. But still not unfamiliar. She kept kissing him, exploring those soft lips like it was the most natural thing for her to do. She wrapped her hands around his neck, discovering skin still warm from sleep, and strong. So strong. He pulled back a few inches and searched her face.
“Kam…what are we doing?”
She shrugged. She didn’t really know the answer to that question. All she knew was this was what she needed right now. “Just…be here for me?” she asked.
He reached out and took her face in one hand, lightly stroking her cheek with his thumb. She could feel the calluses on his hand, from rock climbing probably.
