“Oh, that.”
Josh cocked his head. “I take it, it didn’t go well?”
“It was … short.”
His eyes remained snagged on me, not moving to return his full attention to his television show, which … I had been wanting to see actually. A new sort of drama-thriller combination everyone had been talking about online.
I pointed at the screen as I made my way toward his couch bed. I dropped into the old armchair next to it. Gina and I found the plush chair at the thrift store not too long after we moved in. The floral pattern was a little tacky, but it was one of the first things we got together to decorate. Plus, I’ll never forget the two of us complaining and laughing the entire climb up the stairs to the apartment.
Josh glanced at the TV, but didn’t really seem to be watching it anymore. “You okay?”
I looked at him. “I will be,” I said honestly. “I think I just expected to feel something different tonight. I thought maybe the first date would make me excited. You know, give me that stupid butterflies feeling that people talk about.”
“And it didn’t?” he said.
“Not even close.”
“Sorry.”
I shook my head. “Can I watch with you?”
Josh was still looking at me, scanning me in my layers of loungewear.
One episode, and then I’d call it a night.
“You got it. Want me to catch you up on what’s happening? Or we can just restart it. I’m not that far in.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I sighed with a nod, sinking lower into the chair. “That would be amazing.”
ten
Someone whispered to me,but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I did, however, feel the hands that were coming up behind my back and my knees, jostling me awake.
I hummed a sound as my eyes opened, realizing that I was being lifted. Though that made no sense.
Where was I?
A familiar chuckle cut into my thoughts as I gathered my bearings.
“Now you wake up? I don’t remember you being a heavy sleeper, Bri. I got ya.”
“Sorry. I fell asleep. Again.” It was becoming a habit lately after I came in late at night. Josh would see me, ask how my date went to which I gave him few details, and then we’d watch another episode or two or three of our show.
“Eh, we’ll just have to watch the last episode again later. I fell asleep too.”
He walked me the few steps to my room before he paused in the threshold. I looked up at him before he seemed to clear his throat, stepping past the threshold and into my room. My bed was still unmade from this morning. The few possessions I hadwere cramped in the small space, yet it was all mine in a way that I hadn’t had my own room since I moved out and went to college.
Slowly, leaning over, Josh set me down on my bed, swinging the yellow gingham comforter back. With a jerk of his chin, I followed the direction to put my feet inside. Though Josh wasn’t quite done yet as he diligently tucked me in, starting at my legs. Leaning over me, he braced his hands on the edge of my bed, causing the mattress to dip toward him, and I didn’t move.
My head rolled toward him on my pillow, and my hair got caught under my shoulder, but I didn’t adjust. I was too fixated on the way the streetlight outside my window cast a glow across Josh’s face, where his eyes were staring directly back at me.
In the quiet, with his face so close to mine I could hear his breathing, even above the gentle rumble of cars and distant sirens blaring outside in the city’s version of white noise.
I swallowed, and that seemed to be enough for the two of us to snap out of whatever trance between sleep and awake we had been in this entire time. Eyes widening before he cleared his throat, Josh stood up, fixing a corner of my blanket, as if that had been his intention a few seconds ago, which had felt like an eternity.
