“Hanging out with you while dressed and not at work,” I said. “Isn’t that the structure of most dates these days?”
Her eyes popped wide. “Adate?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?” Because there was clearly something wrong with that.
She sat up and folded her legs in front of her, not bothering to hug the sheets to her bare chest. Which was fantastic as far as I was concerned. “I’m not so fond of dates,” she said, her expression pinched.
“You weren’t so fond of dick until last night.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “That’s different.”
“In what way?”
“It’s just”—she slapped her hands to the mattress—“it’s different. Okay?”
I pushed up to sit beside her. “So, I can’t take you on a date?”
“I’m bad at relationships,” she said. “I’m a lot to deal with. There’s the seizure disorder, the dogs, the parents who used to call every single day to check on me but have recently dropped down to weekly since they know my partners and have the entire town of Friendship watching over me.”
“So far, you’ve not mentioned anything I don’t already know.”
“Okay, sure,” she continued, “but there’s my whole thing of changing my mind about what to do with my life every couple of months and moving to a new city to try new things. Or wanting to travel all over the place while also being happy living in a small town. Not everyone can keep up with my contradictions, Beck.”
“Yeah, it’s a tall order,” I drawled, fully unimpressed.
“Is that another short joke?”
“No,” I said. “Listen, Sunny, you’re saying lots of things that probably sound really good in your head, but they’re complete bullshit.”
Her gaze darkened. “Some people just can’t take on all the things I bring with me. Either they have their own things to deal with or they aren’t equipped for more or it’s just how their brain works, but they take one look at me and say,No thanks.”
“You just haven’t been in the right relationship,” I said.
She gave a hesitant shrug. “Maybe that’s true. Maybe it’s hard to find someone with the mental operating budget that my particular collection of goodies requires. Both can be true.”
I leaned back against the pillows and studied her. “You know my parents, my brothers. You know I’ve spent my entire life looking after everyone’s issues, and I still found the time to take on a huge job that sent me to multiple foreign countries. My operating budget for you—and your dogs—is substantial.” I brushed some hair over her ear. “Let me take you out.”
She pressed her lips together, holding back a smile. “Let’s start with breakfast and walking the dogs.”
A win was a win, even if it wasn’t the win I wanted.
I climbed out of bed and searched for my boxers, asking, “What are your favorite breakfast spots?”
I distinctly recalled leaving my clothes in a tidy pile on her dresser, but it looked like this entire room had been fucked sideways last night. I didn’t remember there being four hundred pillows on Sunny’s bed though that was roughly the amount on the floor. The laundry basket was overturned. Books were everywhere. Even the curtains were askew. I spotted my shirt and trousers in front of the door, my boxers nearby.
“There’s a place in Bristol with a few good vegan and vegetarian dishes that I—”
“Hello! Good morning! I’m here! If you’re still in bed, please ignore me, but I wanted to drop off these scones that I made last night. They’re a little unusual but I feel like our customers are really digging some of my wilder flavors—OH MY GOD,there’s a naked man in your house!”
Perhaps it was the limited amount of sleep Sunny and I allowed each other last night. Perhaps it was the oxygen deprivation I experienced due to my constant arousal. Or perhaps it was the fact I hadn’t expected to find Muffy McTeague in Sunny’s house at this hour. While I was stark naked.
For her part, Muffy marched right into the kitchen without another glance in my direction and set down the scones.
“She has a key,” Sunny said, shrugging. “She comes over a lot. I don’t usually—” She motioned to the bed. “It’s never been a problem before.”
I stepped into my boxers. “Good to know.”
“I’m leaving now,” Muffy yelled. “I am shuffling sideways toward the door. I cannot see anything. I’m also shielding my eyes in case there is anything dangling in the periphery.”
