Thank goodness for the darkness because it’s disguising the flush creeping up my cheeks as I think of how we could spend six hours or more in the dark, but I know Ollie isn’t that kind of man.Even if he was, I don’t know that I could do it with a sprained wrist.At least, not how I want to do it with Ollie.
“I guess?”I rub my arm and glance at the dark hallway behind.“I’ve been sleeping on the couch because I don’t want to sleep in their bed, but that’s too small for both of us.Oh!It’s a sleeper sofa.”
He nods, then appears to realize I may not be able to see him since it’s dark.“Yeah.Everything is already out here—sheets, pillows.I need to pull the bed out and make it.”He rubs the back of his neck.“You’re okay sharing?With me?We’ll get all the blankets together for maximum warmth.If…if you want.”
Oh, I want.
“That would be great.Thanks.I promise not to attack you.”I wink to let him know I’m teasing him, but duh, it’s dark.“Kidding.”Wait.That didn’t make sense.“I mean, I’m serious I won’t attack you, but you didn’t need to worry I would.”
His low chuckle in the dark does things to me.What would it be like to be in bed with him, resting my head on his chest, and have him chuckle like that?Hearing it, feeling it, causing it.Goosebumps race across my skin that have nothing to do with the falling temperature.Okay, they didn’t have anything to do with the temperature when I was under the blanket, but now that I’ve thrown the blanket off and am standing in the dark living room in only Ollie’s T-shirt with bare legs, it’s temperature-induced.Yep.Sure.
“Where’s another flashlight?”I ask.“I need to pull on some leggings.And I’ll grab the extra blankets from the main bedroom and bring them out so we can have a cozy little nest.”I look around.“Where’s Marsha?”
A lump on the couch goes mrww.Ollie swings the flashlight beam to show me where the other flashlight is.I grab it and my leggings from the bathroom, then go to the main bedroom to add another layer.It’s awkward, but I manage to pull on the leggings and some fuzzy socks.I’m about to start removing the blanket and bedspread when there’s a tap on the door.
“Yeah?”I call out.
“Checking you’re okay,” Ollie says.
I open the door to find him there with a furrowed brow.Was he worried I wasn’t going to come out?
“I’m fine.I added leggings and socks.About to take the stuff off the bed.”
He swings his light around the room, then hands me his flashlight.We both realize I only have two hands and one of them is wrapped and the other already has a flashlight, so he turns it off, and I tuck it under my arm.
“I’ll get the bedding, can you shine the light?”he asks.I do and admire the way his muscles flex as he undoes the bed.He’s in a T-shirt and gym shorts, and hockey has given the man muscular thighs and a bubble butt that I want to squeeze.His legs are hairy.Not as hairy as if he was in his Bigfoot form, but manly hair.I never thought I had a thing for leg hair, but on Ollie, I do.He takes the flashlight, and I follow him into the living room.
“What side of the bed do you sleep on?”I ask.
He chuckles again, and it does things to me.Again.
“Whatever side I want, Phoebe, I’ve always been alone.What side do you sleep on?”
The first time he shares a bed with someone, and it’s with me?I want to be the last.The only.
I cough lightly to clear my throat.“The left.I sleep on the left, and I’m a side sleeper.On my left side.”
Ollie drops the bedding on the sofa bed he’s already set up.The extra blanket and comforter are on my side.
“I’m naturally warmer, so I don’t need as many layers,” he explains.“And I can always shift and have a built-in fur coat.You need the warmth more than I do.”
Thank goodness the darkness hides the heat that must be staining my cheeks.“You could always come to my side and cuddle if you get cold.”
Maybe subtlety isn’t going to work.I’m going to have to be the aggressor if we’re going to get together.I’ve never done that before.Yeah, I have sexual experience, but no experience initiating.Guys weren’t pursuing me, but stuff kinda happened without me having to get it going.I’m probably as clueless as Ollie when it comes to that.
It’s his turn to clear his throat.He keeps plumping the pillow in his hands.If he does it too much more, we’re going to have a blizzard of feathers in here.To break the tension I’m suddenly feeling, I go to the fridge and grab a bottle of water and hold it up.Ollie swings the flashlight beam my way to see what I’m doing.
“Do you want water?”I ask.“Wait, why is the light on in the fridge?”
He shakes his head.“Nah, I have one, and the Tylenol is here too if you want some.”I hear the pills rattle in the bottle he holds up.“And I plugged the fridge into a battery-powered power inverter Finn has.It uses the same batteries as some of his tools do.Figured, try to do what we can to save the food in the fridge and freezer.In a pinch, we can plug in the microwave or stove to cook stuff.”
My heart does funny flips.He’s so smart, and he’s making sure we’re safe and comfortable.He’s going to be the best husband and father someday.My heart aches a bit, and I rub my solar plexus to undo the knot forming there.
“Wow, you really are warm!”I say when I stand next to him to get a tablet.“You’re not sick, are you?”
Thank goodness he waits for me to swallow the pill and sip of water I’m washing it down with before he says in a deep, sexy voice I haven’t heard from him before, “You think I’m hot, Phoebe?Maybe I burn for you.”
The most unladylike snort-laugh bursts out of me.Shelby and I love to watchBridgerton, and he got stuck with us during a season one rewatch binge and guffawed at how swoony we were when Simon told Daphne that.
