Rubin and I leave the conversation behind and go to my room. Thankfully, we only have to go up one flight of stairs. We live in a four-storey house. I originally had a room on the top floor, but when Beau and Fraser got engaged, they decided to move into one room. Fraser swapped his room, complete with en suite, for my much smaller room, which he turned into a walk-in wardrobe.
When I wake, I have no memory of getting into bed, much less covering myself with a blanket. Rubin is sitting on the bed beside me, playing a game on his phone.
“Hey,” he says, not taking his eyes off his game. “Feeling better?”
“You should have gone with the others.”
“I figured we’d catch up. You’ve only been asleep for twenty minutes.”
“They’ve gone?”
“Yup. I heard them all leave about ten minutes ago. Shall I call a taxi?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not feeling up to it.”
This is my life now. I make plans but don’t always feel up to going, especially after a sleep attack.
“No worries. Want me to hang out here with you?”
I shake my head. “You should go and have fun.”
Rubin gasps dramatically. “Like hanging out with my best friend isn’t fun?”
I laugh, which makes my legs fall asleep again. Not that it matters, as I’m already lying down. “I think you’d have more fun at The Library.” I push him gently. “Go.”
Rubin puts his phone into sleep mode and then taps it against his lips. “Did you know the Doms at The Library aren’t allowed to sleep with their subs?”
“No.” I narrow my eyes. “How do you know that?”
“I looked into how much it would cost to have a session with one. Their website is very informative, by the way. But there’s this whole section on what is and isn’t allowed. And sex isn’t.”
My head spins. “You looked into having a session with Stefan?”
He joked about it the night he first met Stefan, but I hadn’t realised he’d looked into it.
“Jealous?”
“What? No…”
Rubin taps my nose. “Then why is your voice slurred?”
I glare at him, although I’m really angry at my body for betraying me.
“You fancy Stefan. It’s obvious by the way you react whenever it’s mentioned.” He strokes my hair behind my ear. “What he does is just a job. No sex. There’s nothing for you to be jealous about.”
“I’m not jealous. I’ve got no reason to be.”
“You’d just have been jealous if I’d had a session with him?”
I clench my teeth and let out a noise of frustration.
Rubin gently prods my ribs. “You do like him. Admit it.”
I sigh. “I do, but I don’t think he likes me back.”
“Maybe you should ask?”
I grimace. “And if he doesn’t? That would make things awkward. We live together, Rubin.”
