“Okay, thanks. Do you have anything I could wear as pyjamas?”
“I have a spare pair.” He stood up and searched his closet before handing me a handful of fabric. “It might be a bit big, though.”
I shook out the clothing to reveal a pale yellow pyjama shirt with a giant picture of a sun. The matching bottoms were also yellow and covered in repeating mini-suns with happy faces.
I stared at them. I don’t know why I was so surprised; this was exactly what I should’ve guessed Leo wore to bed.
I changed in the bathroom. The t-shirt swallowed me, and the bottoms were loose, so I had to roll the waistband a few times. Afterwards, I washed my face and brushed my teeth using toothpaste on my finger. I’d taken a shower earlier that evening, so I didn’t feel worried about dirtying Leo’s sheets.
Once I returned to the main room, I collapsed in his bed and pulled the blanket over me.
“I won’t be too long,” Leo told me.
“That’s okay.” I was so exhausted that even the lights couldn’t stop me from closing my eyes and falling asleep.
At some point, I was woken up by Leo getting into bed beside me, the mattress dipping under his weight.
I must’ve made some weird gollum-noise because Leo winced and whispered. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”
“Last time I checked, it was two-thirty,” he replied, rearranging the blanket over us. His head rested on the other pillow and he was careful to leave some space between us.
I made a noise in reply and closed my eyes, but I didn’t fall asleep immediately. I wasn’t sure why — maybe it was because Leo made me nervous. We hadn’t known each other long, but I’d shared beds with strangers before. I’d had sex with guys I’d met an hour earlier. Why did this feel weird?
I tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable.
“Are you okay?” Leo whispered.
“Yeah, just trying to fall asleep.”
“Sorry for waking you,” he said again.
“It’s not your fault.”
I was just starting to drift off again when Leo whispered again. “Winnie? Are you awake?”
“Mm-hmm.” I was too tired to protest the nickname.
“Can I tell you something?”
“What is it?” I asked, already thinking up possibilities. Was he uncomfortable sharing a bed with me? Or was he about to admit that he kept dead bodies in the cupboard under the sink? Or maybe it was something minor, like he snored or fell asleep to white noise.
“Um.” He inhaled deeply. “I’m a virgin.”
If my brain was fifty percent awake before, it was at least fifty-five percent awake now. “Really?”
He nodded. “Is that weird?”
“No!” I said hastily. “It isn’t. I’m… a little surprised.”
“Because it’s weird.”
“No, Leo,” I said. “It’s because you’re sociable, you’re good-looking, and you have a nice body.”
“You haven’t seen my body,” he said.
“I can tell, even with your clothes on. You’re tall and fit. I thought you’d be drowning in women.”
