“Yeah, Dolly jumped on it when I went in to make it, and it folded like a pancake.”
“She must have popped it yesterday when she was trying to catch the light. I thought I heard something weird, but I didn’t see a hole,” I say, yawning and rubbing my eyes. “Goodness, what time is it?”
“Four-thirty,” he says.
“Four-thirty?” I groan.
“Yeah, I gotta go to the gym before fighting the Atlanta traffic to get to work.”
“Sounds terrible.”
“You’re welcome to go back to sleep in my room,” he offers. “You really can’t catch a break with your bed.”
“That’s okay, I’m up now, so I might as well stay awake.”
“Well, if you want to take my bed until the new mattress arrives, you can,” he offers.
Now that I’ve slept in it, it’s tempting. His mattress is the perfect firmness. It’s not too hot or too cold. The comforter feels expensive, and last night was admittedly the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. I can’t take his bed though. I have yet to repay him for letting me stay here, and stealing his room doesn’t exactly scream that I’m thankful for his kindness. “No, I’ll figure out the air mattress. Thank you though.”
He stands and begins to walk toward his room, invading my space. “You feeling better today?” he asks, stopping right in front of me.
“Much better,” I say, smiling up at him. “I think that soup really did the trick.”
There’s a pause, and tension ripples through the air.
“I’m gonna go get ready to leave,” he says, nodding his head in the direction of his door.
“Me too.” We start moving toward our rooms at the same time, both taking a step to my right. My body crashes against his bare chest, and I stumble trying to gain control of my footing.
“Shit, sorry,” I say, trying to switch directions, but this time we both go left, and our bodies tangle again.
“You trying to run into me, roomie?” He smirks.
“No, uh, I’m—” I try again to move around him, but this time he intentionally steps in my way, laughing. “Tanner! Move!” I yell, and he lets out a loud chuckle as he picks me up and spins me around, placing me on the other side of him. A spark ignites between us, and for a moment we both freeze. His eyes lock on mine, and I swallow hard. He takes a step towards me, causing my breath to catch. My heart rate quickens because, for a split second, it feels like he might kiss me.
The alarm on his phone starts ringing again, interrupting whatever the hell this is.
Kiss me? He was about to kiss me and I wanted him to.
He clears his throat and then takes a couple steps backwards towards his room.
“I’m gonna be late,” he says.
“Yeah, me too.”
“No, you’re not.” He laughs. “It’s not even five yet, remember?”
“Oh, yeah, right. Thanks again for letting me sleep in your bed last night,” I say, awkwardly, trying to look anywhere but the cut lines of his perfectly sculpted abs and think about anything but the almost kiss.
“Any time,” he says. His voice is doing that gravely thing again.
“Any time?” I quirk my head. Blush creeps up his cheeks.
“I just meant, like, if you were uncomfortable, then I could sleep on the couch again. Or, like, if the air mattress doesn’t work out or whatever.”
I giggle.
“You know what? Ignore me. I'm gonna go get ready for the gym.” He stumbles over his words and then turns to go get ready, and I go to my room because I don’t know what else to do with myself.
