I had to help her escape, if that’s what she wanted.
But what I wanted was for her to stay in my house, in my bed, until we were old and grey.
Noelle rolled to the side, her leg still hooked over mine, her cheek resting on my chest. I stroked her short hair, still caught somewhere between now and forever.
“Does it feel like none of this is real?” she asked quietly.
I looked down at her, brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” She drew lazy circles on my stomach with her fingertip. “I broke down here on accident, was supposed to stay for a few days…stayed longer. And now I’ve been here for…what? Over a week? And I’m supposed to go back to Austin and I just…”
I tilted her chin up toward me. “Remember, I’ll drive you if you really gotta go,” I said. “Just gotta ask.”
“That’s the thing,” she said. “I don’t think I want to leave.”
Noelle didn’t look at me when she said it. Her gaze stayed locked on the ceiling like she was afraid to make it real. But the second those words left her lips, I felt something shift in my chest.
I tightened my arm around her, brought her in close. “Then don’t.”
“It’s not that simple,” she said.
“Sure it is,” I murmured into her hair. “You don’t wanna go. So you don’t.”
She snorted softly. “You saying I should just…not show up to my professional commitments? Blow off my job and pretend like the world outside this bed doesn’t exist?”
“Yeah,” I said. “At least for a few more days.”
She went quiet again. I could feel her thinking, wheels spinning in that smart, fast brain of hers. The one that never slowed down long enough to let her rest.
Then she let out a small, guilty sound.
“Noelle?”
She rolled halfway onto her back, covered her eyes withher arm. “I was supposed to be in Austin for a panel yesterday.”
I blinked. “Youmissedit?”
“Missed it, ignored the frantic emails, sent a text to my co-host that just said ‘oops,’ and then turned my phone on Do Not Disturb.” She groaned. “I’m the worst.”
I glanced down toward the blankets, where our legs were still tangled together. “You’re not the worst,” I said. “I just put you under my spell.”
Her eyes rolled so far back in her head I thought they might stay there. “So you’re some kind of witch now, too?”
“Cast a spell on you with my magic wand.”
She stared at me.
I stared back, completely serious.
“You’re talking about your penis,” she said.
I started laughing, and Noelle picked up a pillow to smack me with it. “I’m not under a fucking spell,” she laughed. “I’m just…in a state of temporary professional collapse and medium-grade lust.”
“That right?” I grabbed the pillow, pulling it over me so she was pressed against my chest. The heat between us came rolling right back, my lips finding her jaw, trailing kisses to her neck. “I can help with both of those.”
“You sassy little?—”
Before she could finish her sentence, a loud knock echoed through the house.
