“I thought I’d just sleep it off,” she says, like it makes sense in her head.
“You can still do that with medicine. I’ll get you something.” I sit up. “I’ll be your nurse,” I joke with a kiss on her head before leaving for her bathroom.
I find a bottle of Advil in her cabinet and read the dosage before I grab her a glass of water too.
“Here.” I hand it all over as she sits up.
“Thanks, babe.” I watch her throw the pills in her mouth and wash them down with the water. “You know you shouldn’t be here with me, you’re gonna get sick,” she threatens, and I laugh.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.” I climb back in bed with her.
She lays down facing me, I pull her into my arms, brushing my lips against hers in a soft kiss. She giggles against my mouth, and I smile. Knowing how congested she is, I pull back to let her breathe.
“I wish I didn’t feel like this right now,” she groans.
I nuzzle my head beside hers, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. “Me too.”
She rolls over, facing away from me now. I snake my handover her waist, to make sure she stays against me. Her fingers lace together in mine. I feel so at peace being with her like this. Aside from her being sick, it’s perfect.
Less than ten minutes later, she falls asleep. I can tell by the way her breathing changed and her body relaxed. I close my eyes with the intention of a cat nap but doze off within just a few minutes.
* * *
When I wake up, the apartment is nearly pitch black, the only light coming from the soft glow in the kitchen. I feel surprisingly well-rested but I don’t think much of it, assuming it’s still early, maybe just past 10 p.m. or so. But when I glance at my phone, my breath catches when I see it’s 6 a.m.
“Crap,” I mutter under my breath as I slowly pull my numb arm from under Ella. Sleeping in the same position all night does that to you.
I carefully get off the bed, adjusting myself. My shirt is bunched up and my jeans are twisted around my ankles. Then my heart stops when I remember the ring.
I reach into my pocket, my fingers brushing against the warm metal. I’m relieved when I feel it’s still there.
Walking around the bed, I kneel down in front of Ella to tell her I’m leaving, hoping I don’t wake her up completely. I just don’t want her to think I ditched her.
“Sweetheart.” I run a hand over her hair. She doesn’t feel hot anymore which is good. Her eyes flicker open. “It’s six in the morning.” I laugh softly. “I’m gonna head out.” I kiss her forehead and stand.
She sits up. “Wait. No,” she insists. “Why don’t we go getbreakfast or something?”
“Don’t you feel like crap?”
She pauses. “Not as bad.”
I contemplate my day; I don’t have much going on. “Sure. Let’s do it.”
She smiles, climbing out of bed. “We spent another spontaneous night together …” she says with a small laugh, knowing full well last night’s intentions were completely different than the first one.
“I didn’t mean to crash here.”
She walks over to her closet. “I know. But it’s fine.”
I clear my throat to say something back, but she cuts in. “You get a ring on my finger and we can spend every night together, you know?” Her smile is cute and playful.
My body stiffens slightly. Joke’s on her—that ring is in my pocket, and if she hadn’t been sick, it would be on her finger already.
I grin back at her. “That right?”
“Well, I guess two technically,” she corrects with a shrug and slips on a pair of socks.
My mind races, spinning with the thought of what might happen if I did it right here. How caught off guard would she be? Would she care that it’s not in some beautiful, picturesque place or professionally photographed?
