Penny:Okay, good luck telling him that.
Blakely:There is no way he’ll offer to share his bed. He has to keep his leg elevated anyway. I’m sure he doesn’t want a propped-up leg with a stranger in his bed. There’s sharing an apartment, and then there is sharing nighttime space. That’s going too far.
Penny:Just a suggestion.
Blakely:Well thank you, but it’s not going to happen. Oh, and it looks like he’s done so I’m going to drive him back to his place. I’ll let you know when I’m coming in tomorrow. My schedule will be wonky now because I’ll be helping him out.
Penny:Sounds good. Happy sleeping . . . on the couch.
“You good?”I ask as Halsey crutches through the door, only using one of the crutches. Grace wants him to use his ankle and keep it moving so it doesn’t swell up even more so he’s using one crutch for assistance. The grimace on his face the whole way down the hallway of his apartment building just brought on that massive amount of guilt all over again.
“Yup, good.” He enters the apartment and goes straight to the couch where he sits on the arm and lets out a deep breath. “Fuck, I forgot how painful this is and I don’t say that to make you feel bad.”
“I know. You’re allowed to gripe, I promise, I’m good now. I’ve transitioned to mending mode.” I glance around the apartment. “It seems like the boys took care of the meat in the pan and cleaned up. That was nice of them.”
“Yeah, they’re good guys.” Halsey yawns. “Shit, I’m tired.”
“Right, okay. Let’s get you to bed. I’m sure they put the sheets and covers back on your mattress. Do you want me to check?”
“Nah, just grab a sheet from the closet for me. I’ll park it out here on the couch and you can take the bed.”
How did I know he was going to say that?
Maybe because the whole reason we’re in this situation is because he was mad about me sleeping on an air mattress. Penny is right, he’s not going to let me sleep on the couch, but I can’t possibly get any sleep knowing that he’s out here with a hurt foot.
“Halsey, I don’t want you sleeping on the couch.”
“If you think you’re going to sleep on the couch—”
I hold up my hand, stopping him. “I know what you’re going to say and where this is going. Neither one of us wants the other sleeping on the couch. I get it. So . . .” I swallow hard, embarrassed that I’m even suggesting this, but I don’t want to run around in circles all night about sleeping arrangements. “We’re both adults. Why don’t we just share your bed? It’s a king. We won’t fumble over each other, and then that way, we can figure out a bed situation later. It could be temporary.”
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he says.
“It’s not . . . for me, I mean if it is for you, I understand, but there is no way I’ll be able to get any sleep knowing you’re outhere, and I’m sure you’d be the same way if I slept on the couch. So can we just share the bed, at least for tonight?”
“I mean . . . yeah, if you’re cool with that.”
“It’s fine. Like I said, we’re adults, the bed is big enough. It’ll be okay.”
“Okay, sure, that’s fine with me.”
“Thank you.” I let out the breath I’ve been holding. “Okay, I’m going to go get dressed for bed, brush my teeth, and wash my face. Do you need help getting ready?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, I’m good.” He stands again, leaning on one crutch.
“I’ll grab the pillows from my room so we can prop up your ankle.”
“That works.” Awkwardly he shifts toward the hallway. “Uh . . . see you in a bit.”
I smile. “Yup, call out if you need anything.”
As we go our separate ways, I quickly type a text to Penny.
Blakely:We’re sharing a bed.
Penny:Ha! I knew that was going to happen.
Blakely:I was in no mood to argue. And he was already geared up to tell me every reason why I wasn’t allowed on the couch.
