“Maybe you were more asleep than I thought,” I suggest with a shrug. “You’re strong in your sleep then; it took some effort for me to untangle you from me.”
Adrian has turned his whole body to face me now, and he slaps my arm lightly. “Hudson! What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Do you remember us falling asleep on the couch last night? How do you think you ended up in your bed this morning?”
“I thought I dreamed that! Did you actually carry me?” His eyes are wider than I’ve ever seen them, and it’s kind of adorable. He almost looks like a cartoon version of himself. I want to take a picture and turn it into his contact picture on my phone, but I’m sure the second I pull my camera out, he’d change his expression, so I try to just memorize it.
“Yeah, I carried you,” I confirm with a laugh. “And I promised more cuddling to get you to let go of me. So did you not actually want that? You did call me ‘babe’ so maybe you thought you were talking to someone else,” I admit awkwardly.
He’s got his hands in his hair now, and it looks like he might be pulling it. “Oh my god, I did?”
He sounds mortified, so I rush to reassure him. “Yeah, but it was no big deal, and if you were thinking of someone else, I hope you’re not hesitating to invite them over because I’m here. You’re being so nice letting me stay; I’d hate to find out I’m cockblocking you.”
He’s shaking his head before I can even finish. “There’s no one to invite. I must have been talking to some dream boyfriend in my half-asleep state. I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“Not at all.” I laugh. “So is that a yes for more cuddling now? I do miss it. I was in a relationship for so long that it’sweird to be cut off from all physical contact so abruptly…” I trail off, realizing that was probably a very weird thing to admit.
After a long moment, Adrian finally chuckles. “Alright, fuck it, let’s get comfy.” I settle back in the corner, scooting in so he can stretch his legs out next to mine on the wide couch while he rests his head on my chest. It’s almost like I’m spooning him, but we’re sitting up, and I’m holding up my phone in front of both of us.
I’m comfortable, and Adrian immediately starts commenting on the profile that’s pulled up, so I assume he is too.
“Sorry for judging her, but I just don’t see you dating someone who’s drinking in every single picture they included. I like a fancy cocktail as much as anyone, but it seems like a red flag in every single photo.”
“Yeah, I agree. Who’s next.” I pull up the next suggested profile and start with the basic info.
“Oh, this woman is an artist! That’s fun… just kidding.” He cringes when I pull up the included images. “Can you imagine having to pretend to be interested in splashed paint all the time? Every one of them looks exactly the same!”
I let out a short laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think I’d be very good at pretending I like that. Okay, what about this woman?” I ask, moving on. “She’s around my age, she’s a teacher, so she probably likes kids. That’s a good sign, right?”
“In the dislikes section, she put ‘sports,’” he points out.
“Well, why the hell did it even suggest her?” I say with another laugh, trying to stay positive.
“This one has her follower count on socials, so that’s a no. This one says no one under six feet?—”
“But I’m taller than that.”
“Yeah, but you don’t want to date someone who’s that judgmental,” heexplains.
“Yes, because we aren’t being judgmental at all,” I deadpan, earning a snorted laugh from Adrian.
“Well, it’s only okay when we do it,” he teases. “Okay, this woman says she wants to be entertained. That doesn’t sound like she’s looking for a serious life partner.” He moves on to another. “Hmm, this one has had too much work done; you’re not looking for someone that obsessed with their image.”
I smile at that comment. Adrian really has managed to get to know me so well in so little time. I wish I knew more about him.
“Careful, you’re starting to sound like you don’t want me to match with any of them,” I tease.
Adrian sucks in a sharp breath, turning his head to look up at me. “Don’t make fun of me for trying to help,” he says jokingly.
“I’m not making fun of you, it’s cute you’re taking it so seriously, that you actually want to help,” I explain, still holding his gaze.
“Of course I want to help…” he says easily. Then he goes back to teasing. “You think I’m cute?”
We’re still looking right at each other, and his face is so close to mine with the way we’re cuddling. I know he’s only joking around, the same way I was moments ago, but for some reason his question, combined with our position, has my cheeks heating as I answer. “So cute.”
Adrian’s cheeks also darken with my answer, his mouth curving into a smirk. I don’t think I’ve ever really seen his lips this close-up and my attention is snagged there, staring. Adrian has full, pink lips that look so soft I kind of want to touch them, to cup his jaw with my hand and run my thumb over his parted mouth to see if they’re as smooth as they look.
“Wow, you must be really desperate for connection if you’re staring at my mouth like that,” Adrian jokes, reminding me of what we’re actually supposed to be doing right now. “Look at your date’s lips like that, and you’ll be kissing them in no time.”
