Russell stood and crossed the room to his dresser. He returned with some knit shorts and handed them to me before he casually flopped back down on the couch. He looked as though he had suppressed agrin.
“I think those shorts will fit you justfine.”
I looked at the tag inside. I hadn’t recognized the brand. They were a size large. I usually wore extra-large.
“For what it’s worth, Ryan, you sitting naked on my couch doesn’t bother me. But, I’m cognizant that tonight has been huge for you, and that I know your mind is everywhere. I know you need comfort right now and to feelsecure.”
I nodded and pulled on the shorts he handed me. I had been surprised that they fit rather well. I messed with the waist and caught him smiling atme.
“Extra-large my ass,” hegrinned.
I sat down and smiled at his comment regarding my clothes. He thought that I wore the wrong sizes to some, if not all, of my clothes. I felt like I should say something, though I wasn’t sure what. I just needed to keep talking because if I stopped and let my mind break this all down, I wasn’t sure I’d dookay.
“So, this is what your room looks like,” I teased and made exaggerated head motions as I lookedaround.
“Yes. It’s pretty dull, actually.” I looked at him incredulously. His room was fuckingawesome.
“Really? Pretty dull, huh?” I hoped he had picked up on mysarcasm.
“It was…Untiltonight.”
I looked at him, and nothing could have pried my eyes off ofhim.
“Will you be okay for a few minutes, Ryan?” I nodded. “I’m going to go to the kitchen and bring back a few bottles ofwater.”
“I can go getthem.”
“If I wanted you to go get them, I would have asked,” Russell smirked. I could feel my cheeks warm at being slightly reprimanded. “Lean back and relax. I’ll just be a fewmoments.”
I nodded and leaned back against the comfortable backrest of his leather couch. Russell stood and then braced his left hand on the armrest of the couch before he leaned over and pressed his lips against my forehead. It wasn’t a kiss, but somehow it felt just aspossessive.
What the fuck had happenedtonight?
Was Iokay?
My mind had been racing even though my head was calm against the top of the backrest cushions. I was so tired suddenly. I closed my eyes for a minute and opened them when I felt the couch dip. Russell watched me as he opened a bottle ofwater.
“Here, drinksome.”
I sat up and noticed my exhaustion even more. While I drank from the bottle, Russell held out a paper napkin with an oatmeal raisin cookie onit.
“Thank you,” I said and tossed a piece in mymouth.
We stayed in his room for a little while longer and then he brought me my clothes from his playroom. I felt awkward when I removed the shorts he had given me to wear while we sat on the couch. I pulled on my underwear and then my jeans. My clothes felt so cold to me. I got a chill and Russell walked toward me with my button-downshirt.
“Ryan, leave that shirt on and put yours on overit.”
“But, it’s yourshirt.”
“It’s warm, and layers are good for you right now,” hesaid.
I didn’t argue with him. I felt out of it, and his shirt was so soft and warm. After I slowly dressed, we went to the kitchen. Russell pulled out the barstool that he had wanted me to sit on while he busied himself in the kitchen. A handful of guests remained and began talking to Russell, but I was off in my own world. Each time I started to focus on something from tonight, my head went in a differentdirection.
I felt extremely exposed and like I needed shelter from eyes. While I nibbled on the food that had been placed in front of me, Daniel approached the kitchen island to talk to him as he stood close to me. I caught pieces of their conversation; something about telling Russell that he marked me well and laid claim. I didn’t look up, but tried to focus on my food and paid attention to theirconversation.
I was chilled and could feel myself quaking from the inside out. It was as though Russell sensed this too. It’s impossible to get anything by him. His move was subtle, and he hadn’t drawn attention to anything verbally. But his actions told me that he knew. Russell continued his conversation with Daniel as he rounded the kitchen island to stand beside me. He reached for my bottle of water, opened it, and handed it to me without a word about it. I drank from the bottle as he put his hand on the back of my neck. He stood close enough that the right side of his body touched my left arm. I welcomed the warmth and switched hands to eat with the right hand so that I would just absorb his warmth without moving my leftarm.
“Really, Russell, that was the most intense I’d seen you,” Danielmurmured.
