sounded cheesy as hell, but I didn’t regret it. I loved that I was already becoming the safe space
where Corey could turn off his brain and unwind.
“You do seem to make a good pillow,” he observed. “That’s twice now I’ve fallen asleep on
you.”
“It could be a million times and I still wouldn’t grow tired of it,” I admitted. Like I’d told him a
few times now, I wasn’t about playing games. Some might say I was being too forward or that I’d laid
all my cards on that table, but it seemed the right approach when it came to Corey. If I had any chance
with him, he needed to understand this wasn’t just a fling for me.
“Same.”
I was torn between whether we should talk first or if I should get him breakfast. He was probably
starving. He hadn’t eaten much last night, and I had forgotten to stop and pick us up something from
one of the restaurants open late for the bar time crowd.
Corey rested his head on my chest, swirling his fingers through the mat of hair on my chest. “Can I
ask you something?”
“Anything,” I responded.
“I’m confused,” he said, still playing with my chest hair. I wanted to urge him to look at me, but I
sensed he was more comfortable like this.
“That wasn’t a question,” I pointed out. He hummed when I started rubbing his back. “What are
you confused about? Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“How am I like this?”
“Like what?”
“How does all this work?”
I’d never fully understood what people meant about talking in circles, but that was exactly what
Corey was doing. I had some ideas about what he was trying to ask, but he needed to take this step on
his own. “Sweetheart, you’re asking a whole lot of questions without giving me much to go on. A few
more details would help me clear your head.”
“Sorry,” he apologized. “My brain is all jumbled and I know I’m not making any sense.”
“That’s okay,” I reassured him. “I’m proud of you for being strong enough to admit that you’re
uncertain. A lot has happened in the past twelve hours. Why don’t we start with one thing that has you
confused and go from there?”
