Why is that weird?
I don’t know.
What’re you doing?
I cannot help but laugh, which I regret, because it makes my temples throb. Groaning, I close my eyes and turn to my side, causing the feline to scuttle away.
I wndlt have minded. Wr still cqn.
I let the phone slip from my hand, and shove it just out of reach. Another buzz vibrates against the pillow, but I only manage a ragged sigh before turning away. Sleep drags me down.
I’ll respond to him when I wake up. Hopefully I’ll feel better by then.
There’s a strange weightlessness in my dream; a faint buzz in my ear that makes me think I’m on a plane. My feet don’t touch the ground, and the air feels uncomfortable, like the temperature is as confused as I am.
I tremble as I inhale the smell of something familiar—nothing like a plane. That at least confirms I’ve not been whisked away onto an airplane and am thirty-thousand feet in the sky. That would beridiculous. Still… why do I feel like I’m floating?
A groan catches in my throat as my eyes flutter open. Blue fills my vision as the aroma of the outdoors tangles with something achingly familiar. Keoni. He smells of some tropical blend of sweet fruits, along with hints of mint and the night air.I shift slightly, my cheek brushing against muscle. A mumble slips out, but no real words. Keo takes up my entire world. Above him, the cabin ceiling drifts by. At least that tells me we’re still home, and I’m not at a hospital or somewhere I don’t want to be.
The creak of a door opening is followed by his scent intensifying in the air. Doesn’t take a genius, or non-sick person, to tell me he’s carried me into his room. I should look around, take in this space I’ve never been in, but I can’t stop staring at his face. He’s so serious looking.
Don’t laugh, Ayden.
I’m slowly lowered into gray sheets. The moment my body sinks down, he notices I’m awake, and his chest deflates with what sounds like a sigh of relief.
“Hey,” he whispers. “Have you taken any medicine?”
I shake my head, or, I think I do.
“Ayden?” Guess not. “Words, please.”
“No.”
The shuffling of feet away from me clears my view to take in the room. It’s relatively bare. Directly in front of me is a five-drawer dresser with a small TV resting on top. To the left is a closed door, and to its right is the entrance to the bedroom, which is open.
Everything is wood-paneled, and a few photos hang on the walls within my line of sight. I’m not interested in moving my head—whatever cold this is has really hit me hard.
Keo comes back into the room, followed by a soft meow. I still can’t believe how attached that cat is. It actually blows my mind.
He kneels beside the bed, and I finally take in his appearance.
Holy fuck, I’m glad I’m not capable of being hard. At least, I hope not. That would be extremely embarrassing.
He’s wearing dark blue uniform pants, tight against his thighs,straining as he lowers onto one knee. His matching polo has all three buttons undone, and a symbol is stitched on the right chest. His hair is pulled back in his signature bun. His five o’clock shadow is the perfect length—which feels strange to notice, but this is the closest our faces have been since my graduation.
“Sit up for me,” he commands while putting a hand behind my neck to assist me. “Fuck, you’re so hot, Ayden.”
I snort-laugh. “Thanks.”
His groan just makes him hotter. Damn it. “I’m serious. Come on.” He shifts to the bed just as I’m sat upright, his large hand holding the back of my neck in a grip that feels possessive. “Open and take this.”
I look at his fingers. Pinched between his index finger and thumb are two white pills. I do as he says and stick my tongue out slightly. There’s only a brief pause—just a second—before he presses the medicine into my mouth. Followed by a feeling of glass pushing against my lips.
“Drink.”
There’s no argument, no waiting, as I lean my head back and take a sip of the room temperature water.
The sound of the cup being sat onto wood comes with his heavy sigh. “How long have you been feeling like this?”
