I shake my head slightly. “No. Thanks, though. Why don’t you take it for lunch tomorrow? Do you think you’re going to be ready to fly out super early on Sunday morning?”
She's got her arms around her torso, rubbing her hand down her arm rhythmically in a self-soothing motion. “Oh yeah, I’ll be ready!No onecan pack like me!” she says in a light-hearted voice, still not quite able to meet my eyes. "And besides, I'm just one person…" she trails off with a far away look, and I just know without her saying a thing that she's thinking about her baby.
I tilt my head, stepping a bit closer."Hey… are you going to be okay tonight?"
Sadness floods her eyes, tightening her features as she now folds her arms and turns her back to the lounge, away from the men.
"I don't know…" she whispers, flitting her eyes to mine looking torn. "I've been trying to be brave today, keeping a smile on my face, you know…but it'shard."Her voice cracks, causing my heart to tug in sympathy.
She squeezes her eyes shut and works to wipe an errant tear away.
"Sarah." I walk into her, pushing us a bit deeper into the kitchen, out of the view of her friends. I put a hand up and caress her cheek with my knuckles, wiping her tears away and lower my voice, "I can stay tonight. If you need me."
She immediately shakes her head. "No, Alexander, you've done so much,t-too much—I could n-never ask—"
I silence her with a finger to her lips. "You're not asking; I'moffering,"I say gently, stroking my knuckles down her cheek. Doubt and fear replace the sadness, and I work to keep my motions gentle and non-threatening. Yet still her shoulders hunch up, and she grips her elbow with her hand, curling in on herself.
"You've had a bad day—"She tries, but I interrupt that, too.
"My day instantly got better when I saw you. Don't use it as an excuse, please, because I'm not."
Please see me, baby…see how badly I need this, too.
My chest tightens with anticipation. There in her little kitchen, squeezed up against her refrigerator and the cabinet, we engage in a very different stand off than we're used to. But she's too scared to break for me.
My spirit deflates just a little.
"How about this: you be brave, okay? And if it so happens you can't be brave anymore, give me a call, and I'll come right back." I stop stroking her cheek and instead hold her chin in my grasp, keeping her eyes on mine.
She licks her lips, shifting her weight to her other foot and gives me a head nod before rubbing her own hand on my bicep. The action makes my fingers fall away, and we leave her kitchen silently, back to the living room where she settles on a cushion on the floor.
“Do you want my seat?” I offer, standing next to the chair. Not wanting her on the floor.
“Oh, nooo, I’m fine down here," she says, looking up at me from her spot on the floor. "Sit and watch this with us! Have you seen it?”
Biting my lip contemplatively, I turn without answering and head to her bedroom, grabbing the comforter off her bed. Bringing it to the living room, I take off my jacket and slide to the floor next to her, spreading the blanket over both of us.
Hearing my phone ding, I take it out of my pocket to see texts from the guys.
Christopher: You got it bad, brother. We feel for yoouuu.
Jerome: Make sure she plays Rock the Boat by Aliyah the first time please? It’ll just make my whole world complete! You know YOU got the hips that hip, right?
Christopher: Jesus, you don’t have to answer that, Alex. Damn he’s nosy.
I shake my head slightly in annoyance, discreetly putting up my middle finger for them to see. They laugh quietly, and one of them gently shoves my shoulder, jostling me.
Sarah takes the opportunity to check her phone too, pulling up her email. I tense at the unread email from Dickface David so blaringly obvious at the top. A raunchy moan fills the room, drawing our gazes to the TV where the main character is fucking his mistress against a tree in some raunchy scene. Sarah turns bright red. But I'm honestly very unimpressed and busy frowning, when the men on the couch behind us move.
“Well, hate to go, but we have to run!” Christopher says, standing up and pulling Jerome up with him.
Sarah looks up just as she clicks on the email from David, not reading it.
“Aww….but we just started it!” she complains. As she looks up at them, it gives me enough time to be nosy and see the contents of David’s email to her. I stiffen and clench my jaw so hard I hear a grinding sound.
Christopher leans down to give her a kiss on the forehead, followed by a hug from Jerome. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, baby girl, but we’ll be back soon to have a marathon. Jerome and I have something important to do,” he says, pulling Jerome after him quickly before Sarah has a chance to get off the floor.
"Wait!"she sputters, furrowing her brows at them all but running to the door. I shake my head because I know their game. They wanted to leave us alone with a sex scene. As if we fucking need that right now with all the damn tension between us.
