Then back down the hallway.
“No,” I whispered.
My brain said:But what if…
“No.”
But he sleeps really deeply.
“Nope.”
You could be quick.
I sat there for a full thirty seconds having an argument with myself before finally standing up.
“This is creepy,” I muttered under my breath as I dug through the junk drawer in the kitchen. “Oh god, I’m a freak. An actual freak.”
After a minute of rummaging, I triumphantly held up a rolled-up measuring tape. And before I could talk myself out of it again, I walked straight up the stairs to our bedroom.
The room was dim except for the soft glow from the streetlight outside. Dorian was sprawled across the bed, half on his stomach, one arm under the pillow, dark hair fanned across the sheets.
I crept closer like I was defusing a bomb. “Okay,” I whispered. “Just… quick.”
The tape measure shook slightly in my hands. I crawled onto the bed and about had a panic attack when I had to lift his upper body just enough to get the measuring tape around him.
Oh god, oh fuck, oh god, oh fuck.
Please don’t wake up, don’t wake up, don’t wake up.
I swear my heart tried to punch its way out of my ribcage when he made a sleepy noise and buried his face deeper into the pillow.
I held my breath as best I could while I worked my way down the list of measurements I needed.
At one point, Dorian rolled slightly onto his back, and I almost launched myself across the room.
But somehow—
Somehow—
I finished.
I retreated out of the bedroom like a criminal fleeing a crime scene. Once I reached the hallway, I leaned against the wall and covered my face, trying to catch my breath.
I quietly crept back downstairs to return the tape measure to its rightful place, and was just about to go back to the bedroom to sleep away what had just occurred.
But… I had the measurements.
And once you have the measurements…
Well.
It felt kind of pointlessnotto check if they matched the sizing chart.
Which led to me reopening the website.
Which led to comparing numbers.
Which led to realizing the purple damask corset vest would fit himperfectly.
