“You should think about investing in a pair of blue light glasses if you watch a lot of shows on your computer,” Liam suddenly adds. Roshni and I turn to gaze at him, and he looks like an adorable deer in the headlights. “No one is safe from eye strain.”
Relative silence follows, but luckily, my angelic bestie is quick to ease the tension.
“Okay then,” Roshni says, clapping her hands together, “fun as it was to catch up with you both, I think I’ve intruded on your evening long enough. Winnie, I’ll see you in the morning, and Liam, I’ll be pretending that I didn’t see you at all. And I will also be on the alert for eye strain.”
“As everyone should be.”
Roshni steps out into the hall, and I move to the doorway as she presses the button for the elevator. It arrives quickly, and she mimes an over-the-top humping motion for me before stepping inside. I laugh and close the door, turning back around and leaning against it as I find Liam and Ollie now standing side by side.
“So,” I say, not quite sure how to establish the new normal.
Liam seems just as clueless as I am. “So... I guess I should get going.”
“Oh, yeah? You don’t want to stay?”
“You mean you still...” Liam nudges his head towards the bed, and it’s not hard to guess what he’s trying to ask.
“I don’t mean stay to do it,” I reply vehemently. “I’m obviously not going to have sex with you in front of my child.”
“Right, obviously. Me either. That’s why I was surprised.” The tips of his ears are blazing red, and I start to get worried that I may be growing entirely too fond of them.
“I just meant, you could just stay and sleep over.”
“You really want me to?” he asks.
“Kind of. It might be nice, but if you don’t want to, that’s fine.”
“No, I want to. It’s just... I feel like I should tell you that I’m not much of a cuddler. At least, not a sleep cuddler. I can cuddle when we’re awake, but when I’m trying to fall asleep, cuddling throws me into a bit of a panic.”
“Can you say the wordcuddleone more time?”
“I’m a nervous cuddler.”
I let out a quiet laugh as I cross my arms over my chest. “Well, you can relax, because we’re on the same page. As much as I enjoy the concept of cuddling or spooning or what-have-you, I’m very easily startled when unconscious—so if you touch me while I’m asleep, there’s a solid chance I’ll inadvertently punch you in the jugular.”
“Oh, wow.”
“I have no idea how or why, but I was somehow born with violent, visceral sleep tendencies. I just wanted to put that out there before you make your decision, since you bravely gave me your cuddling trigger warning.”
“I see. Because me not cuddling and you unconsciously assaulting me is basically the same thing.”
“More or less. At summer camp, my bunkmates called me Rip Van Will Slap You in the Head. It’s after—”
“Rip Van Winkle, no, I get it. That’s very clever for young kids.”
“It was theater camp,” I say somewhat deadpan. “We were an eloquent bunch.”
“Right. Well, after hearing all that, I definitely want to stay.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Sure,” he answers. “I’m never in much of a rush to get back to my place. Though I suppose that’s pretty telling, since I’d rather sleep here with the threat of physical pain looming over me instead of returning to my safe apartment.”
“You think too much. Let’s hop into that bed and not cuddle.”
Fifteen minutes later, Ollie is fast asleep on his pillow pile beside the radiator, and Liam and I are all tucked in and facing each other as we lie two feet apart. I’m wearing cotton shorts and an old T-shirt from high school, and Liam’s in his boxers and undershirt. He nestles around into a comfortable position as our eyes adjust to the darkness. All the lights in the room are out, but a fair amount of moonlight slips in from the windows.
“What were you like in school?” he asks, having noticed my faded gym T-shirt.
