His curious gaze lands on me, eyebrows furrowing as he realizes the feel of my skin against his is what woke him.
“Did you touch me?” Parker asks, voice still rough from sleep.
“Yeah.”
“Mmm.” Parker shifts on the bed, tilting his head so he can look at me better. “Thought I dreamt it.”
“It’s not so bad. My brain knows you showered last night, you’ve been here all night. I don’t know… What germs could you even have?”
“That’s true.”
“But I likely won’t ever kiss you without you brushing your teeth. Sorry, that’s a hard line.”
Parker’s grin would take me to my knees if I was standing. “Duly noted.”
“How’re your ribs? You promised you’d see Mandy today.”
Parker shifts around as if taking stock of his body. I don’t miss the wince that he carefully tries to conceal, no doubt in an attempt to get out of seeking medical care.
“They hurt, but I’ve had worse.”
I hum and squint one eye, then the other, which makes Parker smile. I carefully angle my body over his so I can assess the damage. The bruises are even darker now than last night, and there’s a decent amount of swelling. I wince internally because, honestly, it looks like he might have a broken rib. Without thinking it through, I dip down really quick and brush a kiss across the worst of the damage. Parker hisses again, like he did last night when I touched him. When I lift up, his eyes are closed tight and his mouth is moving without any sound.
“Parker?”
“I’m reciting the opening lines ofThe Canterbury Talesto stop myself from coming in my boxers. Give me a second.”
I sit back on my haunches and cover my mouth with my hand to keep from letting out an entirely inappropriate giggle. Finally, he gets himself under control and opens his eyes to pierce me with a heated look.
“Sorry,” I mumble, but I don’t mean it for a second.
“Sure.”
“Can I go with you? To see Mandy?”
“Eh.” Parker groans and tiredly rubs his face. “Then I’ll have two of you getting on my case about my injuries.”
“Oh, I’m definitely coming now.”
Parker smiles like he’s enjoying a secret. “Fine.”
We do our morning absolutions separately, then I help Parker get dressed in black sweatpants and a loose, soft cashmere sweater that was tucked into the back of my closet. My breath catches in my ribs when I carefully place his glasses on his nose, and he smiles somehow warmly and tiredly at the same time. He’s beautiful without his glasses, but with them he looks soft and sweet, which is the Parker that’s really starting to work his way into my heart. His face looks pained as we head out into the garage, and I can’t take one more second of it.
“I’ll drive.”
“Nope,” Parker says immediately.
“Yes. Give me the keys.”
Parker stares at me. I stare at him.
This is becoming a common theme among us, I think. Finally, Parker sighs loudly through his nostrils and tosses me the keys. With a pleased grin, I hold the passenger door open for him, ecstatic at the brief switch in our dynamic. Settling into the driver’s seat, I hook my phone up to the stereo and play theD&Dpodcast I listen to in order to settle my nerves.
“What the hell is this?” Parker asks, but his tone is playful.
“ADungeons and Dragonspodcast I like.”
“Is that a television show? Or a band?”
