Don’t give me that squinty-eyed look. I said top three.
But he was unwell. I was supposed to be watching over him.
Standing, I turned to lay him back in the cocoon of blankets still warm from his body. Panic flashed across his face, lighting up his eyes like a bolt of lightning.
He caught my hand, and I couldn’t keep from looking at the way it clutched mine.Harmless. “Please don’t go.”
Hooty-hoo,them consequences were on parade.
The tremble in his voice and the tug of his hand on mine put my entire chest in a vise. Tugging my hand from his, I backed up a step before turning to walk across the room.
His indrawn breath and the absence of a following exhale had me casting a glance over my shoulder. “You should eat something. It’s been too long.”
“I have some creamer packets in my coat pocket,” he said as if he had the solution to world hunger.
My face screwed up. “What now?”
“I pick them up for free at internet cafes and sometimes the library. They’re handy when you need?—”
“Creamer is not food.” The words whipped out of me like the sharp crack of a whip.
Creamer packets? Well, consider me just dipped in drama.
I mean, really, this was just what the moment called for. Creamer packets.
I tipped my head. “What flavor?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Usually hazelnut. No one likes them, so they’re the last to go.”
Was he for real right now?
I reminded myself to breathe through my nose. I had this app once that taught me some deep-breathing exercises. You know, for relaxation. My job is high-stress, and it wasn’t like I could call up a therapist and lie on her couch.
“I’ll get them,” he said, as though I wasn’t about to crash out all over this hotel room, and flipped the blankets off his slim, bare legs.
If you’re wondering if I peeked at his dangly bits when I’d changed his clothes, that would be a negative.
I might kiss first and think later, but I was no predator.
“If you so much as put one toe on the carpet, I will not be held responsible for what I do.”
Pip paused, lifting his knee to ensure no toe hit the floor. “What?”
“Put those twin columns of bad decisions back under the covers.”
“What?” he echoed.
Making a sound, I stomped back to the side of the bed, sliding my arm under his knees and tucking him back in. “Do not get up.”
“But the creamer?—”
“Is not food,” I repeated. I’m telling you, I think he was hard of hearing.Might have to get him to a doctor.
“But I don’t want you to leave,” he shot out, trying to flip back the blankets once more. I shoved them back up and then sat down so he couldn’t do it again. “They’ll hold me over.” He tried to go on, words tripping over themselves on the way off his tongue.
“Stop,” I said, pressing a finger against his lips. “Just shhh.”
He blinked, eyes nearly crossing as they tried to look at my finger. I told myself it wasn’t adorable as hell.
