Noelle opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling fan hearing the reassuring swish of the fan blades passing overhead.
She closed her eyes and listened for more sounds.
Her mother's clock radio on an oldies station.
The humidifier in Ciela's room.
Nothing.
That's when she shifted to roll onto her back and ran into a wall of heat.
Oh.
Right.
She wasn't alone.
By the time they'd arrived at her house she knew that she'd made the right decision to invite him to stay overnight. His place was almost on the other side of San Antonio from her home.
If he'd dropped her off and gone home to his place, he would have almost doubled back toward his mother's home.
It just made sense to have him there.
It was safer for him.
She smiled at the memory.
She could have lied to herself about altruistic motives, but she wasn't that hypocritical.
When they were on her doorstep, waiting for her to fish out her keys from her purse, she'd told herself that it was okay.
She was an adult.
He was too.
They could keep their hands to themselves.
She didn't even know if he wanted to go... there with her.
Sure, they were comfortable with each other.
They cared for each other.
It was easy to see it.
Easier to feel it.
But those intellectual arguments paled and nearly dissolved as they'd gotten ready for bed.
She'd found the rest of the multipack of toothbrushes that they'd bought at Costco and put out a new one for him on the counter around the sink.
They'd brushed their teeth beside each other, taking turns to watch out their mouthes.
And when she'd reached out to turn off the bathroom light, he'd beat her to it, flicking it down to put the bathroom in near darkness.
The bedroom was dark enough that she didn't worry about McCrae seeing her change.
She dropped her clothes in the laundry hamper just inside her closet and pulled on a pair of light cotton shorts and a tank.
