Page 247 of Masters of Control

“Sorry?”

“I’m sorry Brian texted you. I’m fine, I really am. I just need to take it easy this afternoon, then we can go to Marquis and⁠—”

“Baby, I already canceled our reservation tonight.” He was shaking his head as he cut her off. “We’re not going anywhere until you feel better.”

She was the worst girlfriend ever. Morgan couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.

Asad

Things he’d always thought would make him run:

Commitment

Taking care of someone who wasn’t feeling well

Crying

Yet here he was, holding his sick girlfriend on his lap while she cried, and he didn’t feel like running. All he wanted to do was make her feel better. She wasn’t some vague idea in his head or some made-up placeholder with no real personality—she was Morgan. He didn’t want to be anywhere but here, holding her and taking care of her.

Something settled inside him with that realization. This was where he belonged. No matter what happened with her or if she was only a little sick or really sick, this was where he was choosing to be because this was where he wanted to be. He wanted her to rely on him, and he wanted to be there for her. He wanted everything he’d rejected for so long… as long as it was with her.

“Baby, Red, what’s wrong?” he asked, smoothing her hair back and cuddling her close again. He’d noticed she was calmer when she was against his chest, being held tightly. He could feel how warm she was, warmer than usual, which must be the remnants of the fever.

She might just be crying because she was tired, sick, and a little overwhelmed, but after talking to Julie, he thought it might also be a bit more than that. From the looks of it, she’d been struggling with having Mitch and Brian take care of her. She definitely hadn’t expected him to show up, any more than Mitch and Brian had, even though Brian had been the one to text him.

Asad would be insulted if he hadn’t spent years carefully cultivating his reputation as someone who wouldn’t be there.

Once he’d appeared, neither Mitch nor Brian had balked at leaving Morgan in his care. Brian had looked relieved and grateful as he’d done the handoff, which was more than Asad had expected. There had been no warning looks, just the request to be kept updated, which is what they would have done from anyone.

“I’m sorry I ruined our night! And made you leave work! And made Brian late! And⁠—”

“Hey, hey, this is not your fault, got it?” He hugged her tighter, rocking her slightly. “You can’t help when you get sick. Brian didn’t mind delaying leaving any more than I minded leaving work—those are things we both chose to do, nobody made us. We’re still going to celebrate our one-monthversary, we’re just going to celebrate it a little differently than we planned.”

“We are?” She sniffled, though thankfully, her tears had slowed.

“Yes, we’re going to celebrate it here. I’ll make us dinner, we’ll watch some movies, and snuggle on the couch, then I’ll reschedule our night at Marquis for when you’re feeling better. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s not?”

“I mean, it is, but it isn’t.” One of the reasons he’d wanted to do the one-monthversary thing, even though it was very high school, was because he knew it was the kind of experience Morgan hadn’t had during her teenage years. His high school experience hadn’t been entirely typical, either, but at least he’d had some of those milestones. He’d been excited about doing it for her, but they’d just move it.

“I think it’s a big deal because a month is a great start, but having to cancel or move the Marquis night isn’t a big deal because the important thing is that we’re acknowledging that we’re together and we want to keep being together. Right?”

“Right.”

“Good. So, I need to put away the stuff I brought over, some of it needs to be refrigerated, then we’ll figure out what movie we’re going to watch first. We can celebrate this being the first time I get to take care of you being sick, and we’ll celebrate again the first time I get sick and you take care of me.”

That got a little giggle from her, and Asad smiled. Come to think of it, being taken care of the next time he was sick definitely didn’t sound bad. He hadn’t had that since he was much younger. One thing about his parents, the slightest hint of illness on his part had meant a lot of care and pampering until he was feeling better. He’d always tried to get better as soon as possible and sometimes downplayed how he was feeling, so they didn’t have to worry about him and Cyrus, but that hadn’t stopped his mom from going overboard every time he was sick.

“Does that mean we’re going to celebrate the first time we do everything?” she asked, moving on his lap so she could look at him. Her eyes were still puffy, and her nose was pink and a little swollen, but she looked beautiful to him.

“Absolutely.” He tapped his finger against her nose. “Now, I’m going to go get this party started.”

“I’ll help.”

“No.” He put some authority into his voice, pulling her back down onto his lap as she started to get up and shifting her to the side instead, so her butt was firmly planted on the couch. “You will sit right there, rest, and work on feeling better. Think about what movie you want to watch.”

Morgan huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking so miserable at being denied, he almost wanted to give in, but she was going to need to get used to being taken care of. He was good at it, even if he’d been out of practice for a while. It was time to tap back into that side of himself.