by C. C. Wood
“I’m sorry, guys, but I have to go to bed.”
Blaine got up when I did. “If you have some extra blankets and pillow, I’ll bed down on the rug in your bedroom.”
“Blaine…” I wasn’t sure what else to say, so I ended up speaking his name and falling into silence.
“You won’t even know I’m there.”
I realized it was a lie, a horrible lie, around eleven-thirty when he started snoring. For a relatively young man, he sounded like an eight hundred pound grizzly bear. It jerked me out of my light doze and I immediately wondered if I was moments away from having my face ripped off.
When I realized it was Blaine, I tossed and turned, wondering why I hadn’t heard him snoring like this when we were all on the road. Finally, I got up and shoved at his shoulder lightly, hoping that maybe he would turn over onto his side and shut up.
Sure enough, he turned over, facing away from the bed, and the cacophony stopped immediately. I climbed back into bed and stared at the ceiling. Teri sat in the corner, a small smile tugging at her mouth.
“Damn, he makes a lot of noise, doesn’t he?” she asked.
I nodded, not wanting to wake Blaine up by speaking.
“Go ahead and go to sleep,” she prompted. “I’ll be right here.”
Somehow I managed to turn over and do exactly as she commanded.
The soft murmur of male voices brought me out of sleep. Blaine was talking to someone.
I opened my eyes and saw Blaine and Mal standing at the end of the bed, talking in whispers. Then Blaine took his blanket and pillow and left the room. Mal shut the door behind him and walked toward the opposite side of the bed from where I lay.
Confused, I watched as he disappeared into my bathroom, leaving the door cracked. I heard him moving around in there, the toilet flush, and the water run in the sink for a few minutes, then he returned to the bedroom and pulled the blankets down on the opposite side of the bed. A wedge of light from the streetlamp outside filtered through the curtains and illuminated his upper body. I realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt and sucked in a sharp breath.
“Hey, it’s just me,” he soothed, erroneously thinking that I’d just woken up to a man hovering over my bed and freaked out.
“You’re back,” I said blankly, unable to form any other words as I watched the play of muscles in his torso when he climbed into the bed.
“Yeah, I took the ten o’clock flight and hired an Uber home.”
“Uber?” I parroted.
“Yeah. It was too late to call Blaine to come pick me up and I didn’t want to rent a car.”
“That must have been expensive,” I muttered. I really wanted to ask him what he was doing getting into my bed, but I also didn’t want him to think that I didn’t want him here. I did, I just didn’t understand what was happening.
He settled into the mattress. “It was worth it just to get back here.”
I inched closer until my pinkie brushed against his shoulder. “Uh, Mal, don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you going to sleep in my bed?”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn into an octopus. Stony is in the guest room and Blaine is taking the couch. I heard him snoring as soon as I opened the front door, so I thought you wouldn’t mind if I sent him downstairs.”
“I don’t,” I replied. “Mind, that is.” I paused. “I’m just wondering why you climbed into bed with me.”
He went very still and so did I. I hadn’t meant anything by the statement. I just wanted to understand what was happening.
“Do you mind if I sleep with you?” he asked quietly, his words even, almost stiff. “I can grab another blanket and bunk on the floor. I just don’t want you to sleep alone until I know you’ll be safe.”
“Not really,” I whispered back, afraid that I’d upset him. I hadn’t intended the question as confrontational, merely idle curiosity. I took a deep breath. “Are you going to sleep in here every night?”
In the dark, I could barely make out his face as he turned it toward me, but his eyes shimmered a little in the dim light. “Do you want me to?”
Hesitantly, I lifted my left hand and placed it on his chest, right over his heart. His skin felt hot against my palm and I could feel the pulse of his heart speed up slightly. “I think so.” I paused. “But only if you don’t snore like a half-ton grizzly.”
He laughed and reached out, pulling me across the bed so that my head was pillowed on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around me, clasping my left shoulder. His other hand lay on top of mine, pressing my palm closer to his chest. “I don’t think I snore. You’ll have to let me know.”
For a long time, we lay in the dark, each of us silent. I could tell he was awake because every so often his fingers would sift through the ends of my hair against my arm. Though I wondered what he was thinking about, I didn’t ask. Instead I basked in the pleasure of being held. Though I’d had a couple of boyfriends in college, none of them had been big on cuddling and the relationships had been short-lived. I hadn’t realized until now how wonderful it felt to lay curled up against a man and just be.
As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered if I could talk him into staying with me even after the dark entity was gone.
Chapter
I woke up the next morning with a heavy weight against my back, an arm thrown over my waist, and a hairy thigh pinning my left leg to the mattress. Sometime during the night, I must have rolled over and Mal ended up spooned behind me.
As I lay there, trying to decide if I wanted to get up, I heard a rumble emerge from Mal’s chest and stifled a giggle. It wasn’t as loud as Blaine’s but Mal definitely snored.
When he did it again, I gently nudged him with my foot. Then I jumped when he lightly nipped my earlobe with his teeth.
“Hey!”
“You kicked me first,” he said, his voice rough and deep with sleep. His lips were still pressed to my skin, so the vibrations of his words rolled through me.
I shivered at the sensation. “You were snoring,” I stated.
“Was not,” he argued, his voice making me shiver again.
“Yes, you were.”
“I’ve been awake the last ten minutes, starving to death, and wondering when you were going to get up and make me breakfast. I figured it was the fastest way to get your attention.”
Laughing, I rolled over to face him and lightly smacked his shoulder. “You’re lying,” I accused.
With his tousled black hair, bare chest, and the stubble on his jaw, Mal looked as if he’d spent the night doing a lot more than sleeping. I suppressed another tremor.
“You know what, I changed my mind,” he said. “Let’s just stay in bed.”
He reached for me and I felt my heart give an excited thump in my chest at the look in his eyes. I didn’t even care that both of us had morning breath.
We were both breathing hard when he released me, my lips swollen from the kiss. He stared at me for a moment, his eyes searching my face for something. Before he could kiss me again, we heard the heavy clump of footsteps walking into the guest bathroom and the door shut with a sharp snap.
Stony was awake.
Mal glanced at the door, then back at me, and shrugged, leaning in once again to kiss me. As soon as our lips touched, the sound of Blaine coming up the stairs filled the room. The man walked like an elephant, stomping loudly on each tread.
Then the bathroom doorknob rattled.
“Shit,” Blaine swore, pulling at the knob again.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Stony responded, his voice carrying right down the hall into my room.
“Dude, I need to take a piss,” Blaine replied.
“Wait your turn.”
There was a long pause and I stared up at Mal, my eyes wide as I fought the laugh that wanted to escape.
Before Blaine could say anything, Mal lifted his head, turning toward the door. “Don’t even think about it!” he called out.
“For God’s sa
ke,” Blaine muttered. “I guess I’ll go pee in the back yard like a damn dog.”
“Woof, woof.”
When Stony barked, I couldn’t control myself any longer. I clapped my hands over my mouth and started laughing so hard I cried.
With a frustrated grumble, Mal got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. When he came out a few minutes later, he wore a t-shirt over his shorts, his hair was combed, and I could smell the minty freshness of his mouthwash when he leaned over and gave my lips a quick peck.
“I’ll go start the coffee.”
Twenty minutes later, I was downstairs, hair wet and fully dressed after a quick shower. I might lounge around in my pajamas all day if I were alone, but not with three other people in the house.
Considering all three of them were in the kitchen, drinking coffee, when I entered, I was glad I’d taken the time.
“Hey, Zoe! How do you feel about a party?” Stony asked.
“To celebrate what?”
“The show!” he exclaimed, gesturing with his mug and nearly spilling coffee everywhere.
“Sure,” I agreed, accepting a cup of coffee from Mal with a smile. “Where will it be?”
“I was thinking we could have it here if you didn’t mind,” Stony replied.
I nearly choked on my first sip. “Here? Will everyone even fit?”
“That’s what she said,” he shot back with a wide grin.
Blaine muttered, “You wish.”
Stony ignored the comment and answered my question. “I think so. I mean, I figured we could invite your parents and Jonelle.”
“We should invite that firefighter from next door,” Blaine suggested. “He seemed cool.”
Stony shot him a look that clearly stated he thought that was a terrible idea, but replied, “Sure.”
I bit my lip and took another sip of my coffee as Blaine turned and winked at me. I knew he was up to something, but I wasn’t sure what.
“When do you want to have this party?” I asked.
“Tomorrow night.”
I stared at him with wide eyes. “Um, isn’t that a little short notice?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, but I know we don’t have time for anything formal. I figured we could have a barbeque and keep it simple.”
“You sure did a lot of thinking without making sure that Zoe was okay with it,” Blaine pointed out.
Stony glared at him and opened his mouth, likely to bicker with him as they usually did.
Still in a good mood from the kiss Mal gave me this morning, I refused to let them ruin it, so I lifted my free hand and said, “Hey! No arguing.”
They turned toward me, looking sheepish.
“It’s okay,” I told Blaine. “I would like to have a party to celebrate y’all finally getting what you want. Since it’s casual, I don’t think it’ll seem weird if we invite everyone at the last minute.”
“We got everything we wanted,” Mal interrupted.
I glanced at him in confusion. “What?”
His gaze was intense and serious as he looked at me. “You said you got what you wanted. You’re part of the team now, which means that we all got what we wanted. Right?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
I wasn’t sure why the semantics were so important to Mal, but he was right. I had wanted the show to gain national mainstream attention. Sometimes I simply couldn’t believe that I now had a permanent place on the show, that I wasn’t a guest or a temporary employee. Sometimes it felt too good to be true. Like now.
Stony put his cup down on the kitchen table and rubbed his hands together as though he were preparing to perform a great feat. “I think I have some shopping to do,” he announced. “Should I get a brisket or ribs?” Without waiting for anyone to answer, he got up and grabbed the grocery list off the fridge and a pen out of the cup on the counter. “Both. I’ll get both. And maybe some pork chops.”
Still muttering to himself, he sat back down at the table and started making notes on the pad.
Grinning at Mal, I asked, “Are you still hungry?”
He nodded, his stern expression relaxing.
“I’ll toast some bagels,” I stated, opening the fridge.
Stony was too busy writing lists to complain that he needed more than a bagel to make it to lunch.
Chapter
The impromptu party wasn’t as difficult to plan as I expected. True to his word, Stony handled all the shopping and intended to do all the cooking. Well, he and Blaine, who grumbled a bit about being roped into things.
Jonelle and Preston were coming, but my parents were going to dinner with some of their friends. I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed or relieved they wouldn’t be there.
While my mother and I were getting along well now, a small part of me waited on the inevitable breakdown. Sarah Thorne had never been an easy woman to live with and this new side of her was unexpected and nice, but a little unnerving. I couldn’t help but wonder when my mother would return to the stern, eternally disappointed woman I’d known since I was five years old.
Mal insisted that he, Stony, and Blaine tidy the house. I didn’t argue because the three of them were the ones who made most of the messes.
Saturday night rolled around and Stony had dragged home half the grocery store as well as an enormous charcoal grill that I would likely never use again.
I said as much and he grinned at me, stating, “I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot of time in Kenna, Zoe. Might as well have a decent grill.”
I had no response to that comment, so I shut my mouth and returned to the house to help Blaine prep the food. Teri loitered in the kitchen for a while, making comments about the dishes Blaine and I were making, before claiming that she wasn’t in the mood for a party and disappearing. I watched her float away, wondering what was bothering her and why she wouldn’t discuss it.
Before I could think too deeply on it, Jonelle and Preston arrived at the same time, each of them bearing a couple of six packs of beer or hard cider. As soon as I welcomed them and made sure everyone had a drink, Jonelle moved to the television and pulled up the streaming music application. I’d splurged on a smart TV a couple of years ago so I could access Netflix and Hulu without a secondary device. There were a host of other apps available but I never used them.
Soon strains of an acoustic guitar and a mellow male voice filled the house. Stony and Blaine cooked the meal without ruining anything or burning my house down.
As we gathered around my kitchen table to eat, Mal stood at the end, a beer in his hand.
Gesturing to Jonelle and Preston, he said, “Thank you both for being here to celebrate a milestone with us.” Then he looked toward Stony and Blaine. “And thank you both for not laughing at my crazy idea to start a web show.”
They lifted their bottles at his words and I thought I detected a gleam of tears in Stony’s eyes, but he blinked and they were gone.
Then Mal turned to me. “Zoe, you were exactly what we needed and I know I speak for all the guys when I say that we’re glad we found you.”
We all tapped our bottles and glasses together in the center of the table in a toast and Blaine called out, “To The Wraith Files!”
After we drank, everyone sat at the table. It was a bit crowded with all the food spread across the surface, but no one seemed to mind.
As everyone served themselves, Mal leaned over and whispered in my ear, “And speaking only for myself, it was the luckiest day of my life when I pulled up in front your house and saw you sitting on the front porch.”
My cheeks heated at his words as I remembered that day. I’d been throwing myself a pity party; sprawled on my porch swing, eating peanut butter straight out of the jar, and reading a particularly steamy historical romance.
“I don’t know what to say to that,” I whispered to him, knowing my face was flushing from pink to red.
Mal grinned at me. “You don’t have to say anything. I think your blush says it all.”
I shook
my head and took a sip of hard cider, hoping that it would cool me down.
After dinner, Jonelle dug through my upper cabinet, pulling out bottles of tequila, vodka, and then squealing when she found the expensive whiskey that had been left of my front porch the night of my birthday.
Stony studied the bottle over her shoulder and whistled. “Damn, now that’s a good bottle of Scotch.”
Jonelle smiled slyly at me. “Let’s open it,” she suggested, waggling her eyebrows. “I mean, what else says celebration like a $150 bottle of Scotch.”
I shrugged. “Sure, whatever you want.”
Preston lifted a hand when Jonelle’s gaze moved toward him. “None for me,” he said with a smile. “I go on call tomorrow, so I can’t afford to be hung over.”
“More for me!” Jonelle joked as she cracked open the bottle.
She poured four glasses and offered one to me.
I shook my head. “You know I don’t like Scotch.”
Giving me a slightly disgusted glance, she turned toward Mal and Blaine, holding out the glass and they both refused.
“Seriously, y’all are going to pass up 21 year old Scotch?” she asked incredulously.
Suddenly, I understood why neither of them wanted to get drunk. I’d been attacked just a few days ago and they didn’t want to be incapacitated if it should happen again.
Stony, however, held out a hand. “I’d like a glass. It’s not every day I get to drink Scotch this good.”
Jonelle hesitated briefly before handing it to him. He stared at her as he sipped it and it was as if they were having a silent conversation. Finally, Jonelle took two of the three glasses left and turned away. “I guess I’ll double fist it, then,” she joked.
Mal took my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen into the living room. “Come sit on the couch with me.”
“Feeling bossy?” I teased him.
As he settled into the far corner of the sofa and pulled me down next to him, he leaned in, his lips close to my ear. “I missed you while I was gone.” His arm wrapped around my shoulder, tucking me firmly into his side.
