“You’ve been a busy boy.” My grin is so wide, it’s making my headache come back. “Will you stay here until close to the time for my parents to get home?”
“Headache coming back?” he predicts.
“Yeah.”
“Sleep, baby. I’ll stay.”
I fall back asleep with his lips pressed to my forehead and thoughts of our future together drifting around in my achy head.Chapter 33Dalton“That’s it!” Piper praises when Peyton works out a complicated problem from start to finish on her own. “I think you’re ready.”
“Ugh.” Peyton shoves the notebook away from her. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”
“You’re working on sophomore-level problems, Peyton. You’re going to rock that test Friday.”
“Maybe,” my sister grumbles, but I can tell it’s hard for her to keep doubting herself when Piper has so much faith in her. “Does that mean we’re done? No more math this summer?”
Piper looks to me briefly before turning her attention back to my sister. “We should probably brush up before the school year starts but—”
Peyton grumbles her displeasure like only a thirteen-year-old can.
“Fine,” Piper concedes. “No more math, but I can help you during the school year if you get stuck. Just don’t let yourself get behind like you did last year. High school math gets harder every year, and falling behind makes it nearly impossible to get caught back up.”
“Believe me,” Peyton says as she stands from the kitchen and stretches her back, “I won’t fall behind. I never want to spend another half of summer doing math homework.”
My little sister walks toward the fridge, leaving my girl and me alone at the table.
“Are you really done?” She grins at me as she begins to gather her things. “Does this mean I have you to myself for the rest of the summer?”
I rub my hands together like a supervillain with diabolical plans, and all I get from her is a weak smile.
She’s more pale than usual, and it’s clear that the headache from yesterday hasn’t completely gone away.
“Are you feeling alright?” I hook a finger under her chin and make her look up at me. “Does your head still hurt?”
“It’s like a dull ache. It’ll be fine.”
“Have you talked to your dad about it?”
“It’s just a headache, Dalton. I’ll be fine.”
When she stands, I pull her against my chest. “Does this mean you’re going back home? I can come with you and hold you while you sleep.”
Doing that yesterday was the most intimate thing I’ve ever experienced. Listening to her soft breathing and holding her against my chest on her bed was amazing, and I can see myself scheduling cuddle time with her on a daily basis.
“I’m so sick of staring at my bedroom walls. Can we lie down in your bed instead?”
I know her head hurts, but that doesn’t stop my dick from thinking of better things to do with her in my bed besides sleeping.
She chuckles, well aware of what’s going on south of the border when I pull my hips back from her a few inches. She doesn’t give me shit for it, though, and that’s a warning sign that she feels worse than she’s letting on.
“How about we turn the TV down low and watch a movie in the living room?”
“That’s a great idea,” Peyton interrupts. “I’m going to go see if I can pull Preston away from his video games. Wanna watch Harry Potter?”
I shrug, leaving it up to Piper to decide on the movie, and she nods her head, but I imagine she doesn’t really plan on watching anything, so she doesn’t really care what’s playing.
Before we leave the kitchen, I guide Piper to the fridge, grabbing each of us a bottle of water. I remember her saying on Saturday that she hadn’t drunk enough water, and her headache was probably because she was a little dehydrated. I doubt that’s still the case because I practically poured water down her throat the entire time she was awake yesterday, but a little more water won’t hurt.
“Are you hungry?” I ask before we leave the kitchen.
When she shakes her head, I guide her to the couch, plopping down and letting her lay across me with her head in my lap. I’ll let my siblings decide what to watch when they get back in here. Right now, I’m quite content to just massage Piper’s scalp while her eyes drift closed.
I have to shush Preston the second he comes racing into the room like his ass is on fire, but when he sees Piper resting on my lap, he snaps his lips closed. I think the little guy has a crush on my girl, but it works to everyone’s benefit right now because he grabs a blanket off the back of the couch and covers her with it before settling into the recliner on the opposite side of the room. Peyton comes in and pops in the DVD for the second Harry Potter movie, and for the first hour, my little brother doesn’t make a peep.