He looks genuinely shocked. “Why not?”
Pushing him to the bed, he flops down, not landing anywhere that even resembles a normal sleeping position. “Why do you think?”
Thinking on it, the realization kicks in. “You’re drunk, and I’m sober, so that means…” he sings, making anXwith his arms. “No naked sleepover.”
Not fully accurate, but the important parts are right. “Bingo. Lie properly, please.”
Ignoring me, he yawns and closes his eyes. “Drunk people can’t give consent, Stas.”
“That’s right, bub,” I pant, lifting his alarmingly heavy legs to try to maneuver him. “Nate, can you he—okay, you’re asleep. Great.”
Brin’s nose scrunches when I rejoin her downstairs. “Why do you look so sweaty?”
“Nathan’s drunk and heavy.”
“Have you realized you’re falling in love with him yet?”
“I’ve known him two minutes, Sabrina. I’m not falling in love, we’re not even dating,” I say back, looking over my shoulder to make sure nobody is around listening.
“It’s been nearly three months and you’ve lived together for nearly one of them. I think that sorta makes the dating thing redundant.”
It’s been an hour of Sabrina giving me shit and making wedding suggestions, and she suddenly squeaks, making me jump. “I forgot to tell you because I was rushing! Aaron is hooking up with Kitty Vincent!”
I feel like one of those cartoon characters when their eyes spring out of their head. “Say you’re joking right now.”
“I would never joke about something so horrific. I saw it with my own eyes. Unrelated, but when you move home, we need to burn the couch. Rosie is still the sweetest, but Kitty is worse. So, so much worse.”
Kitty was our friend freshman year, and we were getting to know Rosie, her roommate too. Rosie is the daughter of Simone, my boss, and it was Rosie who recommended me for the job.
As Sabrina said, Rosie was sweet, but Kitty was a nasty, conceited bitch, and that’s not something I call another woman lightly. Scientists should study their friendship because it’s been two years and Istilldon’t understand it.
Annoyingly, they live in our building, so we see them sometimes, and we can’t get to know Rosie better and avoid Kitty because they’re inseparable.
Before I can process the information thrown at me by Brin, cheers erupt around us. Sabrina’s eyes widen, and her hand flies to her mouth as she does what can only be described as a scoff-snort hybrid.
Turning to search out the source of the chaos, I immediately spot Nathan pushing through the crowd in his boxers. His friends appear from the den, also searching for the cause of the noise, and all reach for their phones.
Nate is stomping across the room with purpose and I wish he were headed toward his friends.
I really, really wish he was going to them.
But he doesn’t; he stops right in front of me, lip pouting with sleepy, half-lidded eyes. “You weren’t there when I woke up.”
“Oh my God. Where are your clothes?”
“Come back to bed,” he whines loud enough for other people to hear. “No funny business. Just cuddle with me.”
“This is gold,” Sabrina says behind me and when I look over my shoulder, she has her phone out too.
The guys are all watching, and several are bent over laughing. One of them looks like they’re hyperventilating. Reluctantly letting Nathan drag me toward the stairs, I shoot them all the evils. “Thanks for your help, guys.”
“But you’re doing such a good job,” Robbie shouts back.
When we reach his room, Nate flops onto the bed, and I can see that he has decided to demolish our pillow barricade. He’s already snoring when I’m ready to crawl in beside him, but he still senses me there and pulls me closer to him.
After three weeks of pillow separation, being flush against him feels so freaking good. I don’t bother fighting to keep my eyes open.
TWENTY-EIGHT | NATHAN