“Not lame, it’s not like you can control it, is it?”
“No, I don’t even remember falling asleep.” He looked at me and away again. “I’ll leave you to, um…” He nodded. “I’ll pack my stuff. I’m so sorry.” As he turned away, he placed the pillow behind him on the bed and then hastily retreated.
Sleepwalking? I questioned myself. Was that genuine? Did grown men sleepwalk? I didn’t know, but I did know that I already believed him. He hadn’t tried to take advantage of me, he had merely been spooning me. Probably thought I was Josie.
Frowning, I looked towards my door. With a sigh, I crossed the hall and rapped on his door. He opened it, wearing jeans but still shirtless.
“I have questions.”
“Yeah, I can imagine.” He grimaced as he looked past me.
“Downstairs, coffee, questions.”
“Okay.”
With a firm nod, I turned sharply and marched back to my room. When I was back with the door closed, I realised I had confronted him in my T-shirt and panties. No wonder he wouldn’t look at me; I was flashing him.
With a groan, I headed to the bathroom. I really needed coffee. It was already a long morning.
Twenty minutes later, I was leaning against the counter when Mark came downstairs, his backpack packed and ready.
“Hi,” he said with a tight smile.
“Hey.” I pointed at the cups. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
The easy atmosphere of last night was gone. The relaxed guy, the easy smile, the carefree attitude, all gone. He was tense and was avoiding eye contact.
“Hey, city boy, I said I have questions,” I told him quietly. “I didn’t say I was interrogating you. We can talk, no?”
Mark looked at me, and I saw his shoulders slump. “Yes, of course we can, Iris.”
Pointing at the table we sat at last night, I told him to take a seat, and I brought the coffee over. Once I was settled and had poured him a cup, I hesitated, not sure where to start.
“It started when I was fourteen,” Mark began. “I used to get really bad insomnia, then I would crash, anywhere, anytime. My mom used to joke that my sleepwalking was my subconscious telling my body I needed to be comfortable.” He took a sip of coffee. “Doctors said I would grow out of it.” He flashed me a guilty look. “I didn’t.”
“Does it happen often?”
“Not as much. I sleep well most nights. I try to ensure I’m never overtired so I don’t slip.”
“You had a long day yesterday,” I commiserated.
“Yeah, thought I could do it all.” His face twisted in a grimace. “I didn’t think I was that bad, or I would have gone to bed and locked myself in.”
“The beer wouldn’t have helped.”
“No. Again, I can only apologise.” He shook his head as he stood. “And leave of course. I’ll pay first.”
This time, it was my hand that caught his wrist. “You don’t need to.”
“I violated your trust. That’s just…”
Biting my lip, I looked up at him. “But it’s not like you actually want to sleep with me.”
His eyes met mine, and he looked away quickly, and my tummy flips were back. “Well, I don’t want to be a liar and a creep in the same day,” he muttered.
Oh. That shouldn’t please me as much as it did.