Page 35 of Fall of Us
Oh shit.
The pillow lifted from my head. Andrew didn’t appear to be judging me. He seemed more concerned than anything. As much as I wanted to keep looking at him, the dim light from the lamp on the other side of my room was about to split my head open.
“Water?” He motioned to the glass on my nightstand, and I was a little impressed that I hadn’t knocked it off in my quest for the phone.
I sat up and grabbed the cup. Andrew handed me two white pills, and I swallowed them down with my cool beverage. He was always taking care of me, but this was a situationwhere he shouldn’t have been. It didn’t matter if I had some sort of freak out that he wasn’t answering my messages right away.
“I picked up a couple of extra hours at work last night.” The bed dipped next to me, the rocking of the mattress making my stomach roll just the tiniest bit. Although, now I felt even more guilty for sending him so many messages while he was so busy.
“You’re mad at me.” The words flew unbidden from my mouth. Apparently, a hangover meant I was more than a little willing to talk about my feelings.
Andrew chuckled, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me into his side. I wished then that I wasn’t still wearing my clothes from yesterday. Even if I wasn’t feeling the greatest, I wanted his warm skin against mine.
“I’m not mad. I was a little annoyed by all the messages, but mad is the furthest thing.”
I sighed. “I’m not talking about the messages.”
Andrew was quiet for a long moment, like he was trying to formulate his answer. “Again, I’m annoyed, but we’ll tell people when you’re ready.”
That something slimy that I felt when I saw him with the girl at work settled in my gut again. I had no right to force him back into a metaphorical closet. Andrew shouldn’t ever have to hide who he was with. That was all on me.
Another alarm went off on my phone, reminding me I needed to get up and get ready for work, which was the last thing I wantedto do. Andrew, being the magic mind reader that he was, handed the phone over to me after turning off the alarm, already open to my mom’s contact.
“I’m off today. Call. Get some rest and I’ll take care of you.”
I called my mom, and she didn’t even flinch when I told her I was staying home. She basically insisted on it, saying that I spent too much time at the store, anyway. It made me think of what Andrew had said about picking up extra hours at work, which made me sad for him. I knew he’d been struggling with getting enough work.
My blankets were warm as I slid out of my shorts and t-shirt, pulling them up around me. Andrew had gone to the kitchen to cook some breakfast, and I could smell the bacon grease from my bed. My stomach grumbled, not sure if the prospect of food excited it or not. At least the headache was lifting.
Andrew came into the room ten minutes later with a plate and a steaming cup of coffee. He set them on the nightstand and I sat up to eat. His eyes were glued to my body as the blankets dropped, and I fought the urge to cover myself up.
Andrew had a gorgeous body. He was lean and cut, with the barest hint of ab muscles. Not to mention the addition of those tattoos. He was absolutely mouth-watering. Then there was me. I was pale, skinny, with absolutely no definition—the epitome of a nerdy bookworm.
I adjusted my glasses on my face, giving Andrew a thankful smile for the breakfast before picking up the cup of coffee and taking atentative sip. It scorched my tongue, being much too hot to drink still. When I grimaced, Andrew laughed as I set the cup back down.
“Take it easy. It’ll all still be there in a minute.” He climbed onto the bed behind me, legs on either side of my hips. His chin rested on my shoulder as his arms snaked around my waist. There was that skin-on-skin feeling I’d been craving earlier, and I sank back into him while waiting for my food to cool down.
“I’m feeling a little better now.”
“Yeah?”
I chuckled a little, turning my head a bit to see his handsome face. “Why do you always take care of me like this?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He kissed my cheek, moving lower to kiss at my neck. It sent goosebumps scattering across my skin.
My hands rested on top of his as I soaked in his little kisses. “I should be taking care of you.”
When Andrew’s lips left my skin, a small whine escaped me, but he only stopped long enough to speak. “Why do I need to be taken care of?”
Our fingers linked as he resumed sucking and biting at my neck. My cock twitched, and it was then that I realized our one week of waiting was up. Not that I was currently in the mood for anything.
“I feel bad about how things have been with work for you. Like I should be able to do more to ease your burden. Instead, I send half a dozen text messages and get drunk when you don’t reply.”
The puff of air as he laughed stirred the hair on the side of my head. “Yeah, maybe don’t send so many next time. Leave that for actual emergencies.”
My heart did that weird shuddery thing again. It had felt like an emergency when he didn’t answer, which was stupid. Andrew always answered me and the fear that he was so upset he ignored me had triggered my panic.
The next moment, Andrew was disentangling himself from me. That feeling of abandonment snuck up once more. Like he was going to get up and walk out the door, never to return.
