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I asked, “You don’t sleep with a shirt?”
He sat on the other side of the bed. “I hate anything on my neck when I sleep.”
Now I knew a secret. “Really?”
He turned and sat fully on his side with a pillow. “Yeah. Years ago, one of my mom’s friends, who claims to read past lives, said I lost my head in my last one and that’s why I sometimes have problems expressing my feelings.”
“And wearing a shirt.” I smiled.
He shrugged. “Who really knows. Any quirks about you?”
My mind raced. I’d never known anyone who talked about past lives. “Well, I usually wake up at night.”
He jumped up. “You can have the side to the bathroom, then.”
I shook my head and pointed for him to join me, and he did. “It’s not that. I just have all my fears running in my brain, and I get overwhelmed.”
“I’m sorry.”
For a second, I wondered if he was nervous and if I’d done that to him. I moved closer. “You probably do know what it’s like to worry about a sibling.”
He took my hand. “Yeah, but I never worried about paying for anything.”
His features softened. I hoped he was calmer near me. I wanted him to be happy. “That’s a perk to your life.”
He pressed his hand on the pillow, near mine, and smiled. “So, we should go to sleep.”
Sleeping was going to be difficult. My pulse zipped. “Right. I’ll be quiet.”
“If you wake, I’m here for you.”
My heart melted, and I felt my eyes misting. “You’re always here for me.”
“I like the job.”
I sighed and reached out and brushed against him. “So now I’m a chore.”
He took my hand off his muscular abs but held it. “No, you’re sweet. When I tried to stay away from you, it was because I wanted you to be happy.”
Now, that sounded like a fairy tale. “And you wanted to be free to date anyone you wanted.”
“No.” He squeezed my palm, and I relaxed. “That wasn’t it. I realized fast that you’re easy to talk to and I liked you, but I don’t think I’m meant to be happy like my parents or siblings.”
And I liked him and was there because he was wonderful. I raised an eyebrow. “Because you’re generally depressed or something?”
He laughed. “No. I just… know that people change when they couple up, and I’m too used to being me.”
I wished I knew why his words made me believe I could never be his real girlfriend. I was going about it all wrong, but I continued on the path I’d set for myself. “So you’re unwilling to change.”
He moved closer to me. “That makes me sound really bad.”
I shook my head. “No, just honest.”
He whispered, “Dating you has opened my eyes.”
My heart stirred. “To…?”
He gazed into my eyes. “To the fact that change is a good thing and staying in my routine was probably the worst thing I ever did to myself.”
