Page 32 of Head Over Feels
Malcolmheld the covers up soIcould slide under them, then he pulled my body against his.
Sleepingover and snuggling together didn’t mean anything, right?
* * *
Myalarm went off too early for my taste.Theinsistent buzzing broke me out of a deep sleep, andIwoke confused about whereIwas for a moment.I’dbeen sleeping with my face pressed into a pillow, andIblinked asIsat up and glanced around.Malcolmwasn’t in the bed, and the sheets next to me were cold.
Theroom was a little stark, but it could’ve been due toMalcolmnot having lived in the house very long.Thebed had a black metal headboard with two crossbars.Thecomforter was white with a black swirling pattern and a significant swath of dark brown cat hair.Therewas no rug on the hardwood floor, and a tall black chest of drawers was the only other piece of furniture in the room.IguessedMalcolmdidn’t spend much time in here.
Ipicked up my phone and thumbed off the alarm.Ihad a couple of hours beforeIneeded to be at the rescue ranch.
Malcolmappeared in the doorway, wearing some ancient-looking sweatpants and no shirt.Hishair was damp.Ispared a brief regret for missing an opportunity to suggest sharing the shower.
“Hey,” he said.Hisface was almost expressionless.Fuck, was he going to be awkward again?Iwould’ve liked to take a moment to appreciate his furry chest, but not if he wasn’t into it, soIkept my eyes trained on his face.Iwas acutely conscious of my nakedness under the sheet, and not in a sexy way.
“Whendo you need to leave?”Malcolmasked. “Ican make breakfast.”
Breakfast?Wouldthat be weird?Buthe was offering, andIdidn’t want tomakeit weird if he wasn’t weirded out.IwishedIcould tell what he was thinking.
“Um, sure.Idon’t have a set appointment, butIneed to go home and change beforeIdrive out to... a ranch outside of town this morning sometime.”Jasonhad asked me to come over and look at an elderly alpaca they’d taken in.Shehad a limp, andDocPinkertonsaid it was a muscle strain.
Malcolmgave a sharp nod. “Ishould head to the office early as well.Feelfree to use the shower.Cometo the kitchen when you’re done.”Hepivoted on his cane and then vanished down the hallway.
Well, okay.Werewe supposed to pretend we hadn’t seen each other naked?Imean,Ididn’t expect any boyfriend-y behavior like kissing me awake or bringing me coffee in bed.Butafter a night of hot sex, a guy likes to at least be ogled a little the next morning, you know?
Myclothes had been folded neatly and placed on the chest of drawers.Ishowered as quickly asIcould, then got dressed.Maybeit’d be better to skip breakfast and take off.
ButwhenIfoundMalcolmin the kitchen, he’d already plated our food.Eggs, bacon and toast.Coffeewas already poured, milk and sugar displayed prominently to the side.
“Comeeat,” he ordered, shoving one of the chairs back for me.
Well,Iwashungry.Internallyshrugging,Isat. “Thanks.”I’deat as quickly as possible and then bolt.
Mariposasauntered in.Afterwinding herself around my ankles a couple of times, she jumped up into the chair to my left.Iraised my eyebrows and glanced atMalcolm, but he ignored me.Heforked up a bit of egg from his plate and held it out toMariposa.Shedaintily accepted the offering, andMalcolmwithdrew his fork and began eating again.
“Um, you know cats lick themselveseverywhere, don’t you?”
Malcolmshrugged and sipped his coffee.Oneeyebrow went up as if in challenge. “Youknow some men lick their loverseverywhere, don’t you?”
He’dbarely spoken to me all morning, and now he was making sex jokes?Screwthat noise.Iglared at him. “There’sno reason last night has to make things awkward,Malcolm.”
Hesighed and looked down at his plate, then back up at me. “Yeah,Iknow.Sorry.”Hecleared his throat. “It’sjust… been a while for me.I’mout of practice or something.”
“We’regood,”Ireassured him. “Itwas only casual.Nobody’sexpecting any commitments.”
Henodded, and we both focused on finishing our breakfasts.Atleast the tension in the air had eased a little.
Afterwe’d eaten,Malcolmrinsed the plates and put them in the dishwasher before grabbing his car keys. “Let’sgo out the side door here.”
“Sure.”Ipicked up my messenger bag from the living room, checked my phone was in my pocket, and followed him out to the carport.
Westepped out into the humid morning air.Mockingbirdscalled to each other, drowning out every other bird who might have wanted to greet the day.Iwandered over to lookMalcolm’sgiant convertible while he shut the door and locked it.
“Felix,” he said.Iturned to look back at him. “Iwanted to—”
Icaught sight of my sedan at the end of the driveway. “Fuckinghell!”Ishouted. “Areyou kidding me!”Iran toward the car.
Sittingon the roof, right over the driver’s door, was a small brown cardboard box.
