Page 14 of Holiday Love
Right before she climaxes, I flee, racing through the wrecked living room so fast it passes by in a blur. I barrel out of the house, down the stairs, and back to Teddy.
He sits with his head in his hands but looks up as I approach. “What happened?” A worried frown appears between his eyes as he takes in how I wring my hands and hop from foot to foot.
“It looked like they hadn’t gotten a chance to clean up from that party you were telling me about,” I confess, deliberately leaving out the part about the couple having sex.
He squeezes his eyes shut, not looking at me. “If it’s a mess in there, it was probably left over from last night. We have parties almost every night.”
“Oh.” I’m not sure what to say to that.
Teddy stares at the ground, his body caved in on itself in a defeated way that makes me suddenly, irrationally irate. I square my shoulders and glare back at the now-quiet house, as if it’s to blame for his misery.
“You can’t stay here.”
Slowly, he looks up at me, raising his hand to shade his eyes from the sun overhead. “Huh?”
“It won’t work. Look at those stairs.” I jab my finger at them. “They’rewaytoo steep for you to get up and down with your crutches.”
He can’t really argue. Those things are a death trap even for someone with two working legs.
Teddy blows out a breath, his eyes on the crooked house behind me. “It’ll be fine,” he mutters. “I’ll stay in my room.”
“And what?” I raise an eyebrow, hands on my hips. “Live on spilled tequila and stale bong water?”
Silence. He has no answer for that.
Sensing victory, I press my point. “What are you going to do, Teddy? How are you going to eat? To heal? You need to sleep. To recover and, no offense, but that place,” I point at the house. “That doesn’t seem restful.”
He blinks at me. “No. I don’t—” He stops, his jaw working. “I don’t need charity, Helen.” His voice is sharp, pride cutting through his exhaustion. “I can figure it out.”
“It’s not charity. It’s practical.” I cross my arms. “You can’t climb those stairs. You can’t sleep through those parties. You’ll never heal here.”
Teddy grimaces, dropping his head to stare at the ground. “Fair point. Besides, tomorrow is Halloween.”
“Yeah?” I ask, uncertain why he’s bringing it up.
Teddy looks up at me, and my heart pinches at the shadows under his eyes. I wasn’t kidding when I said he needs rest.
“That’s our biggest party, Halloween. It’s a tradition.”
“Oh.” Disappointment stirs. “You want to go?”
Teddy’s shoulders heave in a deep sigh. “Honestly? No. I’ve kinda been dreading it even before all this happened.” He waves a hand over his broken leg. “This is where I live, though. I don’t have anywhere else.”
“You’ll come home with me,” I declare, ignoring the part of my brain that’s screaming this is a terrible idea. It’s not the first time that little voice has spoken out against Teddy, but I ignored it back at Gwen’s wedding and I ignore it now.
I continue, “I’ve been looking for a roommate.”I haven’t.“I need help with the rent.”I don’t.“It gets lonely sometimes, being by myself.”That part is true.
Teddy narrows his eyes at me, like he can sense the bullshit I’m shoveling. “You seem awfully independent and, unless it’s a mansion you’re living in, I doubt you have problems affording it.”
“It’s a condo in Santa Monica,” I counter.
“Oookaaay.” He draws the word out, then concedes, “Thatisexpensive. Maybe you do need a roommate, but it shouldn’t be me.”
“Why not?” I bite my lower lip, worried he’ll mention what happened between us at his sister’s wedding, but that’s not the direction he goes.
“Because I can’t afford it. All the money I’ve got coming in is from that disability insurance.”
“Perfect,” I declare. “I’ll take that as rent.”
