Page 23 of Sergeant O'
“Do you have any Coke?”
“No.”
He resumed typing, then set his phone on the end table next to him.
“Did you just order CartPlus?”
“Even better,” he grinned. “I used Cart Adam. He’ll be here as soon as he can.” He picked up the remote and toggled to the Netflix icon like it was his TV. “What should we binge?”
****
Brian
Being next to Jade, both of us wearing nothing but pajamas under the blanket we shared while we fought over the last Red Vine (we ended up splitting it), and laughing at the same spots of the show, made me feel more content and happier than I’d felt in a long time.
And that was a problem.
I shouldn’t be feeling domestic bliss with Jade. I had nothing to offer her, especially in my incapacitated state. Something she innocently reminded me of a few times throughout the night when she’d ask how I was feeling, or suggest I wiggle my toes.
I hated feeling less than capable.
I was the protector. The man people relied on when they were in trouble. I wasn’t supposed to be the one who needed help.
At about ten o’clock, Jade mused, “Do you realize we didn’t eat dinner?”
I patted the blanket over my belly “Oh, we ate dinner—it was just in the form of crap—”
She cut me off. “Which wasyouridea, by the way.”
“I will take all the blame.”
“Tomorrow, we’re only eating healthy food.”
“Well, hopefully I’ll be out of your hair in the morning, so you’ll get back on track with your ‘no snacks’ policy.”
A look of disappointment passed over her features, making me pause. Was she upset about me leaving or no longer having snacks? I decided to test the waters, and added, “But tonight was the most fun I’ve had in a really long time.”
Her smile was soft when she replied, “Me, too.”
“We should do it again.”
She stared at me for a beat before she nodded. “We should.”
The air between us shifted, and my chest went tight. I wanted more of this—more of her.
So naturally I chose to screw it up and blurted out, “Just as friends.”
Her smile faltered—had I not been looking at her face, I might have missed it. She laughed and replied, “Yeah, of course,” then moved the blanket to the side and stood to clean up the evidence of our gluttony without so much as a second glance at me.
In that moment, I really wanted to kick my own ass.
She stood in the doorway and asked, “Do you need anything before I head to bed?”
Yeah, a fucking redo of the last ten minutes.
But since neither that nor “You naked next to me” were realistic options, I went with, “Nah, I’m good, thanks.”
“Okay, then, see you in the morning. I’ll try to be quiet if I wake up before you.”
