My eyes popped open. “I don’t know.”
“Were you drinking?”
I glared at him. “It’s perfectly legal. I guess somebody could have slipped something into my drink.” I squeezed my eyes shut, remembering leaving my beer on the bar while Xan and I were dancing. What if the drug had been meant for him? Or what if it was random? What if I never found out? The questions hurt my head.
“You want me to get the doctor back? She’s an old friend, and she owes me.”
“No.” I didn’t want to think about the favors a female friend owed Beckett.
“If you want to press charges, you need to get checked out. Maybe even go to the hospital.”
“I don’t want to press charges.” I glared up at him. “I don’t even know what happened!”
Light burst through my head as my voice rang loud between my ears. I groaned and massaged my temples. My stomach rolled, threatening to get violent with me if I didn’t shut up and sit still.
I could feel Beckett hovering over me, and I risked a glance through slitted eyes to look up at him.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m not leaving you.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“At least sit down. You’re stressing me out, looming over me like that.”
“God forbid I stress you out.” The mattress shifted under his weight as he sat beside me. “This okay?”
I scooted over to give him more room. “Yes.”
Beckett stretched his legs beside mine. He grabbed his phone and tapped the screen. There was a clicking sound, then the shade lowered, shutting out most of the light. He pulled a quilt over our legs and sat back against the headboard beside me. In the dim light coming in from the hall, I could see the shapes of our legs beneath the quilt—Beckett’s long and powerful, mine much smaller.
Aslan settled between us, his head in my lap, his tail on Beckett’s legs. I reached down to pet him. The darkness and the quiet relaxed me, and I grew sleepy again.
My thoughts drifted, settling in place for a moment before flitting off again. Beckett’s hand brushed mine as he scratched Aslan behind the ear in his favorite spot. Aslan’s tail thumped against Beckett’s leg. It made me smile to see Aslan so happy in his new home.
I remembered Summer was visiting her dad in Atlanta. “How’s Pressly?” I asked.
Beckett’s hand stilled. “Did she tell you why she went to Atlanta?”
“Yes. She mentioned her ex.”
Beckett’s mouth thinned. “Jeff.”
“I take it you don’t like him?”
“I love Jeff. Everyone loves Jeff. He’s the kind of guy who will get last-minute tickets to the World Series and take everyone he knows. He parties with rock stars, skis with dukes, surfs with YouTubers.”
“Sounds like a fun guy.”
“He’s great. Just not for my sister.”
Beckett’s hand brushed mine again, and this time I didn’t move away. Beckett’s hand was big and square, the knuckles swollen. I studied the bruised skin in the dim light. No one had ever fought for me before. My heart squeezed.
“Did you sleep in the chair last night?” I asked.
“I didn’t want to leave you in here alone.”
“I’m sorry I stole your bed. You must be tired.”
“Not really.” He smothered a yawn.
