I grin at him. “Butdoyou cuddle?” If he says no, we'll need to have a talk. My brother doesn’t have much experience with women, so I might have to teach him a thing or two about the fine art of cuddling.
His face turns red. “Yes. And I haven’t gotten any complaints.”
“Well, I haven’t gotten any complaints about the way I comb my hair, but that doesn’t mean I do it right.”
Ash taps a finger on his lips. “I’ve been meaning to tell you—”
“Shut your fat mouth. My hair looks amazing. I was trying to make a point.”
“Which is?”
“Ask Leslie if you’re doing it right.”
He looks uncertain. “Are you sure there’s a right way and a wrong way?”
“Absolutely, and it differs from woman to woman. That’s why you gotta ask.”
“You asked Wendy?”
“You better believe I did—especially because I’m so much bigger than her. I could easily hurt her and not realize it.”
Brrring!
Ash picks up the phone. “Hello.” He raises his eyebrows at me. “Hi, Wendy.”
I leap up and try to grab the phone out of his hand, but he twists away and thrusts an arm out to block me.
“Yes, he’s here. Hold on a sec.” He turns back toward me, mouths, “Calm down,” and finally hands me the phone.
My pulse is racing when I say hello.
“Hi,” she says. “I don’t know if this is okay to ask, because we didn’t talk about how often we’ll see each other, but can you come back over here?”
By the time she’s finished speaking, I can hear the anxiety in her voice, and my heart inches up into my throat. “Yes. What’s wrong?”
“I got some weird news a little bit ago, and I need you to hold me. Can you do that? Can we still do that?”
“Of course we can. You can always ask me for that—always. I’ll be there before you know it.”
I hang up and make a beeline for the door.
“Is she okay?” Ash asks.
“Doesn’t sound like it. Don’t wait up.”
I don’t allow myself to run until I’m out on the sidewalk, but then I sprint. Since it’s late, I don’t encounter many people, which is good, because I just terrified a woman who’s out walking her dog.
“Sorry,” I call over my shoulder to her. “Girlfriend emergency!” I smile at the reality that Wendy is now my girlfriend.
When Wendy opens her door, I take one look at her distraught face and then grip her waist and haul her up against my chest. Her arms and legs wrap around me, and she clings to me like a monkey with her face buried in my neck. With a jolt I realize I’ve never held a woman like this when we weren’t on our way to the bedroom, but there’s nothing sexual about what we’re doing. Instead, I’m providing Wendy with the comfort and protection she needs, and my heart swells with emotion as I kick the door shut and carry her to the couch.
I rock her for a minute while smoothing a hand up and down her back. When her breathing finally evens out, I say, “You want to tell me what happened?”
She nods and then resettles herself into her favorite sideways position on my lap.
“I have a sister,” she says.
I don’t remember her mentioning a sister before, but I wait for her to tell me what this sister did to hurt her, so I can figure out how to give the woman a piece of my mind.
