“Or just a coffee?” she prompts.
She’s wearing a black pants and shirt combo that looks like she works at a restaurant or cafe. I stare for a moment longer before it clicks.
Roommate.
“Uh, yeah. Coffee would be great. Thanks. I’m just gonna excuse myself for a sec...”
I stand up to escape to the bathroom, and my pants send me stumbling right back onto the couch.
Red hair girl laughs. “You’re pretty cute.”
She disappears into the kitchen, and I hitch my pants up before grabbing the rest of my clothes and hurrying to the bathroom. My face feels like it’s on fire.
After throwing my shirt on, splashing water over my face, and squeezing some toothpaste onto my finger for a makeshift brush, I head back into the living room. A steaming mug of coffee is waiting on the table in front of the couch, and DeeDee’s roommate is pulling her shoes on by the door.
“Gotta run, strange boy.Bonne chance avec DeeDee.”
I accept the offer of good luck with a nod and sag back into the cushions as soon as she’s gone.
Yesterday replays in flashes as I sip my coffee: DeeDee walking down the aisle in that long green dress, a bouquet of flowers clutched in her hands. The sight of her laughing at the head table. Glimpses of her through the crowd as she took the whole dance floor by storm.
The unguarded honesty in her eyes as she said the words that shifted the ground under my feet.
I want you.
I could have kissed her. I could have pulled her to me and never let her go, told her that whatever was holding her back couldn’t hold a candle to what would grow between us if she’d just give it a shot.
I wasn’t so swept away that I couldn’t see it was the absolute wrong time for declarations. What DeeDee really needed last night was water and sleep.
Feeling her hair in my hands, hearing those little sighs she made when I rubbed her scalp—maybe it’s the small town boy coming out in me, but I swear I was in heaven. When she nodded off and fell back against my chest, I could have sat there all night listening to her breathe.
I do pride myself on not being that much of a creep, and to be honest, sleeping upright on a couch with a girl leaning on you sounds more romantic than it is. Mostly you just get cramps, so I scooped her up as gently as I could and took her to bed.
I was planning on leaving after that, but just as I was closing her bedroom door, she called out my name. She sounded like she wasn’t even fully awake, but I answered her anyway.
“Yeah?”
“Peux-tu...juste...rester?”
The last word got drowned out in a yawn. She muttered something that didn’t sound like actual words after that, but I’m sure I caught the first bit.
Could you just stay?
I wasn’t about to be the guy who jumps into bed with the drunk girl, even to do nothing but sleep, but I couldn’t say no to her. I couldn’t. I told her I’d be right outside all night.
So here I am, right outside and absolutely clueless about what I’m supposed to do next. I doubt she even remembers saying that. She’ll probably ask me what the hell I’m doing here when she gets up. She’ll probably want me to leave.
I want you.
I grin around the rim of my mug.
Or maybe she won’t. Maybe she’ll tell me to stay again. Something happened last night at that table in the wedding hall. She looked at me, and some wall that’s been crumbling flake by flake for years finally came down. I don’t know what happens next, but I do know we’ve reached the point where we get to find out.
I’ve finished my coffee and start to wonder if I should raid the kitchen to silence my growling stomach when DeeDee’s bedroom door inches open. She steps into the living room and freezes like a deer at the sound of a snapping branch when she sees me.
She’s wearing a t-shirt that goes down to her knees and some pink plaid pajama pants. Her hair is an absolute mess, snarled and knotted and sticking out in every possible direction. The remnants of last night’s makeup are still smeared on her face, making her eyes look like a panda bear’s.
And yet she’s stunning. She really is. I’m frozen to the couch as I stare at her, like it’s a divine commandment from the universe that I give this moment the appreciation it’s due.
