CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A shiver causes my body to tense and I wrap the comforter around me tighter. It’s not even cool in the house, but whatever sickness has invaded my body since lunch has decided I’m an icicle. Or burning. My body can’t decide.
It’s possible my immune system is getting revenge for all those times I pretended to have a summer cold. Turns out being sick in the summer really does suck. At least I always faked that part right.
The doorbell chimes for the second time and I groan. I am not leaving my nice warm bed. There must be another person in this house who can answer a damn door.
“Drew!” I attempt a yell, but it comes out much more of a tiny screech barely heard in my bedroom let alone in the hallway.
A third chime of the doorbell irritates me enough I throw back the covers and make the walk downstairs clutching my box of generic face tissues. I don’t have money in the budget for the nice ones with the germ fighting lotion. Whoever dared ring the doorbell better hope the house is on fire and they are here to rescue me. He also better look damn hot in his firemen uniform. I don’t get out of bed for ugly emergency response workers.
My foot clears the last step to a chorus of cheers. I flip my head to the living room in time to witness Drew and Grant high-five one another on the couch.
“Really?” More cars blow up on the TV screen as I scuff my feet the rest of the way to the front door. I’m down here. I might as well open it since dumb and dumber over there aren’t concerned.
Grant jumps up from the sofa. “Are you sick?”
“No, I’m carrying these around for my health,” I say waving the box of rough tissues.
Oh wait. I kind of am. Whatever, I’m too tired and sick to correct myself. Grant won’t notice.
The front door swings open to reveal Aspen standing next to a taller male version of herself. She hasn’t melded with Finn as Marissa worried but the man with her is definitely related from their similarities. Since Aspen only has one relative, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out it’s her brother Ben, the police officer. Sadly, he’s not in uniform but wearing a pair of faded jeans and a dark black polo shirt, the San Francisco Police Department logo on the left side.
“Is everything okay?”
“Hey, meet my brother Ben. We came to do a security check.” Aspen smiles as she does her introduction and then mouths a quick I’m sorry.
There’s no way my expression doesn’t portray how confused I am, but I ask the question anyway. “Security check? For what?”
Seeing my reluctance Ben takes the opportunity to step past me and into the house. It’s not like I would stop him. He’s a cop. “Aspen said you had a break-in,” he clarifies not taking long to walk right past me.
“No, I said they had a neighbor with a break-in.” Aspen follows behind him and I have no choice but to close the door and follow the train. “And this reaction is why I never tell you anything.”
Ben stops inspecting every corner of our house long enough to glare at her. “You’re keeping something from me, then?”
“Oh my god, Ben. I can’t handle you.” The frustration in Aspen’s voice is easy to pick up, but I can’t help but laugh at their exchange. Drew is the closest thing I’ve had to a sibling, but these two have the bond that comes from a lifetime together.
Ben continues walking around the first floor of the house. He stops at every window taking time to admire how they’ve been painted shut after so many coats of white paint.
He stops in the middle of the living room taking a second to check out the game on the TV screen before addressing us. “I have a friend from college. He lives out East now and works at a private security firm in some rinky-dink tourist town in Maine. They do a lot of different gigs but have a substantial market in security alarms. He owes me a favor. I can have him fly out and install an alarm for you this week.”
“I don’t think you should be cashing in favors to get us a security alarm.” I look to Aspen with my best “what the hell” expression but she doesn’t notice.
“How much does an alarm cost?” Grant asks coming to stand beside me. “We do need to make sure everything is safe.”
“This is my fault.” Aspen jumps in, throwing her arms out. “I casually mentioned your issue and he demanded we come right over.”
“Why?” The whole situation is getting out of control. “You’re not my brother.” I remind Ben in case he forgot we have no blood ties between us.
He rears back like I slapped him and narrows his eyes at me. “I’m everyone’s brother.”
Aspen sighs. “Don’t argue it. Just let him get his crazy out.”
Apparently satisfied Aspen gave him the okay to secure our house, Ben starts educating us on the importance of a safe entry and criminal deterrent. I try my best to pay attention, but standing here holding a box of Kleenex and sniffling every two seconds wears me out. I make a feeble but real apology and head upstairs to lie back down. Aspen promises she’ll come and visit me before they leave and I fall asleep waiting for her.
**
A gentle rocking of my shoulders brings me back to consciousness. Grant sits on my bed leaning over a few inches from my face.
“Um, hello.” I push my head into the pillows to gain distance.
He smiles. “Oh, you’re awake.”
“Yeah, now. What time is it?” I ask, my throat scratchy.
Sunlight filters in from my bedroom window casting shadows in the folds of the comforter. I hope I haven’t overslept. My body aches, so getting ready for work is sure to take me longer than normal.
“It’s solidly midmorning.”
“What?” I practically yell at him. I sit up quickly and then lie right back down just as fast. My head swims for a few seconds. “I’m going to be late.”
I push back the covers, but Grant has a solid hold and they don’t budge. “Drew warned me you’d put up a fight. He’s already called in backup for you at the center and I made you a delicious midmorning snack.”
“I’m not sick.” I pull the covers back but again they don’t move. Why does it constantly feel like he and Drew are railroading me into doing what they want?
From his expression Grant isn’t buying my not sick claim. “Clare, I came in here last night to cover you up and you didn’t so much as twitch.”
“You covered me up? Why?”
Grant shakes his head. “You do not get it, do you? I know I messed up. I’m trying to fix it and be the person I was before.”
Against my better judgment and sore throat, I laugh which instantly causes me to cough. “I’m working on ‘getting it.’ I promise.” It’s possible Grant does see where he went wrong.
“That’s all I ask. Are you still tired?”
“No.”
“Good. Let’s play.” He waves his hand at me like he wants me to move over but I don’t budge.
“Huh? I thought you said there was breakfast?” Plus, he should know everyone needs a bathroom break after waking up.
Grant laughs. “Yeah, I lied. I’ll make you lunch. Now move over.” He uses his hands and pushes me to the side, but this time I listen. “I know your kind.”
“My kind?”
He slides onto my bed pulling the covers over his lap. “Yeah, your type. Hard worker, unwilling to admit weakness.”
“That doesn’t sound like me.” It sounds exactly like me.
“You’ll sneak off as soon as I leave the room or look the other way. I figured we’ll play Dragons Reborn to keep you occupied.”
“I would not,” I say with fake indignation. I so would. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“No, I took the whole day off to stay home with you.” He leans over the edge of the bed almost falling off until I grab onto his arm to keep him steady. When he’s back on the bed like a normal person, he places a black laptop on my lap. “You left this in my room the other day.”
It’s the laptop he tried to force on me back when this whole thing started between us. I refuse to take the bait and say anything back in my defense. He knows why I left the laptop on his bed.
“You realize you are still logged in to the system?” he asks opening the top.
I shrug. “Of course. I never log out. It’s easier that way.”
Grant almost snatches the laptop back but catches himself. “You what?”
“Why would I log out? I’ll just have to log back on the next time I use it.”
“For your security.”
“I don’t have anything that needs securing on this laptop.”
Grant continues to shake his head at my answer while putting one hand in the air in a silent plea for me to stop talking. “Please, at least tell me your cell phone is locked.”
“Ummmm….” My words trail off before I come up with a good answer. One that hopefully won’t cause him to have a heart attack. Thankfully the doorbell dings and saves me from having to answer. “You should get that.”
I gently nudge Grant but he doesn’t seem to fall for my distraction technique. “I’ll get this, but we’re gonna talk about this cell phone situation when I get back.”
“I can’t wait,” I say waving to him as he walks out the door.
At least three seconds go by while I contemplate jumping out of bed and getting ready for work. Okay fine. It was like fifteen seconds, but in the end I decide it probably is better for everyone if I stay home and give myself a day of rest. Many working families don’t get paid sick days. If their child comes home sick and then spreads it to the house and they miss days of work, that’s money they can’t recoup.
When Grant returns to the room, I’m on the bed logging into Dragons Reborn in the exact spot he left me. He never needs to know about the quick potty break where I again considered going in to work. Since one look in the mirror showed my face looks like death, I peed and came back to bed. My eyes lazily make their way in his direction when he stops in front of my desk and places a large overstuffed vase full of white lilies and a bunch of other flowers I don’t know the names for.
“From my grandma,” he says before I question him.
It doesn’t explain much. “Your grandma bought me flowers?”
“I told her you were sick, and this display is how she handles it.” He shrugs. “She’s from another generation.”
He throws the small floral card on top of the laptop and I flip it over to read her message.
Get well soon.
~ Love Grandma Moore
I laugh at the sendoff. It seems Grant isn’t the only Moore who gets overly attached.
“She was super nice.” I’d want a grandma like Grant’s if I had one.
Grant settles back on the bed. “She is nice. Just don’t wear white after Labor Day.”
He says the words so seriously I laugh and start another coughing fit.
“I’m serious,” he says his eyes wide. “She takes her fashion super seriously.”
His reply makes me laugh harder. “But yet she lets you out of the house?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Do you remember the outfit you were wearing the night we first met?” The bright colored pinstriped jacket I first saw him in still makes my head shake. Most of the time he’s dressed as a normal person, but Grant always looks like he stepped off a boat somewhere on the East coast.
**
I distinctly remember falling asleep next to Grant sometime in the late afternoon, but when I wake up the bed beside me is empty. The room is completely dark so I’m cautious when I put my feet on the floor in case there’s a laptop left down there.
Throughout the entire day Grant continued to push fluids down me, handing me a glass of water every few minutes. At first I refused on annoying principle alone. I’m tired of being told what to do by the males in my life. Eventually my dry throat caught up with me and I relented. With the water going to my kidneys it makes sense I’d be up in the middle the night with the urge to pee.
There’s light escaping underneath Grant’s closed bedroom door, but I walk by and maintain my path to the bathroom. After my business is done and my hands are washed, the light is still shining on the hardwood floors as I walk back to my room. I divert the few feet and give a light rap on his door.
The door opens a smidge with the weight of my knock, but I wait to push it in until Grant answers with a “Come in.”
He’s lying on his bed, his back propped up against a few pillows. His sheets and comforter wrapped up around his waist and a laptop sits open on his lap. There’s no sound coming from the computer, but shades of light expose Grant’s chest and change color every few moments. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s watching porn and I back out of the door.
“Where are you going?” he asks before I make it and I’m so thankful it’s dark in the hallway because my face must be a crimson shade of red.
“Um… I was seeing what you were doing… I’ll go,” I stumble over my words to make a hasty retreat.
“Stop, Clare.” He works on standing up, putting the laptop to his side and throwing back the covers.
From a new angle I see it wasn’t weird fetish porn but the Dragons Reborn game on his screen. No longer embarrassed at what I caught him not doing, I step into the room.
“Where did you get an emerald?” he asks sliding back into bed and covering.
I walk further into the room and push on his shoulder to get him to move over while laughing. “From the chest in the dungeon where you tried to steal a diamond before I saw.” It’s safe to say we’re both underhanded Dragons Reborn players.
Grant laughs wiping back a piece of hair from his forehead. “Yeah, I did do that.”
“Why are you going through my chest in the first place?” I ask leaning over to see the screen better.
“I’m moving them. I figured if you want to stay on this server I’ll start over. But your castle is nice so I took over these three rooms.”
“Hey, that was my chest room.” In less than twelve hours the man is already making me regret giving him the password he needed to enter my castle whenever he wants.
“We’ll expand.”
Something about those words causes my heart to flutter. It’s a silly virtual game, but I like the idea of Grant sticking around to play on my server for a while.
His character stops moving on the screen and I check to see what he’s doing only to find Grant staring at me. His face lowers and rather than back away I push mine closer until our lips touch. I deepen the kiss, but Grant pulls back.
“Clare, what are we doing?” he asks.
“I have no idea.”
He closes the lid of his computer and sticks it on his nightstand. “We’re definitely not having sex so get those thoughts out of your head. You’re sick and need to focus on getting better.”
“Of course we’re not doing that. What do you mean get those thoughts out of my head?” I lean back and check out Grant’s face for signs he’s been abducted or gone crazy while I was sleeping. Zombie bite marks on his neck or something.
He laughs. “You mean it was only me?”
I push him on the shoulder and laugh. “Yes.”
He sighs and leans back against the pillow somehow taking me too. “I walked around for a year giving the guys advice like I had everything figured out, but you women are crazy. There is no hope for any of us. Everything I try with you seems to be the wrong approach. I need you to throw me a life raft because I’m drowning over here.”
“You’re not drowning.”
“Oh, but I am. I have no idea how to make this better.”
I roll into Grant’s shoulder wrapping an arm around his chest. “I’m still working out how to make it fit in my head. I’m the one who’s a mess.”
Grant tightens his arm. “But you’re thinking on it?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s good enough for now. Make sure and let me know what you decide.”
I nod my head once in agreement before snuggling in close and closing my eyes. I’m pretty sure I’ve already decided, but when I give Grant an answer, I want to make sure I’m 110 percent behind my decision.