Twenty-Six
Asher
I woke up slowly to the sound of crinkling paper. Opening my eyes slowly, the first thing that registered was the dimness in the room, followed by the fact I was still sleeping in the confines of my bulky sweatshirt.
That, and I didn’t feel queasy.
Victory.
I sat up and pushed my fallen ponytail out of my face, and saw Porter sitting on the floor with wrapping paper and gifts surrounding him.
“What time is it?” I asked.
He lifted his head, startled I think. “Did I wake you up?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Oh. Okay. Good.” He pulled on the paper, trying to get the side to meet the other, even though he cut it a bit too shy. “It’s ten.”
My eyes widened. “I slept all evening! I’m sorry.”
This earned me a raised brow and an almost-glare. “You needed it. No one cared.”
“Do you want me to finish that?” Really, I wanted to finish it. Porter, from what I gathered upon quick inspection, was doing an alright job wrapping our gifts, but…
They needed a little bit of work.
“You should be resting.”
“Porter.”
“Asher.”
“Don’t mother hen me.”
He grinned up at me with that. “You are out of luck, baby. I’m going to be all up in your business for the next, what, six months?”
“Joy.” I grinned wide though.
Porter slapped a large piece of tape on the box. “How are you feeling though? I went to the store and bought some things.”
“Good right now, actually.”
“You want something? We should get something in you.” Porter stood, leaving the partially wrapped gift on the floor. “Broth? Popsicles? Banana?”
I couldn’t help but grin at his attentiveness. “You’re a hoot, you know that?”
“What are you eating, beautiful?”
“How about you just come here and lay with me?”
“How about you eat something first, and then I’ll hold you all night?”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
“Yeah well, price you have to pay.”
“Fine. Maybe just broth, and I’ll finish the gifts while you grab it?”
He looked down at the presents. “They’re terrible, aren’t they?”
Laughing, I moved out of the bed. “They’re fine. But I bet I could get them finished by the time you get back up here.”
“What are we betting?” His grin was cocky.
“Just go, while I have an appetite,” I answered with my own grin. He stepped over and kissed me once, his hand going to my back and pulling me near. Just when it was getting good though, he stepped back.
“Hold that thought.” He winked and slipped out of the room.
Damn man. Now I was feeling a little bit needy too, and that wasn’t a feeling I’d had much of the last two weeks, not since the nausea peaked.
I moved to sit on the floor, wrapping the last of the presents. Ryleigh and Noah put in place a spending limit this year, stating that couples counted as one person—making Jonny the lucky one who got a gift all on his own. For his siblings and their significant others, we bought his and hers Yeti mugs. Porter and I went over the spending limit, just a little, but I would claim coupons as the answer.
Always claim coupons and deals, I thought with a grin.
I grabbed Mykaela and Ryan’s, and began to wrap the pair, thinking about how ironic it was Ryan was back in my life. I hadn’t truly known him when I was living in his house, and honestly, I didn’t see much of him now, but I decided I liked the guy. For all my fears at seventeen that he was possibly like his father…I was wrong.
I finished wrapping the mugs and the last of the kids’ gifts—including a nearly impossible doll in a non-box, so I wasn’t surprised that he left that for last—just as Porter stepped back in the room.
“Damn, you’re fast,” he said, closing the door behind him.
“I’m good.”
“You have to teach me. Or better yet, you just can’t let me wrap anymore.” He brought a bowl over and set it on the nightstand.
“Smell okay?” he asked.
I inhaled deeply and when there wasn’t any tinge of illness, I nodded. “Yeah.”
“I brought saltines, too,” he said. “For substance.” He pulled a baggie of them out of his hoodie pocket. “Maybe tomorrow, we can move on to mashed potatoes. Exciting, right?”
“Thrilling.” I stacked the gifts by the wall, and settled back into bed, bringing the bowl up and spooning broth into my mouth. I took a moment to assess my stomach before continuing.
“Good?” I knew he meant my stomach, and not if the broth was tasty.
I nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”
Porter watched me eat, handing me one saltine at a time, until I decided I had enough. After, as he moved to turn off the light, I pulled off my hoodie and settled in for the night. He joined me, pulling my body into him as he spooned me from behind.
“So, about that bet…”
I shook my head against the pillow, closing my eyes as I smiled. “Go to sleep, Porter.”