Perfectly Adequate(80)

“Why? Just … why?” I whisper, staring at the dark ceiling, praying that it won’t take all night for my erection to die down.

“It helps me relax so I can get to sleep easier. I usually journal before bed, but I didn’t figure you’d want the light on.”

“Well…” I adjust my uncomfortable erection “…you thought wrong.”

“Okay. Sorry.” She rolls to her side, planting her ass against my hip. “I’ll journal next time.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE





My Baby Girl

Dorothy


“Oh … crap …” The alarm on my phone chimes. “Shit …” I cringe, peeling myself from Eli’s torso. How did this happen? He had surgery less than a month ago. And I’m on top of him!

Before I can completely ease off his body, he blinks his eyes open.

“I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you? I don’t remember crawling onto your chest. It’s not like me. I just—”

“It happened early on.”

“Oh jeez.” I wrinkle my nose, leaning over to shut off my alarm. “So I woke you up?”

“Yes.” He grins on a small yawn, covering it with his fist.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No.” He chuckles. “You’re a featherweight.”

“Did you get back to sleep easily?”

“No.”

“Eli … I’m so sorry. I’m not used to sharing space. I’ve never shared my bed with someone else.”

He runs his fingers through his dirty blond bedhead, leaving his arm resting behind his head, flexing his muscles.

God … he’s so hot.

“I struggled to stay awake.”

I shake my head. “You mean, fall asleep.”

“No. I could sleep forever with you on me like that, much like I can with Roman. But I didn’t want to go back to sleep. I wanted to smell your hair. Absorb the warmth of your body. Feel your heart close to mine.” He offers a sad smile. “I wanted to make a memory that time can’t erase.”

I let his words swirl around in my head, finding a way to make sense of them, finding a place to keep them. But they don’t fit in my mind, so I tuck them away in my heart because that’s where they landed when he said them. “For the record…” I grab workout clothes from my closet “…loving you has been unexpectedly good.”

“Good?” He chuckles.

“Perfectly adequate.”

“Doesn’t get any better than that.” He pushes to sitting.

“Let me help.”

“I’m good. Well, if you could unzip the bed, I’d be good. I just need to make my way to the bathroom.”

I unzip his side of the bed. “How are you getting home? Don’t you have brunch today?”

“Mom is bringing brunch to my house. My sisters and their families are coming over too. This is really the day for you to skip work to come to brunch.”

I help him get up and situated with his crutches. “Sounds like the perfect family gathering. Roman should be pretty excited. And Dr. Hathaway, I assume, will be there. So that’s good … oh … was she at your house last night? I mean … how did you coming over here go over with her?”

“I don’t know.” His words are a bit strained as he takes his first few steps toward the bathroom with the crutches. “I didn’t tell her I was coming here. It was a spontaneous, last minute decision. They were at the park. But my mom went back there after she dropped me off here, so Julie found out eventually.”

“I bet she was pissed off. I hope not at me. I didn’t invite you over last night.”

Eli glances back over his shoulder. “If you didn’t look up to Julie, at least on a professional level, would you still think I should be with her?”

“If you could love each other, then yes. For Roman … absolutely.”

“Jesus …” he mumbles, continuing toward the bathroom.

“What?” I follow him around the corner.

“If you’re not going to let me be with you, then stop making it so easy to love you.” He pushes the door shut behind him.

I leave. He seems a little upset. I thought we were okay, but maybe we’re not. When I get to work, Mom messages me to let me know that his dad picked him up.

I really should not have fallen in love with Dr. Hawkins. What was I thinking?

*

Elijah

I need a shower.

Instead, I receive the Sunday brunch welcome wagon as soon as my dad helps me inside my house. I feel like an errant child who just got dragged home from a friend’s house after breaking curfew. Except my mom took me to Dorothy’s house, so I have no reason to feel guilty.

“Hey.” I give my family a tight-lipped smile as I enter the family room filled with my sisters, their families, Mom, Roman playing with his older cousins, and Julie.

Julie … she shifts her gaze to the floor as soon as I look at her. She makes me feel guilty, which is insane. Julie has no right to make me feel guilty for anything. But this voice in my head (Dorothy’s voice) keeps scolding me for pining after another woman when I have the opportunity to put my family back together.