Miss Mechanic

“It’s your house, darlin’. Your house, your choice.”

I wanted to stay. But I wanted her to want me to. I wanted to know what she actually wanted when it came down to it.

Her cheeks flushed, and she looked down, holding tight to the robe. She twirled her big toe across the wooden floor in circles, chewing on her lower lip.

“Does it feel weird to you?” she asked, not looking up.

“Weird?”

“Dex, three days ago, we fought over coffee. Now you might stay over?”

I held up my jeans. “It’s weird, I know. I’ll leave, okay?”

“No. I mean—” she stopped, then sighed. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

I laughed quietly, because that about summed it up.

Jamie pushed off the doorframe and walked over to me. She stopped just a foot or two in front of me and fiddled with the belt of the robe. “I don’t—do you want to stay?”

I pushed her bangs from her eyes and ran my fingers down the side of her face. “I don’t want to leave,” I said quietly.

She glanced away, then looked up at me with her blue eyes shining. “Then, stay.”

I dipped my head and kissed her. My stomach tightened when she moved closer, her soft fingertips brushing over my hips. She sighed when I pulled back, and I smiled down at her, loving the way her eyes lit up when our gazes met.

Jesus, what was happening?

“Okay, um.” She bit her thumb, stepping back. “I’m going to get some water. Do you want some? Or coffee? Or…”

“Water is great.” I fought my smile, but she was so fucking adorable when she was awkward. The side I was seeing of her right now was a million miles away from the Jamie I’d come to know.

I loved them both.

Jesus—shit—did I just say that?

No.

I didn’t.

There was no way. It was a figure of speech. A manner of words. That was all.

Fucking…

“Here.” She passed me a glass of water. “Oh, hey, could you turn on that lamp so I can turn this off?”

I looked at the light switch. “Sure.” I put the glass on the nightstand and pressed the button on the lamp to switch it on.

“Thanks.” She flashed me a smile and walked over to the other side of the bed. “Do you, um, do you have a side?”

“Do you have a side?” I fired back.

“Somewhere in the middle, usually. Sometimes diagonally. It depends.”

I looked at the floor. “Do you have a blanket for when I need to set up camp on your floor?”

She laughed, setting down her glass and moving the sheets aside. “No, you’re fine. I’m not as bad when I’m not alone.”

“How often are you not alone?”

“Oooh. Did that hit a nerve?”

I frowned at her. “No. Just a question.”

“It sounds like I hit a nerve.”

“Jamie.”

“What?”

I leaned over the bed and, with one arm, scooped her down onto her back. She shrieked and held her own arm out. Water splashed over us, and I laughed, taking the glass from her.

“What?” she said, looking up at me.

“Shut up.” I kissed the tip of her nose and rolled over to the other side. I got under the covers as Jamie shed her robe and climbed into bed in nothing but panties and a strappy t-shirt.

“You should know,” she said, turning her head to face me. “I hate being touched when I sleep, so don’t touch me when I sleep.”

My lips twitched. “You got it.”

“At all.” She opened her eyes wider as if to emphasize it.

“You got it, darlin’. I just said that.” I took a mouthful of my water and turned off the lamp.

Darkness swathed the room. The only sound was us both breathing in and out, followed by the creaks of the bed springs as Jamie rolled onto her side.

A minute passed before she scooted toward the middle of the bed.

I glanced over at her although I couldn’t see anything.

She moved closer to me.

“Any reason you’re creeping at me?” I asked.

“Um…I’m not asleep?” she replied.

“And your point is?”

“I’m not asleep. And I’m cold. And you’re not.”

I fought back the laugh. “You don’t like being hot.”

“I don’t like being cold much, either.”

This time, I let the laugh go. I rolled over and moved into the middle of the bed until her back was tucked against my chest and she’d slipped one of her feet between my legs. The other was outside the covers, and I rested my arm over the covers, holding her softly against me.

I buried my face in the back of her neck, breathing in the lingering smell of sex on her skin and the vanilla scent that clung to her hair.

I didn’t want to let her go, and that terrified me.

Jamie tensed, and I knew she was about to say something. “Dex?” she whispered.

“Mm?”

“What are we doing?”

“I’m trying to sleep. I don’t know about you.”

She tapped my hand. “Not…literally. I mean… what are we doing? This.”