7
Iwoke up on the couch, feeling almost as bad as I had when I’d come to the night before. Fuck, how long had it been since I’d slept the night anywhere but a bed? As I peeled myself upright, rubbing my eyes and stretching out my crunched-up muscles, I remembered why. Because couches weren’t built for sleeping, and I was too old to pretend I could still pull this off.
By the time we’d arrived at my place the night before, it had been so late that both of us had wanted nothing more than to just get some sleep.
“We should get to bed.” I’d yawned as soon as we’d taken her stuff out of the car and dumped it in the living room. She was swaying slightly on her feet, clearly so exhausted, she could hardly think.
“Do you mind …” She fell silent for a moment, clearly trying to think of the best way to phrase whatever was about to come out of her mouth.
“Mind what?” I prompted her. I was too tired to play games, to mess around and tease it out of her.
“Could I sleep in the bed by myself?” she blurted out at last. “I just don’t feel ready for us to sleep together yet.”
“Fine,” I sighed, glancing over at the cage her little ferret was scrabbling around in industriously. I knew that thing would keep me up all night anyway, and I didn’t particularly want to share a room with a rodent, no matter how enamored she clearly was with it.
“Come on, it’s through here.” I’d taken her through to the main bedroom. I could have put her in the guest room, but I hadn’t used it in so long, the bed was covered with stuff I’d purchased with every intention of putting up around the apartment and had never got around to, and I couldn’t be bothered clearing it all off for her. Maybe I would get around to it now that I had someone else living here with me.
“Thanks.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and took her shoes off, sighing as soon as she’d kicked them away. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Guess so,” I replied, and I lingered in the doorway for a moment. I was tempted to make a move, to try and convince her there would have been nothing wrong with the two of us sharing a bed and maybe more that night. Fuck, knowing I had moved in with a ferret against my will was enough to get me to do it out of spite, but there would be plenty of time for that later. For now, both of us needed some sleep, and I left the bedroom, shut the door behind me, and settled in on the couch.
I got up the next morning and glanced around. She wasn’t up yet, or if she was, she hadn’t emerged from the bedroom, the door still shut where I’d left it last night. I headed through to the kitchen to make myself some coffee. I was still tired after a bad night’s sleep, but there was something kindling in my stomach—excitement, maybe. It had been a long time since I’d actually had to pursue something with anyone, most of the women I wanted practically falling at my feet as soon as I showed an interest. It would be kind of fun to have to finesse my skills a little to convince her back into bed with me, but I was more than confident I could do it.
I moved around the kitchen, glad to be home, and wondered how this place looked to her. Her condo had been tiny, so small that I didn’t know how a person could live there and not find themselves going stir-fucking-crazy within a half-hour. But then, my place was barely lived-in at all. I was always traveling or at the office, and it meant I had never much bothered with turning this place into any real kind of home. All that art and that crap piled on my spare bed, yet the walls were still bare. Sometimes, this place looked more like a hotel than a home. Maybe having a woman around would change that.
It was Sunday, and the whole city was probably suffering from a hangover that morning, but my brain was buzzing with energy as I prepared the briki to make myself something strong, hot, and black to drink. My nonna would be expecting me over to visit later in the day, and she was quite a drive away, so that would at least give me time to prep Amaya on what to say and do in her presence.
She was staying nearby in the wake of Dad’s wedding after helping prepare everything so it was traditional enough for her and modern enough for his new young bride. She had strong-armed me into coming over every Sunday for dinner, and I didn’t have the heart to turn her down. This time, she wasn’t going to be able to corner me about marriage because I would be coming with a wife on my arm. Sure, she was going to freak the fuck out that I had gotten married without telling her or anyone else in the family, but I could just claim romance, and they would all accept it. Hopefully. Then, I could come home and get the contracts drawn up and make this official—well, more official than it already was, given that we were married.
As I made the coffee, I heard some movement from the bedroom. Could have been her ferret, but it sounded too big for that. A few moments later, she made her way out of the bedroom and practically staggered into the kitchen to join me. Her hair was a mess, and she was wearing a big, baggy T-shirt and a pair of panties. It was the most I’d seen of her since the morning before, and I let my eyes linger on her legs for a moment, wondering how they would have felt wrapped around me again.
“Coffee,” she croaked, leaning up against the island in the middle of the kitchen. “I need coffee.”
“Coming up,” I replied, stretching out a kink in my neck that the couch had given me. I added a little sugar to sweeten it for her, stirring quickly. I took mine black, but then I had been drinking it for years and preferred it that way now. I picked up the long handle of the briki and carefully poured her a small cup, handing it over.
“Careful. Just sip on it,” I warned her. “It’s probably different than what you’re used to. More bitter.”
“The stronger, the better,” she said, and she took a sip. She sighed with pleasure as the flavor hit her tongue. “Mmm, that’s good.”
She gestured to the briki as I poured myself a cup and took a sip.
“What’s that thing? I’ve never seen one before.”
“It’s a briki,” I replied. “I got used to making coffee with them when I was visiting my family in Greece, so I brought one over here to use.”
“You’re Greek?” She cocked her head to me.
I nodded. “Yup. The name didn’t give it away?”
“I guess yesterday was such a rush that I didn’t think.” She shook her head and raised her eyebrows, taking another sip of the coffee. “You go back there a lot?”
“Yeah, I’ll probably have to take you there with me at some point,” I remarked casually. I hadn’t yet talked to her about taking her out of the country, but I knew as soon as my nonna found out I was married, the rest of the family would be on red alert expecting a visit from me as soon as possible.
“I’ve never even been out of the country before,” she sighed, leaning back on the counter as she sipped her coffee and raking her fingers through her hair. “You think I’ll like it in Greece?”
“As long as you’re prepared for every single person in my family to be a little obsessed with you, you’ll be fine,” I replied, smiling. I liked having her around. It was nice, waking up and having someone else in the apartment who I didn’t immediately want to turn out on the street.
“So, what happens now?” she asked shyly. “I feel like I’ve been asking that a lot the last twenty-four hours.”