I was walking around the house like a ghost, checking my phone for the hundredth time, when I passed her room. I stared at the door, willing it to open by itself. I stared at that doorknob like a scientist looking through a microscope. I knew this was bordering on creepy, but I never said I wasn’t creepy. I reached for the doorknob, paused to take another breath, and opened the door a crack.
A whiff of her scent sneaked out, filling my nostrils.
Strawberries.
I closed my eyes and inhaled.
Creep.
This was invasion of privacy. This was so wrong. But I was only going to take a peek, maybe hang for a few minutes. It wasn’t like I was going to go through her things…no. That was psycho. I only wanted to feel close to her by being here. I opened the door another inch.
“What are you doing?”
I jumped a foot, and an unholy girlie squeal came out of my mouth that I knew I would be ashamed of for the rest of my life. If Cameron told anyone about it, I would never admit to it.
I slammed the door shut, and when I’d sort of regained my composure, I said, “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Well, you’ve been standing there for at least five minutes. I just took a piss, and you’re still here.”
“Well…” I tra
iled off.
Cameron shrugged and went back to the couch to sleep. I let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell him Red was living with me, but I didn’t want him to know I was sneaking into her room. I didn’t think he was in a state to discuss anything besides beer and basketball right now anyway. I looked at Red’s door again.
Screw it. I opened it and stepped in.
Red all around. Her scent, her things, her presence was so strong that I felt dizzy.
Damn, did I have it bad.
I could tell she had settled in. A blanket with vibrant colors covered the bed. A brush lay on the dresser, a water bottle sat on the study desk, and her books were neatly stacked on the set of drawers beside the bed… The top drawer! Shit. I just remembered I had stacked condoms in there. A lot of condoms. I groaned in distress.
Did she think I was a man whore now? She probably thought I slept around a lot, and she would be right. But I hadn’t slept with anyone since I met her, and that was a feat.
I had been having sex since I hit puberty. But Red made me want to wait. I didn’t want easy anymore. I didn’t want meaningless. I wanted Red.
I sat on her bed and opened the drawer. The condoms were gone. Where had she put them? I decided to ask the next time I saw her. She would probably blush. She didn’t turn pink. She turned red. It would start on her neck, and I could see it creeping up her face and ears until she looked like a ripe tomato. It was so cute. I closed the drawer and threw myself on the bed.
Surrounded—that was how I felt. Surrounded by her. My last thought before I fell asleep was that I was now officially a creep.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up with my phone ringing beside me. I hit Answer and grunted in greeting.
“Hey.”
My eyes popped open. “Red?”
“Yeah.” Her voice was low and breathy and flirty, and it caught my full attention. She sounded very much like the first time I met her at the club. When my thoughts cleared, I realized she was probably drunk.
“Where are you?” I sat up and turned on the lamp. The clock indicated it was three in the morning. I raked my fingers through my hair, wondering if she was in trouble.
“At Kar’s. You wouldn’t believe what happened tonight.”
I heard moving around in the background, like she was in bed and trying to make herself comfortable. I let out a relieved sigh. She was safe and in bed.
“Why don’t you tell me about it, baby?” I asked, wondering where the hell baby had come from.
She giggled. I smiled at the sound, flopping myself back on her bed.