“Hi,” I croaked, wondering what he was doing here.
“Hey.” He gave me a crooked smile. The bed creaked when he sat down next to me. “I was looking for you on campus, and when I called Jade she said you were here. Is everything okay?”
The concern on his face was genuine, and the fact that he cared only added to the feelings neither of us wanted to address. I contemplated telling him it was just the flu, but I decided to be vague instead. I didn’t want to make it awkward.
“No,” I groaned. “My head feels like it’s going to explode, and…” I stopped, before I said something that would embarrass me. The only other person I’d ever discussed ‘this stuff’ with was Charlie, and that was because I had no one else. It’s not every day that a sixteen-year-old boy has to be the one to educate his little sister about periods, but that was my reality. I wasn’t sure if I was comfortable crossing that line with Dane, considering we’d been nothing more than ‘bed buddies’. If he was my boyfriend –
I squeezed my eyes shut, and pushed that thought out of my head. That was an alarm bell. I couldn’t think that way.
“And?”
“I just feel sick, Dane.”
His eyes flicked across my face like he knew I was lying. This boy was far too intuitive for his own good.
“I’m going to make you something to eat,” he said. “And then I’ll take a quick drive to the pharmacy. Will you be okay here on your own?”
I started to argue with him, but he put his hand up and I snapped my mouth closed.
“Does scrambled egg on toast sound good?”
I nodded, and winced when the slight movement caused a burst of pain to travel up the back of my skull.
“I’ll be right back.”
He leaned down as if he was going to kiss my head, but then seemed to have thought better of it. Aside from the caring, he was acting a little strange, and I didn’t know what to make of it. He seemed hesitant with me, whereas before he wasn’t. If he wanted to kiss me, then he just did it, but now he seemed…passive.
He walked in a little later with a tray in his hands, and the smells had me salivating. He placed it on the bed, and then lifted my pillows so that I could sit up.
“It smells delicious,” I said. “Thank you.”
There was that crooked smile again.
And the butterflies it caused.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes. I expect this to be finished by the time I’m back.”
“Okay, Doctor.”
He winked, and I watched his retreating form until my bedroom door clicked shut. He was such a conundrum to me, and I couldn’t deny my baser need to figure him out. It’s what women did, right? We found someone who we thought needed figuring out, and tried to fix them. The only problem was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to fix Dane. I’d come to like Dane the way he was, or at least the version of himself he’d shown me in the last two weeks.
I moaned when I took a bite of the scrumptious eggs and toast, and managed to finish most of it by the time Dane came back. He strolled in to my room, shuffling through a brown paper bag, and I decided to ogle him. I might have been in pain, but he was still pleasant to look at. His light blue jeans hung low on his hips, but it was the way it tightened around his thighs that caught my attention.
I knew what those thighs looked like naked. What they looked like mid-thrust…
“Okay,” he muttered, making me snap my head up. Luckily he was still busy looking through the contents of the bag, and hadn’t noticed me staring. “Let’s see…”
He sat down beside me again, and started taking out some ibuprofen and a small heating pad. He took out a bottle of water, and handed it to me.
“Take two ibuprofen,” he instructed, placing two pills in my hand. I swallowed them down, sighing when the cool water hit my parched throat.
“And then…” he took the heating pad out of the box, and faced me. “Lift your shirt.”
I nearly choked on my mouthful of water. “What?”
He couldn’t be serious? I felt like death warmed up, and he was thinking about sex? Granted, I would be too if my ovaries weren’t being karate chopped.
“Just lift your shirt, Kennedy.” Dane smirked as if he could read my thoughts. “Just enough to expose your stomach. Please.”
I did as he asked, and watched with rapt attention how he placed the heating pad just below my belly button. He set the temperature, and when the warmth started to settle into my skin I wanted to cry from the sheer relief. But how had he –
“I saw the calendar in your bathroom,” he said quietly, answering my unspoken question. “It’s obvious you have cramps, Kitten.”
Oh. Good. Lord.
Kill me now.
No, really. Please.
I looked down, but Dane wasn’t having that.
He tilted my chin, and my skin buzzed with the contact. I’d missed his touch. “Don’t be shy about this stuff. You don’t have to be with me.”
My cheeks were still on fire, and had more to do with this moment and Dane, than the fact that it was that dreaded time of the month.
“Thank you,” I said, pulling my shirt down. “For the breakfast, and for the other stuff too.”
Dane rubbed the back of his neck, and laughed nervously. “I’ve never done anything like this before, so uh, I’m glad I’m doing it right.”
I tried to smile, but it was overtaken by a yawn.
“You should get some sleep,” added Dane. I was somewhat disappointed that he was leaving, but I knew he must’ve had class again before his last football practice before we went on break.
He moved the tray onto my desk, and then started pulling off his shoes. I looked at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“I need a nap before practice, and I recall that your bed is pretty damn comfortable, Kitten. Now scoot over, and roll onto your side.”
I tried to look at least a little annoyed, but I was failing miserably. I rolled away from him, and found myself waiting in anticipation. His body sank into the bed, and instead of lying on his back, he curled himself around me, and held me to his chest.
“Stop overthinking it, Kitten,” he breathed into my hair. When had he learned to read me so well? “Just get some rest.”
My eyes started falling closed, but not before Dane’s arm came around my stomach.
I loved it when he held me like that.
Damnit.
I was starting to fall.
Hard.
CHAPTER T WENTY-FIVE
Kennedy
I WOKE UP a few hours later when my phone started ringing. Dane was noticeably absent, but my slight disappointment dissipated when I found his note on the pillow beside me.
My grandmother’s name flashed on my phone, and I held the piece of paper to my chest as I answered.
“Hi, Grams.”
I could imagine her smiling on the other end of the line. “How’s my precious girl doing? I haven’t heard from you in a while, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I felt a pang of guilt. I should’ve tried harder to stay in touch with her and my Gramps, especially as they took me in after high school. I had nothing without them.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I’ve been so caught up with school, and my days seem to blend together at the moment.”
“Oh I understand sweetheart, we just miss you. The house is so quiet, and your granddaddy misses you on the ranch.”
“I miss you too.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You’ll tell Gramps that I’ll be there for Christmas?”
“He’s already talking about your visit,” she chuckled. “Crazy old man.”
My eyes suddenly welled up with tears, the wave of emotion coming from nowhere. “I really miss you guys.”
“Honey, don’t cry,” said Grams. “It’s not long, and you’ll be home with us. You want to tell me what has you so emotional? My Kennedy is usually so put together.”