To Die For - Davidson King Page 0,33
for boundaries.”
Sparkles sat on my bed and stared at me. Likely waiting for the joke part of my statement. When none came, he nodded. “I see. Okay, so then, let’s say they walked in, unannounced, and both of us were in the bed?”
They’d never seen that since I never brought anyone home, so I had to think about it for a second. “My guess is, they’d run and tell Ma.”
“And what would your sweet mother do?”
I smiled wickedly. “Yell at them for invading my privacy and yours.”
Sparkles’s grin matched my own. “So, then, let’s be adults about this and share your large bed and get your sisters in trouble.”
When Sparkles’s brilliant evil wit wasn’t set in my direction, it was like witnessing beautiful magic. “I like the way you think.” I gestured toward my bathroom. “Under the sink, there are a few unopened toothbrushes. If you want to get ready for bed. You’re also welcome to shower or whatever. I have boxers and things to sleep in if you’d like.”
Sparkles rose. “I can sleep in this—it’s comfy, but I’d love to brush my teeth, thanks.” I watched him go into the bathroom and as soon as he shut the door, I did a quick look around, making sure there was nothing embarrassing under the bed, near the bed, or under the pillows. My ma always said I was a bit of a neat freak. I wasn’t sure about that, but I liked some semblance of order. Whether that was my workspace or home space was no different.
I’d changed my sheets the day before, so I wasn’t worried about those. After checking quickly, nothing was out of place, and all was good. I grabbed a pair of boxers and a T-shirt, changed into them, and waited for Sparkles to be done so I could brush my teeth.
When the bathroom door opened and Sparkles stepped out, I could tell he’d cleaned up a bit. His hair was calmer, he had taken off the sweat shirt, and I could admit seeing him wearing my clothes did strange things to me. I loved it.
“Bathroom is all yours.”
“Thanks.”
“Is there a side of the bed that’s predominantly yours?” Sparkles asked me, and I realized this was the first time I’d ever had to answer that.
“No, I generally sleep in the middle, so go ahead and take whichever side you’d like.”
I quickly brushed my teeth, washed my face, and cleaned up. I didn’t want to appear eager to be in my bed with Sparkles, even though I was excited as fuck. After I was finished getting ready, I sat on the lid of my toilet, counted to fifty, and stepped out. He’d taken the side furthest from the door, which made me smile. My ma used to tell me Dad would take the side by the door, and she’d take the one near the wall because he liked to be the first line of defense. I knew no one was going to attack us or anything while we slept, but I wondered if maybe Sparkles subconsciously chose that side, liking the thought of me protecting him.
“Need anything?” I asked before I moved to the bed.
“Nope, I’m all good.”
I got into bed and shut the light off, drowning the room in darkness for a brief moment. The moon was full, and the lunar glow was just enough to see Sparkles’s profile. I saw each blink and knew he was likely having trouble relaxing under these strange conditions.
Feeling the need to break the weird tension, I turned on my side, facing Sparkles, and asked, “Did you always want to teach dance?”
For a moment, I didn’t think he was going to answer me, and I was going to tell him to forget it, but then he spoke.
“Actually, I wanted to be a professional dancer. Maybe be on Broadway.”
“Why didn’t you?”
This time, Sparkles turned, and now we lay face-to-face. He was so close to me, and every inch of me loved it.
“I used to dance all around our little house, many times singing as I did. My mom would laugh, and she’d tell me I’d be famous someday. I believed her because when you’re seven and your mom says you’ll be amazing, you don’t question it because moms are everything.” He smiled as he spoke.
“Can’t argue with you there.”
“Yeah, well, it was only my mother and me. My dad died when I was just a baby, so I never knew him. She worked three jobs to keep things going, and I