something I’d pick for Trav.
Brix has turned the room into an office, claiming he didn’t want to use Trav’s office because it would be like invading the man’s privacy.
“Maybe we should do something normal people do,” I say. “Pretend this whole thing isn’t happening.”
Brix doesn’t look up from the laptop he did feel comfortable enough to borrow from Trav. I mean, if Trav is going to hide embarrassing porn or something, the laptop is where it would be. “I need to figure this out. It’s driving me crazy.”
“You need to take a break … Whoa, crazy role reversal here.”
Brix finally looks up from the screen to smile at me. It’s the first smile I’ve seen in days. “Fine. What ‘normal’ activity do you want to do?” He eyes me from head to toe with heat burning in his gaze.
“Oh hell no. You don’t get sex when you’ve been refusing to come to bed until I’m already passed out. Waiting for you to finish with”—I wave my hand at the table—“your work is tiring.”
Brix pulls out his chair and pats his knee.
I wish I could say I was strong enough to resist, but I’m not. I sit sideways across his lap and wrap my arms around his neck.
His strong hands embrace me for the first time in days. Yeah, when he has eventually come to bed, he’s cuddled into me and I’ve woken up wrapped around him, but this is different.
“I’m sorry I’ve been distracted.” He kisses his way across my cheek and then down my neck.
“I want to watch a movie.”
Brix pulls back, and his brow scrunches. “Like a porno? I’d be down for that.” His hand makes his way under my shirt.
I snort. “No. Like, a movie movie. That’s a normal-person thing to do, isn’t it? It might distract us both. Does Trav subscribe to, like, Netflix or something out here?”
“You really want to watch TV?” Brix shifts underneath me.
“Yes, because you’ve been ignoring me for days.”
“So this is my punishment?”
“Yes. No, wait, hanging out with me is not a punishment.”
Brix laughs. “I’ll watch whatever you want me to watch, and I promise I’ll keep my groping hands to myself until you tell me I don’t have to anymore.”
“I kind of like the groping hands.”
His lips touch mine nice and slow, and then he taps me to stand. “You go put something on the TV. I’ll go find some popcorn. Trav should have some stashed somewhere.”
“Confession …”
Brix’s eyes widen. “What is it?”
“I hate popcorn.”
He gasps. “You’re a monster, and this will never work.”
“It makes me so thirsty,” I whine.
“There’s this thing. They call it water. You might have heard of it.”
“But then I need to piss during the movie. Popcorn is the worst movie snack ever.”
“I don’t think we can be together.”
I pout.
“Okay, fine.” Brix sighs dramatically. “I’ll pretend this dark side of your soul doesn’t exist, but you’re asking a lot of me.”
We move into the living room with the giant hundred-inch TV. Brix sits on the edge of the couch and leans back, lying half on and half off it, with his arm running along the top.
I fit next to him and lie with my head on his chest.
This. This is what I want.
“What are we watching?” Brix asks.
“Hmm, to continue to torture you or put you out of your misery …”
“I love chick flicks and rom-coms.”
Something in his voice doesn’t ring true. “Oh good, me too. They’re my favorite.”
Brix groans. “I was lying, hoping you’d pick the opposite.”
I chuckle. “I know.”
“How did you know?”
I lift my head. “You have a tell.”
Brix’s finger trails over my cheek, where my dimple supposedly appears when I’m lying. “You picked up on my tell?” he asks.
“Yep, but unlike mine, yours is in your voice.”
Brix smiles at me weirdly. As if he never expected me to understand him the way he understands me.
Things might be strained right now because of my stupid stalker person, but there’s no doubt this feels right.
Being with Brix is right.
I scroll through the options on the TV when one pops up on-screen. “Ooh, I haven’t seen this yet. Blake invited me to the premiere, but I couldn’t go.”
Brix side-eyes me. “I’m starting to realize why you haven’t heard from Blake.”
“I was on tour!” Okay, that excuse is kind of shitty. “Fine, you have a point. But I’m going to watch it now, so that counts.”
We settle in for the movie, and Blake is a surprisingly good actor. It’s an action flick—all explosives and slow-motion scenes with