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Immediately, I reached across him and grabbed the nail polish from the nightstand, untwisting the cap as I propped myself up on my knees. Holding the open bottle over his head, I threatened to dump it on him. “You want to take the role a step further?”
He giggled as he grabbed my wrists, and I pushed into him, our forces fighting against each other. I tried to bend my arms and twist away, but his grip remained tight. There was no way I could win, and if I didn’t stop, the paint really would end up everywhere. He was somehow stronger than I remembered him being. Less frail. Less easy to beat.
Finally, I managed to pull away, but it was obvious he’d let me win. After twisting the cap on tight, I reached over to place it once again on the nightstand, sticking my tongue out at him. I then lifted the edge of the blankets and sank my feet in, lying down between Jonah and the wall. He clicked off the reading light, and I fell into a deep, immediate sleep.
Chapter 14
Jonah
The next morning, I awoke to find that I was alone. I stretched my bones and looked around the room. The jeans that had been strewn over the top of my computer chair were no longer there, and the whoopee cushion and other miscellanea that had been sitting on my nightstand had disappeared as well. I pulled open the drawer. Just as I’d suspected. It was all in there, and it looked like she even tried to organize it.
Perhaps I was a deeper sleeper than I thought.
I swung myself out of bed and planted my toes on the carpet, rubbing my eyes and yawning before making my way to the living room. My beautiful girl was sitting on the couch by the window with her feet up and her laptop on a pillow over her crossed legs. She immediately closed her computer and set it on the table, smiling at me with her full attention as I walked in.
“I didn't mean to interrupt,” I said.
“You didn’t,” she promised, lifting herself from her seat.
“How long have you been up?”
“Less than an hour.”
“Without a coffee?”
She pointed a finger in the air as if that was exactly what she was waiting for me to say. With a few quick steps, she stood in front of me, arms pressed behind her back. “I almost considered going downstairs to find one when I realized you have not given me my keys, sir.”
I stuck a hand under my T-shirt to scratch my rib and shook my head. “No keys for you. You can just stick with me at all times. I have a set, after all.”
She crossed her arms and started tapping her foot impatiently. I didn’t think it was such a bad idea, but if she insisted…
I turned to the bowl atop the small, wooden table by the door, grabbing a set of keys with a pink tag on it. I tossed them to her. “Now it’s official.”
“Oh, I thought it was official when I saved you all hundreds of dollars by taking up my part of the rent for this month.”
I puffed a small laugh through my nose. “You’ll find money has little sway around here. Coffee machines, on the other hand…” I wandered over to the kitchen and stood by the giant, black contraption, placing a hand on top. “Dump a mug over June’s ice cream, and she’ll let you get first shower. Get Oli a cup with chocolate sauce in it, and he’ll stop pranking you for a week. Bring me a coffee to bed, and I’ll make all your dreams come true.”
“What kinds of dreams?” she asked amusedly, tilting her head to one side as she threw her keys on the table.
“You’ll just have to try it and see, pretty girl.”
I observed her closely as she lifted an eyebrow, watching the way her chest rose slightly with the quiet gasp she sucked in.
“My goodness, Jonah. When ever did you get so flirty?”
Ever since you decided to come home and all was righted in my life. “Perhaps I’m feeling extra handsome today since I have this nice manicure.” I held my hand in the air to show off my horribly painted fingers.
She giggled as she approached and stood next to me by the coffee machine, one hand picking up a dirty plate in the sink and the other grabbing the sponge that sat by the faucet. “You navigate our expedition to Mars with that thing, and I will take care of the dishes.”
“We have a dishwasher, Kai.”
She sighed. “Of course, you do.” She turned the water on and squirted dish soap onto the sponge. “You need more Fairy.” She shook the nearly empty bottle of Dawn dish soap in the air before setting it down.
“That is dish soap, and we hardly use it. You know…because of the dishwasher. That amount will last us another month.”
She lifted a soapy hand and flicked a clump of suds at me. It landed smack dab in the middle of my chest, seeping into my T-shirt. “Take that smirk off your face and get going.” She nudged her head to the coffee machine.
I smirked as I loaded it up, pointing out different parts of it as I went and ensuring my voice was extra condescending; just because I knew she hadn’t had her coffee yet and was twice as easy to annoy. “This is the power button. Here’s the water tank in the back, and this is the steam wand…”
