Page 74 of The Need to Know

Ezekiel shook his head, completely unaware how attractive he came off. He went back to his food and I was really considering listening to that André 3000 album.

We were talking about nothing at all as we ate our Pad Thai, and it was the best. Everything was a debate, but really, it was just fun to pick his brain.

Scorsese was coming around. He wouldn’t let Ezekiel get too close, but he was near, watching us with his greedy behind.

I didn’t realize we’d fallen asleep until the brutal shrill of a phone ringing woke us up a couple of hours later. We were on the couch, with Ezekiel stretched out and my lying on his chest. Too comfortable to move.

Ezekiel groaned as he found his cell phone on the coffee table and picked it up. He rubbed at his face and yawned. “Hey … I know, I know, I fell asleep and I’m not going to make it in … Ate too good … All right, thanks. We’ll talk tomorrow … ’Bye.”

As much as I wanted to go back to sleep, lying with his arm around me, I sat up and stood to my feet. I checked my phone and it was after two a.m.

“Sorry about that,” I said. “Lost track of time.”

Ezekiel laid back and shrugged. “I got too comfortable. It’s my fault. Pops will probably say something, but I’ve never missed a shift, so we’ll see.”

I hoped his father wouldn’t be too hard on him.

“If you’re too tired to drive, you can crash here. I have this couch you seem to enjoy and a guest bed,” I offered.

Ezekiel arched a brow. “And a master bed, too.”

“Sir.”

“We’re grown, but if you want, I can take the guest room.”

We were grown, and we were both too tired to see through our “go with the flow” hypothesis. Things with Ezekiel were moving slow in one area, as we hadn’t kissed or really touched each other, but in another, they were moving fast. I didn’t know him that well, but I trusted him, felt comfortable enough to be honest and myself with him. If we shared my bed, nothing would happen and all would be fine.

“Okay. Go on up to my room and I’ll put the food in the fridge and clean up down here.”

Ezekiel eyed the takeout containers and the TV. “You need help?”

“No, you look so sleepy. I’ll manage.”

Ezekiel saw himself up the stairs, his sluggish movement giving way to how tired he was.

I didn’t think about what I was doing and how reckless it was. There was an Ezekiel-sized hole I was digging and—despite knowing better—seemed all too intent on jumping in.

Deciding I would worry about it in the morning, I went up to my bathroom and tied my hair down before doing a quick version of my nightly routine. In my bedroom I found Ezekiel laid across my bed, holding his finger out as Scorsese sniffed at it on the floor.

“You could’ve got in,” I said as I entered the room and left the door ajar in case Scor had to eat or do his business.

Ezekiel moved and got off the bed. “Was waiting for you.”

Ever the gentleman.

After flipping on the TV for light, I turned the lights off and climbed into my queen-sized bed. The sound of material sliding down let me know Ezekiel was taking off his pants. I was too tired to be tempted. Too tired to turn around and sneak a peek as he slipped in beside me under my comforter. Too tired to go back and take my subconscious’s advice and run for safety.

I had never slept so good.

It was the perfect prelude to the rude awakening that was my phone going off Saturday morning. It was early, I could tell by the sound of birds chirping outside and the pre-dawn creeping in through Nastasia’s curtains. That and the time on my phone said it was just after seven.

I scrubbed my hand down my face and got out of bed. A blur of black almost sent me into panic, until I fell completely out of my sleepy state and recognized Scorsese. Unlike Sadé, he was cautious, but he wasn’t mean or unfriendly like Shah could get around strangers.

Nastasia was still in bed, laying on her side all curled up. The TV was on, a rerun of that old show, The Golden Girls. It was quiet, except for the sound of my phone.

I answered it, knowing without reading the screen it was Pops. “Hello?”

“Well, good morning,” he greeted me in an even tone. I couldn’t tell if he was upset or not, and that made me nervous. “Why don’t we meet for breakfast? Let’s say…at Jam in an hour?”