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I get off the couch as carefully as I can, hoping not to stir the girls and walk toward the door. My heart strings pull when I see Dakota’s tear-stricken face, blotchy red layers cover her freckles, eyelids low from sleepiness and wet from the rain.
“Hey.” I slide over so she has room to walk past me.
“How is she?” she asks, her tone sounds just as exhausted as she looks.
“Asleep,” I whisper, giving her room to see the girls sprawled out on the couch, Ursula’s outstanding performance playing quietly in the background.
“I’m so sorry. My phone died,” she waves her cellphone at me, “and I just needed to stay until they told me I couldn’t anymore.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s stable. She fainted from dehydration of all things.” A small chuckle escapes her lips, but I know she doesn’t think it’s funny. It’s a bit of a manic response more than anything. A response I know is warranted considering how much she’s going through. “She’ll be there for a few days,” she adds.
“She’s going to be okay,” I tell her. Though, I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to say at this moment. Not sure anything is.
Dakota closes the space between us, but her movements are hesitant. I can tell something is going on inside her head. She goes to a place of loss and loneliness as she finally allows the feeling of pure heartbreak to weasel its way into her heart. Her expression is crestfallen and without another thought, I pull her in for a hug.
She accepts my embrace, actually needing it in the way she grips me. The wet fabric of her shirt seeps through mine and despite how cool it feels, I hold her close anyways, letting her have all the warmth and comfort she needs. And that’s when they come, the tears. The soul-shattering, body-wracking tears.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if…” she sobs a few times. I can feel her whole body shake against mine. “I can’t lose her,” she finishes.
I rub my hand against her back, trying my best to soothe her as she lets herself have what she desperately needs—to cry.
“I’m so sorry. I know I’m being dramatic.” She pushes off of me gently, suddenly trying to calm her sadness and frantically wiping the streams of tears off her face. “How much do I owe you?” She reaches into her purse and attempts to pull out her wallet.
“Don’t you dare, Dakota,” I say, holding her hand down with my own, not allowing her to do what she’s attempting to do.
“Nolan, you literally picked up my mess and watched my kid sister.” She tries to defend me, but I don’t want it.
“It’s fine. Really.” I take her purse from her and gently lay it down next to the entry table, closing the front door behind her.
“I should actually get going. I can get Em into the car now. I might need to borrow that blanket though because she is a blanket fiend and she doesn’t give up very easily.” She giggles, still tear-stricken as she moves toward the couch.
“Or you can stay,” I say, blurting out the words before thinking them over. But really, what is there to think? I know she’s trying to deflect because she feels like a burden, like she’s overwhelming me. But she’s not.
In fact, I would really hate to watch her leave right now. I want more than anything to make sure she’s okay. I know she’s taking on a lot, I can tell just by the way she tries to push her own feelings and emotions aside.
“What?” She turns to look at me. Her green eyes are wide with a glimmer of appreciation but also shadowed by her pain.
“You guys can stay here. You’re probably tired. We can move the girls into Aria’s bed, it’s big enough. And you can have mine, I’ll sleep out here. It’s late and cold. And the girls don’t have school tomorrow. I know the last thing you want right now is to go back home.”
“Wait. The girls don’t have school tomorrow?”
“It’s spring break, remember?”
“I totally forgot. My mom is the one who usually...” she trails off. I can see her eyes about to break into a storm of emotion again.
“You can go home if you want, butone thing…” I reach in and swipe my thumb across her check, catching the one tear that gets away and her breath hitches so subtly against my touch, “I’d really like you to stay.”
She gets out of the shower, nearly the exact same time I finish transferring the girls, carefully, to Aria’s room. I turn on the nightlight, a spattering of dimmed white stars displays across the ceiling, before closing them in safely.
I left her a pair of my sweats and a t-shirt to change into after the shower, but when she comes out in nothing but the t-shirt, my jaw nearly drops.
“Too big,” she says, as if she can read the expression on my face.
“Of course.” I muster, trying not to look anywhere but her eyes as this beautiful woman with long pale legs lingers at the end ofmybed in nothing butmyshirt. Her tits pert against the fabric, the shirt barely covering her ass. Oh, this was a bad idea.
I remember the feeling of her ass, the suppleness of her silky skin as I palmed it while she made herself come on my mouth. The way her mouth formed the perfect O as my fingers worked inside her, hitting that perfect spot.
