"I'm okay, just taking my sleep medications." He nodded in his daze.
"Come back to bed." His hand absentmindedly capturing mine and pulling me to lay down in bed. I didn't hear a sound from him after that, and soon, I too fell asleep, his hand wrapped in mine under the bedsheet.
The meds probably explained how I slept through Max leaving this morning, and everything else in-between. God, I hope I wasn't still holding his hand hostage when he woke up, because that would have been embarrassing. I roll over, grabbing my phone from the bedside table and flicking it on. It was only 8:30, meaning I still had an hour until I had to meet my team to go over to the arena. I see one unopened text on my home screen, and I lay back down, opening it. When I see it's Melanie, I glance at the text through my eyes, glad that no one is currently standing behind me.
mel: how's the trip going ;)
I made the mistake of telling Melanie that Max and I shared a room. Never again.
me: just fine thankyou
mel: is that code that you had hot sex or what?
I groan. Why world, why?
me: shut the fuck up
mel: party pooper
mel: do you want to come back to mine after you get back? was thinking of having dinner with the gals
me: sure, i'll be there once i get back tonight
mel: bring the lucky guy with you
I leave her on read, laughing to myself as I place the phone back on the table. I sit up from bed, lifting my hands above my head to stretch both sides of my body. When twisting towards the window, my eyes fall on the note, the one I literally forgot about in less than 5 minutes. Do I have amnesia? Probably, knowing me.
I pick up the note, my lips crumpling into a smile as my eyes float over the mixture of letters. It read;
morning sleepyhead. hope you slept well, and that i didn't wake you :) i just had the best sleep of my life, and i'm off to the arena if you need anything
still don't regret anything
i'll see you there, darling
x
I read the note twice, my heart stuttering over the third line repeatedly. I fold it over though, taking a deep breath as my eyes travel to the large window, still slightly haunted by their unexpected brightness.
Today's going to be a good day, I can feel it.
...
Max grabs the handle of my case, easily lobbing it into the trunk of his car. Rain beats down around us, soaking my body from head to toe. When Max closes the trunk, he runs around to my door, pulling it open and shepherding me in. He closes the door whilst sending me a cocky wink, before running around to his door. He jumps in, closes the door, and lets out a deep breath. I laugh, and I can't help but reach out and shake some of the droplets out of his hair. We make eye contact, the kind where you physically can't look away, and I drop my hand, dropping a small weight of tension with it.
"Are we going home?" Max finally says, pushing the keys into the ignition. Suddenly, I remember Melanie's earlier invitation, stuttering out the change of direction.
"No, well, not me. I got a text from Mel this morning, asking me to go around to hers when we got back. Said she's hosting a little something."
"Alright, let's go." A beat of silence as we click in our seatbelts, one of which I'm slightly puzzled. He's willingly going to hang out with Christian and the rest of my borderline psychotic friends?