Tucking the device into my pocket, I stared at the front door. Unlocking it would be monumentally stupid, and I wouldn’t risk it with Jamie crashed out here, but I also didn’t want Garrett knocking and scaring the pee out of him.
But that was assuming Garrett even stopped by or came back at all. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, again worrying about what the hell he was doing.
The sensation of my phone vibrating against my thigh had me jumping out of my skin. I fought with the material of my pants, trying to dig my phone out of my pocket.
“Hello?”
“It’s me. Open the door.”
My head whipped back to the door as if I’d be able to see him through it. Turning the lock as quietly as I could, I pulled it open, pressing a finger to my lips. Rugsy was bound to go off if he spoke, and the last thing I wanted was to wake Jamie again.
He nodded in understanding and stepped inside. He’d made the time to go home and change into his hoodie and sweats before coming over, and my imagination went wild with all the reasons he might have had to change clothes.
Knowing he’d follow, I made for my room. I crawled across my bed, slipping my arms under the comforter to uncover my lazy guard dog, petting her head as I let her see Garrett so she wouldn’t bark.
He reached an arm back, pulling his hoodie over his head and revealing a plain white shirt underneath. He tossed it over the bottom of the bed before coming to sit next to me, graciously giving Rug some scratches.
“You two okay?”
I gave him a side-eye look. “That depends on what you’re about to tell me.” His expression flattened, and I sighed, flopping back on a pillow. “We’re fine.”
He rubbed his jaw, looking back at my prostrate form. “I’m glad. I’ve been worried about him.”
I rolled to my side, “My instinct is to apologize for worrying you, but I won’t.” He shook his head and opted not to answer. “He told me you were the first person he thought of to call.”
He cleared his throat, staring at the wall. “I’m glad he trusted me enough to call but fuck if it didn’t destroy me. For the rest of my life, I will never forget the way that boy’s voice shook as he begged me to save you.”
Jesus. I patted the spot next to me, scooting over so he had room to lie down. Our knees brushed as he got settled and faced me, curling an arm under his head.
“I was so goddamn scared of how I was going to find you, Maddie.”
“Can I apologize now?” I asked, snuggling deeper into my pillow. When I peeked up, he was glaring at me.
“Then will you tell me where you went?”
“I told you he’s not your concern, Madison.”
Oh, we were back to Madison, were we? Someone really didn’t want me bringing it up. “Will you at least tell me if I need to provide you with an alibi? I’m not the best liar under pressure. I’ll need to practice my statement.”
He flicked me in the nose. “And what will you tell them we were busy doing at midnight?”
My pulse quickened, and I darted my tongue out to lick my lips, suddenly feeling parched. His eyes lowered, and his stare went straight to my core, turning the switch to ON.
God, it’d been way too long since I’d had a release. I needed him to quit looking at me that way or this was going to get really awkward really fast.
“Playing bingo.”
“My favorite nighttime activity.”
I chuckled, turning to roll on my back and stare up at the ceiling. I couldn’t keep looking at him lying there next to me. It was making my heart do stupid things. Like telling me it wanted to see him there every day, smirking at me even when I had bad breath and a frizzy morning mane.