He didn’t look at her as he stood, using his core and arms to straighten and balance. He didn’t look at her as he slowly ambled past, and he definitely didn’t look at her when she positioned herself in the hallway across from the bathroom, arms crossed over her chest. He simply shut the door with his elbow, taking a small measure of satisfaction at the slam echoing through the walls.
With the exception of the alien from ET （because what the hell, that dude was creepy as fuck）， few things scared Graham.
So it was a surprise to find sleeping in his bed, alone in his room at home, was one of them. More specifically, being unable to call out if something went wrong and he needed help. The doctor had talked about the risk of complications after surgery, like blood clots and shit. What if something like that happened and he couldn’t breathe? Or talk?
At the hospital, not only had he been hooked up to various machines being monitored by other people, but he had a button to call for help. And even though Claire said not to, he’d tested his voice this morning. The doctor had been pretty vague about when it would return, so how else would he know?
So far, nothing. And yeah, it hurt.
Typical Graham would bitingly tell himself to shut up and quit worrying, and everything would be fine. But he’d never been quite so helpless or dependent on other people.
Claire would sleep in here if he asked her to, right?
That pesky fear of appearing weak and pathetic flared when he picked up his phone, but in the darkness and still a little high on pain meds, he pushed it aside.
Graham: You still up?
Claire: Yeah, need something?
Graham: Could you come in here for a sec?
She was in his room two seconds later, as if she’d already been on her way before he asked.
Gertrude immediately sat up and growled. Graham ran a soothing hand down her back and she settled back down but kept her eyes on Claire, body vibrating with a low, quieter rumble.
He adored his dog’s sass.
Claire stuck her tongue out.
He kind of adored Claire’s sass, too.
She took a few steps closer to the bed, passing her gaze down his body as if making sure he was all right. Her curly blond hair was piled on top of her head and the thin-strapped tank top and shorts she wore left an extreme amount of skin exposed.
Graham suddenly remembered the last conversation they’d had before his accident. Tomorrow, Reagan would leave for Florida, and he and Claire would be here alone. Which meant they would have…
He mentally slapped himself for getting hurt, then kicked himself in the balls for good measure.
“What do you need?” she asked.
She hadn’t brought her phone, so he typed out a text and handed it to her.
I’m sorry about earlier.
She stared at the screen for several seconds longer than necessary, then her hazel eyes met his. “Don’t worry about it.”
He took his phone back, unsure what to say now. How was he supposed to ask?
His heartbeat sped up and he ran a hand through his hair, dropping his gaze to his legs and the bulky outline of the cast underneath the blanket. It shouldn’t be this hard. Just tell her you’d feel more comfortable having someone with you. Just for tonight.
Graham lifted his eyes once more and found her assessing his face, her expression unreadable.
Words couldn’t explain how badly he wished he could speak right now. He’d be able to spin it into some sort of inappropriate, innuendo-laden comment, which would get the point across but distract her from reading too much into the request.
Just Graham being Graham, trying to get a woman into his bed.
Then, she spoke. “Will your devil dog bite me if I pick her up?”
He wasn’t sure, actually. Other than verbal abuse in the form of growls and trash talk, the two seemed to steer clear of each other.
Graham frowned, then shrugged. Maybe.
“I just thought maybe it would be best if I slept in here tonight,” Claire said in her no-nonsense tone, walking around to the other side of the bed. She paused. “If that’s okay. Just…in case you need something.”
That same warm sensation he’d felt when she told him about his friends coming to the hospital circulated once more. He swallowed, then nodded. Quickly, he tapped out a message.
Five bucks says she leaves and pouts in the corner when you get in bed.
Claire put one hand on the mattress and leaned over to read it, then laughed. “That, or she goes for my jugular.”
With a final challenging glance at Gertrude, Claire pulled back the covers and slipped under. Gertrude barked once, stood, and barked again, then looked at Graham as if to say, Are we allowing this?