Page 50 of Death, Interrupted

It took me a moment to follow him. He meant the waitress. She’d been short because she was annoyed. “I did take a long time deciding,” I admitted, feeling small.

“And that’s fine. You’re the customer,” he said.

That should’ve closed the matter, but I still felt unsettled. Then he smiled and offered, “You can have some of my pancakes, too.”

The simple fact that he’d probably ordered thepancakes because of me hit harder than I expected. My throat tightened and, without meaning to, my eyes watered. I tried to blink it away.

“Hey.” He reached across the table and laid his hand over mine, his thumb tracing the back of my hand. “What’s wrong?”

I shrugged because I honestly didn’t know how to answer. “I’m okay,” I said, and the words were somewhat true. My hand had fisted under his hand, and the pressure steadied me.

“These are good feelings,” I told him, looking down at our joined hands and then up at his face. The lightness in my chest was new and confusing, but it was real. It wasn’t panic or fear. It felt like something steady that I had yet to let accommodate inside of me.

“Good,” he said, and squeezed my hand. “It’s good you know that.”

I let a small laugh slip out. “You ordered the pancakes because I wanted them first?”

He shrugged, telling me that it was no big deal. “Yeah, we can share.”

It was another small gesture that made me feel seen.

I thought about how little it would take for my days to feel ordinary again with Sly being a steady part of my life. He was someone who noticed what I liked, who stayed when I asked, and didn’t make me nervous or fearful.

My cheeks suddenly burned as I admired him. “Sly?”

“Yes, Sumner?”

“I think I want you to stay.”

He knew what I meant, and there was no reason for me to explain. He understood, and with another squeeze, he lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles.

He was promising to stay without saying it, but his actions had already spoken louder than any words ever could.

Chapter 18

Sly

Sumner had gotten so comfortable around me that she was actually staying over at my place for once. And tonight, she was watching me stream.

I had my usual setup ready, with the camera angled, the lights adjusted, the mic checked, and everything sitting there, just waiting for me to go live. The only difference was her. She was sitting off to the side, out of frame, on my recliner in the corner.

She was curled up under one of my blankets with her legs tucked beneath her, and a mugof tea cupped in her hands. She’d watched me set everything up, quietly curious, asking questions about a few things I never thought anyone would care about.

Before sitting down at my desk, I walked over to the recliner. For a moment, I just stood there, looking down at her. I couldn’t help it.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” I said softly, smiling.

“I’m so happy I’m here too,” she said back. Her smile was warm.

“If you get bored, just tell me and I’ll stop the stream. We can go do something else.”

“I won’t get bored,” she promised. “I’m going to have fun watching.”

I let out a breath. I needed to keep her forever. I’d never let a woman this close, and I'd never shown them this part of my life because I’d been afraid they wouldn’t understand or would find it weird. Streaming had always been my safe space, the one thing that was completely mine. But just like Sumner had let me into hers, I was letting her into mine.

And it felt right.

“Okay,” I murmured. I let myself take her in again. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail with strands falling out around her face. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the heat of her tea, and her body looked completely relaxed in my chair.