Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 111775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
“Have you eaten anything yet?” I asked, inhaling sharply.
He shook his head in response, his gaze heating as it trailed down my bare legs.
“In that case, I’ll cook us breakfast while you fix my radiator. It’s a fair exchange.” It would also give me something to do to distract me from the way he was looking at me. Now that we’d slept together, there was a new knowledge between us. We knew the way each other’s bodies reacted to touch and pleasure. It was a heady feeling.
Shay’s smile was tender as he brought his attention back to the task at hand. I went to check the fridge, relieved to find I had food in. There were eggs, bacon and sausages. I’d cook Shay up a breakfast of champions in payment for his amateur plumbing skills. My tap hadn’t dripped at all since he’d fiddled around with it. Whatever he’d done had certainly worked, so I had high hopes for the radiator.
I busied myself with the food and was delighted when, less than a half an hour later, Shay presented me with a working radiator. The flat was going to be so much warmer now. I kissed him, and we almost fell back into bed. Then I remembered the food would go cold if I let that happen, so I drew away and went about putting together two plates.
Shay sat across from me at my small table, his knees knocking against mine as we quietly ate. His eyes kept finding mine, a promise in them. I had a feeling we weren’t going to be leaving my flat any time soon. But then Shay’s phone vibrated, and he pulled it out to check. Glancing at the screen, I saw someone had left him a voice message.
Frowning, he hit play, and it only took me a second to recognize Nigel’s voice. He sounded completely wasted.
“Shay, I need you, man. I fucked up badly. Christ. I’m such a piece of shit …” he trailed off, and then the message ended.
“He sounds like he’s in a bad way,” I said, concerned, even though Nigel wasn’t exactly my favourite person.
Shay’s lips pressed together. He was clearly worried after hearing the message. “I should go check on him,” he typed, and I nodded.
“Of course. Go, make sure he’s okay.”
Shay’s expression was regretful. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He went to grab his coat, and I walked with him to the door. Before he opened it, he turned back, capturing my lips in a heated kiss. Drawing away, he shot me a look that said I tempted him just by standing there.
I love you, he signed, and I recognised it now. After last night, it was burned into my memory forever. Feeling like my chest might explode with the way I felt for him, I mimicked the signs he’d just made.
I love you.
Shay released a gruff breath, drew me close for one final kiss, then left before we ended up right back in bed. My concern for Nigel lingered as I wondered what had happened to make him leave such a desperate message for Shay. Though, from what I’d experienced of him, I suspected Nigel might have a bit of a problem with alcohol, one he’d managed to keep mostly hidden from Shay up until then.
The question was, what had suddenly pushed him over the edge?
20.
Shay
Nigel’s flat was only a short walk from Maggie’s. I pressed the buzzer by the front door several times, but he didn’t answer. I tried texting and even calling his phone, but he didn’t pick up. I finally managed to get into the building when one of his neighbours recognised me and let me in.
I took the stairs two at a time to his floor, my gut dropping when I saw his door was ajar. My biggest worries flooded in as I stepped inside and found him face down on the couch, unconscious. Hurrying to his side, I checked his pulse.
Thank God, he was breathing.
There were several empty vodka bottles strewn about. He’d been on a bender. Well, a bender that involved drinking himself into a stupor alone in his flat. I’d never known my friend to drink so heavily. Something bad had obviously happened to him, but I’d been so wrapped up in Maggie I hadn’t noticed.
Fuck, I was a shit friend.
I spent a few minutes tidying up before giving his shoulder a nudge. Nigel groaned and rolled over onto his back. He looked wrecked, his eyes unfocused and bloodshot.
“Shay?” he asked, slurring my name.
It’s me, I signed as his bleary eyes took me in. You left the door open. Some sort of pain slashed across Nigel’s face as he tore his gaze away.
“I’m so sorry, Shay,” he whined. “I’m a piece of shit.”
It’s okay. You’re not a piece of shit. Whatever happened, we can sort it out.