“I hope so.”
I glanced at him.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I smiled. “Yeah.”
His shoulders visibly relaxed. “I kind of lose my mind around you. Last night didn’t exactly happen the way I’d envisioned.”
“It didn’t?” I pressed my lips together to hide the forming smile.
“You know what I mean. I should have had more control, slowed it down. I’m sorry—”
“Do not apologize about last night.” I spun to face him and sat on my knees. “We need to clear something up. I’m not a china doll, you won’t break me. Last night was amazing, don’t ruin it by overanalyzing it. Got that?”
With a smirk, he shook his head. “Thanks for making me feel like a chick.”
“Well, quit acting like one.” I gave him a gentle shove.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. “This whole not-fucking-up thing is a lot harder than it looks. Cut me some slack.”
“You’re doing good, so quit worrying.” I rocked forward and planted a quick kiss on his lips then stood. “Could you take me back to my dorm so I can change before I visit my grandma again?” I glanced back at Ryder as I pulled my hair into a ponytail.
His gaze focused where the T-shirt brushed my thighs. “You look good in my shirt,” he said. “I think you should always sleep in it.”
I tugged at the lightweight cotton. “Won’t you miss it?”
“Nah, I plan to see it often.”
I brought my coffee cup to my lips to hide the ridiculous grin spreading across them.
—
Ryder dropped me off at my dorm and told me he’d return in an hour to drive me back to the hospital.
As soon as he pulled away, I called Mason, needing to tell him about Grandma, but needing to do it over the phone. He’d always been able to read my expression too easily and I could only imagine what kind of information he’d gather from it today.
“Hey,” he answered. I heard someone in the background and Mason whispered that he’d be right back. “What’s up?”
“Are you busy?” I asked, hoping my phone wouldn’t drop the call as I rode the elevator up to my floor.
“Just having lunch with my mom. She was in the area shopping. I should have let the call go to voicemail,” he grumbled.
“Oh, well, I won’t keep you, but I wanted to tell you my grandma is in the hospital.”
Mason made a weird gasping, choking sound. “Wait, what? What happened? Is she okay? Are you okay? Are you at the hospital? Which one is—”
“Mason.” I cut off his rambling. I unlocked my door and found Fallon propped in bed with her laptop. “It’s okay. She had a mild heart attack but she’ll be fine. I was really upset and distraught, which is why I didn’t call you sooner, but I’m better now.” I ignored the hospital question, hoping he’d just assume I was there. “The doctors are moving her out of ICU today and she will be released in another day or so.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I am now. It was scary. But the doctor said she will recover.”
“Crap, Brinley. I’m sorry about all this. I wish you would’ve called me sooner. I’d have gone with you. How did you get to the hospital?”
I glanced at Fallon and considered lying just to avoid the conversation but couldn’t do it. “Ryder gave me a ride.”
“Oh.” There was a long pause.
The silence made me feel the need to offer an explanation. “We’d just finished lunch when I got the call. I wanted to get to her as quickly as possible. He has a car and was available to drive me.”
“Yeah. Is, um, he—”
“Hey, I have to go. Someone needs to talk to me. But I promise to call you if anything changes.”
“Yeah, keep me posted.”
“Tell your mom I’m sorry to interrupt lunch. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
We hung up and I plopped onto my bed. I didn’t like lying to Mason, but I wasn’t ready for that conversation.
Fallon closed her laptop and looked at me. “Everything all right?”
I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed. “My grandma had a heart attack.”
“But she’s okay? Sorry, didn’t mean to eavesdrop but, you know.” She gestured around at the shoebox we called a room.
I smiled. “Yeah, she’s recovering.”
“Do you need a ride to the hospital? I don’t mind. If you ever need a lift anywhere, just ask.”
“Thanks, but Ryder is taking me back.”
“That’s nice of him.” She grinned. “You sure are spending a lot of time with him.”