Page 195 of Tell Me I'm Enough

I hesitate.

“I just need to hold you,” he adds. “This is the quietest my head’s felt in days.”

I settle back against him, my back to his chest. His arms wrap around me, both careful and desperate in the same touch.

I melt into him even though I know where this path leads.

I know how, eventually, his jagged edges will start cutting me, too.

And I’m okay with that. I tell myself I’m okay with bleeding for him. I’ll be prepared when it happens. I’ll be ready with a suture kit to sew up his heart and mine. Even if I have to sew what broken pieces are left of both of them together just to make one whole heart.

It feels like an hour goes by that we stay like that, not moving, not talking.

I have to force myself to sit up, to get him to keep going. If not for himself, then selfishly…for me.

“When’s the last time you showered?”

He looks up at me like he’s thinking about it. “How long have I been in this room?”

“Three days.”

“Then…three days.”

I reach my hand out for him to take. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

He groans but follows me.

I stop and grab him some clothes from his drawers before leading him to the bathroom.

I stop at the door, handing him the clothes and a towel.

“Will you stay?” he asks, looking back at me.

“I’m not going anywhere, Mase.”

“I mean…in here. Can you just sit and stay with me?”

I nod.

The bathroom fills with steam as Mason starts to undress. He tugs off his sweats and stands in a pair of black boxers that cling to his toned thighs, drawing my attention to them. When he goes to lift his shirt from the bottom, he stops halfway because he can’t lift it over his head with his bad shoulder.

I quickly hop down and move closer, grabbing for the hem of his shirt and lifting it the rest of the way over his head.

He turns and stares, just inches away from my face. “Thank you.”

I swallow. “Of course.”

He takes my chin in his hand and kisses me softly before pulling back, hovering over my lips. “For more than just the shirt.”

It’s so hard not to read more into this moment. I know he just needs someone right now, but the lines feel so blurred. I know Mason cares about me, but I don’t know if it’s all in my head that there could be more here, even when more is scarier than the what-if.

I know he doesn’t like to dwell on the heavier things, so I try to keep it light, distract him from his head a little. “At least you remembered to brush your teeth,” I tease.

He narrows his eyes at me and grins. “You still would have kissed me, even with stinky breath.”

“Let’s not test that,” I tell him, glad to see a small smile on his face.

He pauses and gives me this appreciative look. “I’ve never had a friend like you before, Simone.”