can i stay the night ?
" UH ... " funny. that wasn't normally a question that caused him to stumble over his words, but with her ... WITH BOBBY ( directly or any variation of the word ) it did. she wasn't bobby ── the useless reminder circled his thoughts like a pesky fly, landing just long enough to be seen but not squashed. what he killed instead were the various ways he had to respond & the guts of the rest of their conversation stuck to his palm like glue.
his hands quickly wiped the metaphor down the side of his leg before choosing to settle on the only answer he'd give anyone else who asked. " ... yeah. " hesitation clouded his voice, but he was determined to give her as little time to register with it as possible. navy blue blanket draped across the top of the couch wrapped around his waist as he shifted his seat, swinging his legs up to rest atop the arm. " you can take my bed, " thank god he washed his sheets this morning, " i'll be fine on the couch. " besides, it wasn't like it was the worst thing he'd slept on recently.









