* * *
—
WHEN TEDDY OPENED her eyes the next morning, it took her a moment to realize that she wasn’t in the closet at her apartment listening to the sounds of Kirsten and the Viking talking over breakfast or Eleanor singing in the shower. She was in Everett St. James’s bed, snuggled—snuggled!—against him like they were two bears in hibernation.
But she couldn’t hibernate forever. Luckily, she’d remembered to check her phone before she fell asleep the night before. Kirsten and Eleanor had sent her numerous frantic texts asking if she’d been abducted, but once she told them she was spending the night at Everett’s, they’d switched to sending various sexually suggestive emojis and gifs. But even if her best friends were no longer worried about her, she had places to be, and surely Everett had things to do that didn’t involve her. So she got up, pulling her clothes on as quietly as she could.
“Where are you going?” Everett muttered without opening his eyes. “It’s early.”
Teddy stopped, her hands frozen on the buttons of her shirt. “I was going to make you breakfast.”
“Come here,” Everett said, pulling on her arm. “Why did you put clothes on?”
She smiled and sat down on the bed. “Don’t you have things to do today?”
“All I wanna do is spend time with you,” Everett said, lifting the blankets and pulling Teddy under them. She let out a happy shriek, then situated herself under his arm.
He wrapped his fingers in hers and she stared at their hands, his so much larger than hers. These hands that did such amazing things and entertained so many people were now holding hers. She couldn’t believe it.
“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked, depositing the words directly into her ear. “I’m not letting you get up and cook for me. And also there’s nothing in the fridge, so your options are very limited. We don’t even have any more Bagel Bites.”
“Damn. They’re my favorite breakfast.” Teddy thought about it for a moment. “You know what I would really love right now?”
Everett groaned. “Please don’t say pancakes. Because I’ll do it, but I think my flour may have expired several years ago.”
“A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit from McDonald’s,” Teddy said.
She felt his lips form a smile against her skin, and she memorized that feeling. He kissed her shoulder softly. “Let’s hit the drive-thru, Theodora Phillips,” Everett said, and those became the most beautiful words she’d ever heard.
* * *
—
AS THEY ATE their sandwiches in the parking lot (because everyone knows that fast food is only good if eaten immediately), Teddy had an idea.
“I want to do something for Eleanor and Kirsten,” she said as she chewed. “They’ve been such good friends, and I’ve been extremely needy. And also before I texted them last night to let them know I was staying at your place, they were fully convinced I’d disappeared and were about to call the police. I feel bad about worrying them.”
“I don’t think you’re needy,” Everett said, taking a bite of his hash brown.
“Maybe not to you,” Teddy said. “But I showed up on their doorstep crying and homeless. I literally needed a place to live. I thought maybe I could plan them a special themed movie night, but . . . do you think we could do it at your place?”
Everett stopped chewing and smiled at her. “Are you asking me to . . . meet your friends?”
Teddy inspected her coffee. “I suppose I am.”
“Wow,” Everett said, looking out at the parking lot. “Big step. I guess you must really like me, huh?”
“Please stop,” Teddy muttered, trying not to smile.
“I mean, I assume you don’t let just anyone meet your friends, so you must think I’m pretty great.”
“I rescind my question.”
“You’re obsessed with me.”
They smiled at each other.
“Yes,” Everett said. “Movie night at my place. I can’t wait to meet . . . What are their names, again? Karen and Donna?”
Teddy sighed.
“Kirsten and Eleanor. I’m kidding,” Everett said. “It’s really nice that you want to do something for them.”
“Well, they’re really nice. They’re kind of the best. The least I can do is plan a themed movie night and dinner for them.”
“Wait,” Everett said with his mouth full. “This is a dinner and it has a theme? What’s the movie?”
Teddy smiled. “Have you ever heard of a film called Blood Sacrifice?”
49
“I need someone tall to hang this skeleton up.”
Everett looked at Teddy as he taped paper bats to the living room wall. “Well, today’s your lucky day, because I’m tall and I live to hang leftover Halloween decorations in my apartment.”
Teddy handed him the skeleton and gave him a kiss. “I hope they like it.”
“Of course they’re going to like it. It looks like we’re throwing an extremely late Halloween party in here.” He stood back and admired the skeleton that now hung on the coat closet door. “He looks like a Stanley, right?”
Teddy pulled a giant tangled spiderweb out of a box. “I know they’ll like it no matter what. They’re not exactly complainers. But I’m worried the decorations aren’t realistic enough. I thought about trying to re-create bloody entrails, but that seemed too difficult.”
Everett laughed, but then Teddy shot him a horrified look and he realized she was serious. She was literally wringing her hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Everett said. “You planned a perfectly spooky movie night and your friends are going to love it. Did I tell you that lasagna is my favorite food?”
“You’ve said, like, fifteen different things are your favorite food since we met,” Teddy said, rubbing a hand across her forehead. “I’m starting to think that your favorite food is ‘food.’”
“Yes,” Everett said. “But lasagna is especially good. Oh! I forgot to tell you.”
He opened the oven, where he’d shoved a loaf of bread in beside the lasagna. “I made garlic bread! I mean, I bought garlic bread, and then I opened the bag and put it in the oven, and that’s basically making it, right? I thought it fit the vampire theme.”
Teddy looked at him blankly.
“You know,” Everett continued. “Because of the garlic?”