I cross through the apartment and open the door, taking a deep breath of clean, uncontaminated air. After thanking the delivery guy, I take the bag of food back to the sick room.

“Here ya go.”

“Not for me.” He heaves. “Oh, just the smell makes me want to hurl again. It’s for you, so you’ll stay with me.”

“You didn’t need to bribe me.”

“Look, I know I’m your favorite person, but eventually your stomach would have convinced you to leave me.”

I chuckle and take the bag back out to the kitchen. “There is a lot of food in here.”

“You’re a hungry bitch.”

He’s in the same position, but Charli has moved up to his hip and Maverick strokes her with the hand closest.

“What do you need?”

“I just want to lie here until the room stops moving. Tell me a story.”

I take a seat on the floor near the door and lean my back up against the wall. I like the dude, but he smells, and I don’t want whatever he has. “A story?”

“Anything to distract me.” He peeks out from under his arm and then reaches over to his nightstand and tosses me his Shakespeare textbook. “Read to me. Do the funny voices.”

“I thought you were done with Shakespeare.”

“I am. We’re on Shelley now, but that book is all the way in my backpack.”

I hesitate.

“Come on. Pleeeease? I dig the rhyming shit; it’s beautiful.”

“All right, all right.” I open the book and start.

Maverick falls asleep about five minutes in, which is good because reading sappy words about love is the last thing I want to be doing. I go out to the living room and eat, feed Charli, and then take her out for a quick walk.

Back inside, I take my spot in his room sitting on the floor and I must pass out because the next thing I know, Charli is licking my face, and Maverick is standing in front of me with a grin.

“Feeling better?” I ask, nudging Charli away and wiping a hand across my slobbery cheek.

“I think so. I’m gonna try to eat.”

I follow him out to the kitchen, and he heats up some of the Chinese he ordered. We sit on stools at the counter. The smell of food has me heating up a plate too a few minutes later. Ginny texted while I was asleep to let me know the plans for tonight, meeting up at The Hideout with our friends. I’m real nervous about whatever she wants to talk to me about, but I do my best to push it out of my mind for now.

Mav finishes about half the food on his plate and then pats his stomach. “Thanks for hanging.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“You’re not as hot as Nanny Laura, but it did the trick.”

“Nanny Laura?”