Kiss Me

PART I, chapter 10

- X -

October 28, 2004

___________________

Trisha threw her backpack on her shoulder and looked at me approvingly.

"You look awesome," she said. "I totally love your pants!"

"Thanks," I said with a smile.

"And you are so skinny, it's crazy!" she said. "I am jealous... How much do you weight?"

"A hundred and five," I said smugly, and she just gasped.

"How?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"Diet and exercise, my friend," I said lightly, knowing that I would rather die than tell her about my dirty little secret.

"Nice!" Trisha breathed. "Hey, have you seen Ashlee lately? She looks like hell..."

"Yeah," I agreed. "She really does. I wonder if she is sick or something..."

"Bulimia is probably catching up with her finally," Trisha muttered, and I tried not to wince. "Hey, Steph, how did you do on the math test?"

"Don't know," I shrugged. "I guess it was okay."

"I am nervous," she admitted. "I don't think I did so great..."

"You'll be fine," I said, thinking that I probably didn't do so great myself, since the last time I actually studied for real was the night when Danny called me almost three weeks ago. Ever since then, I spent every evening with him, and by the time I got home, the homework was the last thing on my mind.

"Hey, are you going to the Halloween party on Saturday night?" Trisha remembered suddenly, and I frowned.

"Is it at Danny's house?" I asked, thinking that he never mentioned that to me.

"No," she shook her head. "Danny never does Halloween party 'cause his parents are always home... It'll be at Laurie's place this year."

"Laurie Drey?" I asked, and suddenly, I couldn't breathe.

"Yeah..." she smiled. "Oh, you are so there already, I can see..."

I laughed.

"You bet I am coming," I said.

"Are you taking Danny?" Trisha asked, and I winced.

"I don't think so," I said slowly, and she just shook her head.

"Why not?"

"We are not an item, Trish," I said patiently.

"Right," she snorted. "You are only with him, like, every night..."

I shrugged.

"It's s*x and s*x only," I said.

"Whatever," Trisha sighed. "Aren't you going to the gym class?" she frowned when I walked pass girls' locker room.

"Nope," I said lightly. "Bergman can go screw herself, I don't care."

"Stephanie, I don't believe you..." Trisha said slowly. "You are so totally different since August, it's insane..."

"Yeah, well," I shrugged. "Have fun in gym class!"

...I went into the bathroom and was about to call Danny, when suddenly, I heard somebody crying in one of the cabins.

"Who's there?" I called carefully and put my phone away.

"Go away," a muffled voice said finally. "Leave me alone..."

"Ashlee...?" I frowned.

Ashlee was totally different since the infamous Labor Day party. She looked very distraught, and it seemed that she didn't even notice me anymore; and Trisha was right – the last couple of weeks, Ashlee looked really sick. I carefully opened the door of the cabin and gasped.

"Go away," Ashlee sobbed.

"Oh my God..." I muttered, staring at her.

She was sitting on the toilet, her pink slacks and white socks completely soaked with blood.

"Jesus, Ashlee... What happened?! You need to get to the hospital!"

"I can't..." she sobbed. "I can't come out looking like this..."

"What happened?" I asked her softly, and she finally looked at me.

I was shaken to see so much pain in her eyes that they were almost black and not blue.

"I miscarried..." she whispered, and I silently kneeled next to her, not caring that my shoes stepped into a puddle of blood.

"I am so sorry..." I muttered and took her hand. She grasped my fingers and started sobbing again.

"You need to get to the hospital," I said, and she just shook her head. "Hold on," I said quickly and pulled out my phone.

"Don't!" she shrieked. "Don't call 911, please!!"

"I am not going to," I muttered. "I am calling the only person who can help... Danny! I need you here right now... No, not for that. I..." I glanced at Ashlee. "I really need your help... Come here as soon as you can, please! I'll meet you by the girls' bathroom on the first floor... Okay..." I closed my phone and carefully stroked Ashlee's hair. "I'll be right back, okay?" I said softly, and she just nodded.

I went out into the hallway, and Danny showed up five minutes later.

"What?" he said with a frown.

I quickly told him about Ashlee, and he let out a low whistle.

"Son of a bitch..." he muttered. "Here," he pulled off his jacket and gave it to me. "Put it on her and get her outside through the back door. I'll go get my car."

"Danny..." I called and he turned around. "Thanks," I said and he gave me his half-smile.

I quickly walked up to him, not caring if anyone could see, and kissed him on the mouth as hard as I could. He pulled away and looked at me with reproach.

"Not now, Palmer," he grumbled, but I could see that he liked it.

I went back into the bathroom.

"Can you get up?" I asked gently, and Ashlee looked up at me, her face puffy from tears.

"I think so..." she whispered. "It hurts so bad, Stephanie..."

"Come on," I helped her to get up and wrapped Danny's jacket around her waist. It was big enough to almost completely cover her legs. "Come on," I said again and led her to the door.

We slowly walked outside, and I was relieved when there was nobody in sight. Danny jumped out of his car and helped me to get Ashlee into the back seat. I sat next to her and put her head in my lap.

"You'll be all right, Ashlee," I said gently, slowly stroking her hair when Danny took off so fast that his tires squealed with horror.

She just lay there, her eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"It's Tyler's, isn't it?" Danny asked suddenly, and she just nodded silently.

"Son of a bitch..." Danny muttered, and ran a red light without bothering to slow down.

He flew into the parking lot of the Emergency Room, and somebody angrily honked at him. He slammed on the brakes right in front of the sliding glass doors of the entrance, threw the gear into 'Park,' and swung the door of the car wide open.

"Hey!" a security guard shouted at him. "What the hell do you think you doing? Move your car...!" He stopped talking when Danny and I pulled Ashlee out of the car. "Mother of God..." The security guard muttered and ran towards us.

He picked her up in his beefy arms and looked at Danny with much softer expression this time.

"I got her," he said. "Go park your car, son..."

Danny nodded and got into his car. I walked next to the security guard, Ashlee's fingers locked on my hand.

"Is she your friend?" the security guard asked me a minute later.

"Yeah," I said softly.

"What happened?"

"She miscarried..."

He glanced at me.

"Is it that guy's..." he nodded towards Danny who was walking through the rotating glass door, and I immediately shook my head.

"No," I said. "Not his. He is..." I paused for a second. "He is with me," I finished, and the security guard nodded.

The nurse at the desk raised her head and immediately jumped up when she saw Ashlee in the guard's arms.

"Jesus, Gary!" she cried. "What happened?"

"She miscarried," I said and her eyes darted towards me.

"When?" she asked shortly, grabbing Ashlee's wrist and feeling her pulse.

I shook my head.

"I don't know... I found her in the bathroom fifteen minutes ago..."

The nurse nodded, her face grim.

"Get her inside," she commanded. "We'll do the paperwork later..."

The security guard carried Ashlee through the big automated doors, and I just clasped my hands together.

"Can you call someone for her?" the nurse looked at me, and I helplessly shook my head.

"Yeah," Danny said behind me, and I turned around. "I'll call her sister."

"Okay," the nurse nodded. "Tell her to come down here as soon as possible," and she quickly walked away.

"Sister...?" I asked quietly, and Danny looked at me.

"Yeah," he said and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "She is seven or maybe ten years older, I don't remember," he shrugged and flipped the phone open.

"What about her parents?" I frowned, and he looked at me again, tearing his gaze away from the small silver screen.

"They died a while ago," he said without looking away. "Car crash..."

"Oh..." was all I said at that, and he nodded and switched his attention to the phone again.

He dialed a number.

"Hey, Beverly?" he said after a few seconds. "It's Danny... No, no," he shook his head impatiently. "You need to come to the emergency room right now... Jesus, Beverly! No, it's not me! I wouldn't call you even if I were on a freaking deathbed... It's your sister... Just get down here," he winced. "Beverly, stop shrieking!" he barked. "No, she is alive... No, not a wreck... Look, just get your ass down here, okay? Yeah, I'll be by the front door," and he snapped his phone shut.

He took a deep breath and looked at me.

"Let's go outside," he said, and I nodded.

We went outside, and Danny lit a cigarette, completely ignoring 'No Smoking' sign. I pulled one out of his pack, and he silently clicked his lighter on for me. I looked around and saw the same security guard ("Gary") who was walking towards us. I slightly winced, thinking that he was going to yell at us for smoking, but he came closer and softly asked:

"You have another one of those?"

Danny nodded and handed him the pack. Gary pulled out a cigarette and took Danny's lighter.

"Thanks," he said after a few seconds, and Danny nodded again. "That girl was in a pretty bad shape," he said after a while.

"Yeah," Danny muttered.

We smoked silently for a few minutes, and finally, the security guard sighed, threw his cigarette on the ground, and stepped on it with the heel of his boot.

"Don't smoke here, kids," he said apologetically. "I don't care, but someone else might complain..." He shrugged.

"Right," Danny said and flicked his almost finished cigarette away.

I did the same, and we slowly went back inside. We were sitting in the waiting room, Danny's fingers wrapped around mine, when a tall, blonde young woman ran in. She looked around with wild eyes, and when she saw Danny, she immediately ran towards us.

"Danny!!" she shrieked. "Oh my God! What happened? Where is Ashlee?"

Danny let go of my hand and got up.

"Calm down, Beverly," he said evenly and pushed her in the chair. "Ashlee will be fine, okay? She is with the doctor right now..."

"What happened?!" Her eyes never left Danny's face.

Danny winced and looked at me.

"She miscarried," I said quietly, and Beverly looked at me like I had a third eye in the middle of my face.

"That's ridiculous!" She snorted. "How could she miscarry if she was never pregnant?"

"Oh, for crying out loud, Beverly!" Danny said with annoyance. "Your sister was covered in blood from the waist down..." She blinked rapidly at those words, and Danny didn't even seem to notice. "She told us herself that she miscarried, okay? So will you please shut up and fill out the paperwork? We gotta go..."

"No!" She almost screamed. "Danny, you can't leave!"

"Like hell I can't," he muttered. "Look, we got her here, I called you, now it's your problem, okay?"

"Danny, don't go!!" she grabbed his hand. "Please!"

"Let go," he shook off her hand. "We gotta go, see you!"

"Danny!!"

"Excuse me, are you relatives of Ashlee Kelly?" Somebody asked suddenly, and I whirled around.

A middle-aged doctor with tired eyes looked at me with a silent question, and I shook my head.

"No... I mean, this is her sister..." I glanced at the blonde. "We just got her here..."

"Is she all right? What's wrong with her? Is she going to be all right?!" Beverly jumped up and almost threw herself at the doctor who took a step back.

Danny rolled his eyes and pushed her back into the chair.

"Beverly," he said quietly. "Shut up!"

"She'll be fine," the doctor took off his glasses and carefully wiped the lenses with the sleeve of his robe. "It's good that you got her here so quickly..." He briefly glanced at me. "She lost a lot of blood."

"Oh my God..." Beverly whispered and started to cry.

"Well, since you don't need us anymore, we gonna go," Danny said, and the doctor nodded without saying anything else.

"Come on," Danny pulled me towards the door, and I numbly followed him.

"You were pretty harsh to her," I said after we got into his car, and he shrugged.

"Beverly doesn't react to any other treatment," he said and pulled out of the parking lot. "She is even worse than Ashlee..."

I looked out of the window. It started to rain.

"Where are we going?" I asked, and Danny shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "I am just driving right now. Did you wanna go somewhere?"

I thought about my next class.

"No," I said and he nodded.

...He stopped in front of somebody's small house and turned off the car.

"Whose house is this?" I frowned.

"A buddy's of mine," he said. "Come on..."

I followed him and he rang the doorbell. When nobody answered, he smiled with satisfaction and reached for the small ledge above the door. He ran his fingers along it, and finally, pulled down a key.

"Come on," he said softly and unlocked the door.

"Isn't it, like, breaking and entering?" I frowned, and he laughed.

"No, David knows that I come here once in a while. He doesn't care."

We walked inside, and Danny closed the door. I kicked off my shoes and walked into the living room. It had a couch, a big screen TV, and nothing else.

"You hungry?" Danny called from the kitchen, and I realized that I was.

"Kinda," I said.

"Okay... Hotdogs are fine?"

"Sure," I shrugged and walked into the kitchen.

Danny put several hotdogs on a plate, and shoved them into the microwave. It beeped shrilly after thirty seconds, and he opened the microwave and pulled out the plate. I ate two hotdogs and decided that two were more than enough. He finished the rest and put the plate into the dishwasher.

"What do you wanna do?" I asked, and he silently pulled me closer to him.

I kissed him, and suddenly, remembered something.

"Hey," I said, pulling away from him.

"What...?" he muttered.

"Are you going to Halloween party on Saturday night?"

"I guess," he shrugged. "Are you?"

"Are you kidding?" I laughed softly. "Of course! Tyler will be there."

He stared at me silently for several seconds, and then laughed and shook his head.

"Are you still creaming your panties every time you see him?" he asked with laughter, his eyes suddenly tense.

"Danny..." I sighed. "It's nothing like that..."

"Right," he nodded and let me go. "It's a wonderful and pure feeling you experience, right?"

"Something like that," I shrugged. "What is it to you?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Are you mad or something?" I frowned, and he looked at me with his usual half-smile, his eyes serene.

"I am not mad, Palmer," he laughed. "I just don't get it... We just took that poor dumb blonde to the hospital because she miscarried Tyler's kid..."

"Oh, shut up!" I exclaimed. "It wasn't his fault! Ashlee all but raped him!"

"Right," he nodded energetically. "It's her fault."

"What's wrong with you?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Nothing," he sighed. "Do you want me to drive you to the party or will you go with Trisha?"

"If you are going, I guess I'll just go with you," I said uncertainly, and he nodded.

"Okay."

He walked up to the window and swung it open. He pulled a cigarette out of the pack and smoked silently for several minutes.

"There is something else..." I said softly.

"What?" he asked without looking at me.

"I need a favor from you..."

He turned around.

"If you want to get him into bed, get him drunk," he said shortly. "Shouldn't be that hard..."

I winced.

"That's not it," I muttered.

"What is it then?" he asked tiredly.

"I was wondering if you could get Laurie away from him for a couple of hours..."

He laughed and threw away his cigarette.

"Sure," he said lightly. "No problem."

I looked at him intently.

"Have you slept with her?" I asked suddenly, and his expression didn't change.

"With Laurie? No," he shook his head. "Never have."

Suddenly, I was curious.

"Who did you sleep with?" I asked, and he looked at me, his gray eyes suddenly dark.

"What is it to you?" he asked.

"Curious," I shrugged, and he grinned.

"I don't kiss and tell, Palmer. You should know."

"Have you slept with Ashlee?"

He shuddered.

"Dear God, no! I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole!"

"Then who?"

"Nobody," he smiled. "I'm not gonna tell you, so just drop it, okay?"

"Fine," I grumbled.

He went into the living room and I followed him, expecting to pick up where we left off before I mentioned the party, but to my great surprise, he just dropped on the couch and turned on the TV.

"You just gonna watch TV?" I asked him incredulously, and he nodded without looking away from the TV screen.

"Yeah, I am tired."

"You didn't seem tired five minutes ago," I muttered, and he just shrugged without saying anything else.

I stood there for several minutes and he didn't even look at me. Finally, I turned around and went back to the kitchen, tears burning my eyes. I heard him sigh deeply and turn off the TV.

"Jesus..." he muttered walking into the kitchen. "Palmer..."

I stared out of the window and didn't even look at him. He sighed again, and this time, it almost sounded like defeat.

"Come here," he said softly, and I stubbornly shook my head.

"Oh, for God's sake..." he muttered and quickly crossed the kitchen. "I said, come here..."

"Go away," I said angrily, and he just picked me up in his arms and carried me into the living room.

"Let go," I tried to push him away, but he just laughed and dropped me on the couch.

He got on top of me and propped himself up on his arms.

"Palmer," he said softly. "You are one extremely weird person... Why can't you just..."

"Just what?" I grumbled when he suddenly fell silent.

"Nothing," he sighed and lowered himself on the couch. "Nothing," he repeated and started kissing my neck.

At first, I was trying to resist him, but finally, I realized that I didn't really want to and kissed him back. He was strangely aggressive this time, and a couple of times I almost cried out in pain, but then he suddenly changed into his usual gentle self, and after a while, I couldn't even remember why I was mad at him to begin with. After he collapsed on top of me, I was completely out of breath. I silently held him in my arms, my entire body almost singing under his weight, when he looked at me and grinned.

"You are the greatest f**k-buddy I've ever had," he muttered and I smiled weakly at that.

"Ditto," I whispered, and his eyes flashed strangely at my answer. "What?" I asked and he started kissing me again, and then I stopped thinking altogether.

..."So, what are you going to wear to the party?" he asked an hour or so later, and I just ran my fingers along the lean line of his stomach.

"I don't know," I said. "I didn't think about that..."

"If you wanna get Tyler into bed, you might wanna wear something like a cat suit," he said quietly. "He always had a thing for leather."

"How do you know?" I laughed.

"Guys talk too," he said solemnly.

"What is your thing?" I asked him slyly, and he just looked at me seriously.

"You," he said simply, and before I could respond, he swiftly got up and pulled his jeans on. "Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here. David's gonna come home soon..."

...He dropped me off at my house at nine o'clock and briefly touched my mouth with his lips.

"See you around," he muttered.

"You leaving?" I winced and he nodded.

"Yeah. I need to get on my senior project."

"I thought you were not going to turn it in until Christmas break," I said, feeling disappointed, and he shrugged indifferently.

"Yeah, but I need to finish it before that."

"Okay," I muttered and unbuckled my seat belt. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then..."

"No," he shook his head, and I just stared at him. "I am not coming to school tomorrow," he said calmly.

"Why...?" I stuttered.

"Don't feel like it," he said lightly. "What time do you want me to pick you up on Saturday?"

"I don't know," I said slowly, not understanding why I felt hurt.

"I'll call you then," he nodded. "Go get your cat suit tomorrow," he grinned at me, and I just looked at him. "I gotta go, Palmer," he added in a few seconds, and I silently got out of his car.

He drove off without even glancing at me, and I couldn't figure out why all of a sudden, I felt like crying. I slowly went inside my house and took off my shoes.

"Stephanie," I heard my mother's voice and I quickly put on one of my best smiles.

"Hey, Mom!" I said brightly and she smiled at me.

"Steph, I need you to cover for me tonight," she said quickly, and I stared at her.

"Oh," I finally understood what she wanted. "Sure, no problem... Is Dad even home?" I frowned. "I didn't see his car..."

"No, he's not," she said quickly. "I don't know when he is coming back, but I need to leave and I don't think I'll come back before morning..."

"Sure," I nodded numbly. "I'll make something up."

"It has to be believable," she frowned, and I thought for a second.

"How about I'll tell him that you had to go to Mrs. Calandy?" I said finally. "I can say that she had another nervous breakdown. He will never bother checking it out, 'cause he can't stand Mrs. Calandy, and she does have at least one nervous breakdown every month..."

"You are a genius!" my mother brightened. "Oh, I love you so much!"

"Have fun, Mom," I smiled weakly, and she smiled at me again and ran through the front door.

"Great," I muttered. "Stephanie Palmer, the great liar..."

I slowly walked upstairs when the phone rang. I grabbed it almost immediately and my first thought was, "Danny!"

"Hello?" I breathed into the receiver, and almost cried when I heard my Dad's voice.

"Steph? I am so glad you answered... Hey, can you tell your mother that I am not coming home tonight? I... Errr... Tell her that I have a meeting..."

"It's okay, Dad," I said tiredly. "She just left. Mrs. Calandy had a nervous breakdown, so Mom probably won't be home until tomorrow morning..."

I almost laughed hysterically when he sighed into the phone with enormous relief.

"Oh, thank God for that crazy woman... Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then, okay?"

"Have fun, Dad..." I said and hung up the phone.

I opened the window and lit a cigarette. I almost finished it when tears finally rolled down my face. I shook my head in confusion. I couldn't understand why I was so upset. I closed the window and quietly walked out of my bedroom. I paused by Eric's door and heard him laughing and shouting something. I nodded, knowing that he probably wouldn't come out of his bedroom at all tonight, and that was just fine with me. I went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. I stared at food for several minutes, but I wasn't hungry at all. Finally, I closed the fridge and marched straight to my Dad's liquor cabinet. I pulled out a bottle of Irish Crème, knowing that Dad would never even notice that it was gone, and grabbed a clean glass. I went upstairs, locked my bedroom door, and poured myself a glassful of sweetly-smelling liquor.

...Around midnight, everything in my bedroom was floating lazily around me, and I hiccupped and put the bottle away, knowing that if I drank anymore, I'd puke. I sat on my bed, thinking about today, and finally, I pulled my cell phone out of my backpack. I punched in Danny's number and waited.

"Hello?" he finally answered.

"Danny!" I smiled widely.

"Palmer, is that you?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah... Hey, Danny, I was just thinking about you... And you know what?"

"What?" he asked, his voice careful.

"I don't even care if you are not coming to school tomorrow!" I announced and made a wide, circling gesture with my hand, even though I realized he couldn't see me.

"Okay..." he said carefully. "Palmer, are you all right?"

"I am gr-rreat!" I barked into the phone and made another wide gesture. This time, it was a little too wide and I almost fell off the bed. "Oomph!!"

"What happened?" he sounded concerned and it made me laugh.

"Nothing happened, Danny," I said. "I am so good that it's unreal..." I hiccupped. "I am perfect!"

"Jesus, Palmer... Are you drunk?!" he asked me incredulously, and I shook my head.

"No," I said with dignity. "I am not drunk!" and I hiccupped again.

"Oh my God..." he laughed softly. "Where are you?"

"Where do you think I am?" I demanded, and this time, I fell off the bed. "Dammit...!"

"You just fell off the bed, didn't you?" He sounded like he was thoroughly entertained.

"You know what, Danny?" I said angrily.

"What?" he laughed.

"Go to hell!" I said, and then I hiccupped again. "That's right, mister... H-E-L-L... Because I don't care if you are not coming to school tomorrow!" and I slammed my phone shut, feeling good about myself.

...I was trying to pull myself back on the bed when someone knocked on my bedroom door.

"Go away, Eric," I growled.

"Open the door, you freak..." I heard Danny's soft laughter.

I made a surprised sound at that and finally managed to pull myself up. I limped to the door, unlocked it, swung it open, and immediately lost my balance and fell into Danny's arms.

"God..."He was laughing so hard, there were tears in his eyes.

He picked me up and kicked the door closed.

"How did you get in?" I mumbled.

"You never locked the front door," he said and lowered me on the bed. "Why the hell did you get drunk?"

"Because I don't care..." I shouted and he immediately shushed me.

"Your brother is sleeping," he said. "Do you really want him to wake up?"

"Because I don't care," I repeated in a whisper. "I don't care if you are not..." I hiccupped. "...not coming tomorrow..."

"I'll come, okay?" he laughed again, and I stubbornly shook my head.

"I don't care..." I started saying and interrupted me.

"I got it, I got it... You don't care. What did you drink?" he wrinkled his nose and noticed a half-empty bottle of Irish Crème. "Are you kidding me? That stuff got you so wasted?! Oh my God, Palmer... I don't get you."

He got up and opened the window, letting the cold air in.

"First, you telling me that all you want is Tyler Blake; then, after I agree to help you to get him into bed, you act all weird... Then you admit that we are just f**k-buddies; and then you get totally wasted after I tell you I am not coming to school tomorrow..." he looked at me, his gray eyes twinkling. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I shook my head, the cold air slowly sobering me up.

"Nothing is wrong with me," I said. "It's your fault..."

"Right," he laughed again. "Where are your parents?" he asked.

I started laughing.

"Ohhh," I breathed. "It's a great story, Danny! My mother wants me to cover for her so she can spend the night with Tony... And five minutes after she is gone, my Dad calls me and asks me to tell her that he'll be stuck at work until tomorrow morning..." I laughed so hard that I almost fell off the bed again.

"Easy," he muttered, catching me just in time.

"Let's go out!" I said with enthusiasm and he sighed.

"How about you'll just go to sleep?"

"Who needs sleep..." I snorted. "It's so overrated... Plus, you gonna go home and I'll just be here all night... No," I shook my head. "No sleep."

"Will you go to sleep if I stay with you?" he asked gently.

"Will you though?" I squinted my eyes at him. "How do I know that you won't just leave after I pass out?"

"I won't," he said softly. "I'll stay here, okay? Plus, I'd rather spend the night here than at my house anyway," he shrugged and I giggled.

"Okay then, I'll sleep..."

"Good," Danny nodded and carefully lowered me on the pillows.

He pulled off his sweater and lay next to me.

"You are not going to puke, are you?" he asked when I put my head on his chest.

"No," I muttered. "I am not going to puke..."

"Okay," he said with laughter and hugged my shoulders. "Night, Palmer."

"Night, Danny," I muttered, half-asleep already. "I love you..."

"Right," he muttered. "I love you too," he added later, and I wasn't sure if he actually said that or if I was dreaming.