17. Savannah

Chapter 17

Savannah

Within a few minutes of Nixon going to bed, Dad goes to help Mom in the kitchen. I yawn for the third time in a row. I'm exhausted after this week. I've stayed up late studying for exams and trying to pack every night.

"Why don't you go to bed, babe? You're obviously tired." Chad rubs a hand up and down my back.

"Are you sure? I feel bad going to bed before the two of you do."

"Nah, it's fine. We're used to hanging out." Devon waves me off.

"You made the whole drive by yourself. Dev and I switched back and forth, so it wasn't as bad for us. Go to bed, we can all hang out in the morning."

"Alright," I say through another yawn. "I'm going. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Climbing the stairs, I walk past the door to Nixon's room. I wonder what he's doing right now. I doubt he was tired enough to go to bed at eight, he was always a night owl.

After changing into pajamas, I grab a thick blanket and my notebook and open the door to my balcony. I don't expect to find Nixon already out there with his laptop on his lap, feet propped up on the wicker table.

"Hey, I thought you were going to bed."

"Nope. I have a bunch of work I need to catch up on. What are you doing out here?" He lifts his gaze from his screen, the blue glow lighting up his features.

"I need to study. I told everyone else I was tired and going to bed."

"Ahh, the closet study nerd. I remember her quite well."

"Shut up." I laugh, nudging him to move over and make space for me on the small loveseat.

"You used to hide in our tree house and pretend no one existed around you. When Carla would call you for dinner, you'd beg for five more minutes to study. I don't think there's a nerdier person out there."

"You never complained."

"Nope. I used to love just sitting and watching you study. You gave me something to draw. When I moved back home, I found an entire box full of sketches of you studying. I wallpapered an entire room with them."

"You did not!" I swat at his chest.

"You're right, I didn't, but I might."

"You sound like a stalker."

"That'd be some next level stalker shit. Forget photographs, everything would be hand drawn."

"What are you working on?"

"It's a finance app. It's supposed to link to your credit card and bank account. You set a spending limit for the week or month and it keeps track of your purchases. You can even specify categories. Any transactions from your bank or credit card statements are auto sorted and the ones the program doesn't recognize alerts you to manually sort it."

"That's amazing. You made this yourself?"

"Yes. I've made about a dozen different ones so far."

"And this is your job?" I arch a brow.

"Are you impressed?" He peeks up at me with a grin.

"A little." I shrug. "I mean it'd be more impressive if you were a millionaire from your profits."

"Huh, you didn't shoot for the stars and request a billionaire?"

"Well, you're not even thirty yet. I thought billionaire was a little too aggressive of a goal."

"Oh, how kind of you. I appreciate the conservative goal." He snorts with laughter.

"I aim to please."

"I hate to disappoint, but I'm not a millionaire yet. I'm getting closer though."

"Yeah, whatever."

He stares at me for a few moments, the silence stretching between us.

"What are you studying?" Nixon grabs my notebook out of my hands, flipping it open to the first page.

"More accounting."

"Living the dream. Are you ok with me working out here? If not, I can go inside and give you some privacy."

"No, it's fine. As long as you don't type too loudly." I smirk.

"I'll try my hardest to contain my excitement for writing code."

"That's all I ask."

We settle into a comfortable silence, each one of us focusing on our own things. About an hour later, Nixon starts rubbing a hand up and down his arms.

"Are you cold?" I nudge his shoulder.

"Yeah, I keep forgetting how much colder it is in the north."

Unfolding my blanket, I spread it over both of us. I snuggle a little closer to Nixon, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Is this ok?" I whisper.

"No." He pulls his arm out from under me, wrapping it around me, and tugging my body closer. "This is ok though."

"How are you going to type?"

"I don't need to. I can work later on or tomorrow. This is better."

He slides down a little, until his head rests on the back of the couch. His eyes slide closed and he lets out a little sigh. I settle against his chest, enjoying being in his arms more than I care to admit.

I shouldn't be here, I should be lying in Chad's arms studying, not Nixon's. But Chad gets annoyed with my addiction to studying. He complains about it constantly, always trying to get me to stop so we can go do something different.

Nixon encourages it and even makes sure he's not bothering me. He's always been like that. It's nice to know he hasn't changed over the past few years.

I was worried things would be weird between us, strained and uncomfortable. But we seem to be falling back into things pretty easily.

I forgot how great everything was when Nixon was the only person in my life. I missed him more than I'm willing to admit.

"Savvy…" A deep gravelly voice calls my name.

It sounds far away, like someone's calling me from outside my bubble of sleepiness.

"Hmm?" I murmur without opening my eyes.

"We fell asleep. It's four o'clock in the morning."

"Good, let's go back to sleep."

I snuggle a little closer, throwing an arm over his stomach.

"I think you'd be more comfortable in your bed. My neck's sore from sleeping on this little couch."

"Carry me to bed?"

"Anything for you, sweetheart."

A kiss is placed on my forehead, then I'm lifted into the air like I weigh nothing at all. My hand clutches his shirt, finding hard muscle beneath my fingertips.

Wait…

Chad doesn't have a firm chest. He's not unfit, it's just he doesn't care enough to dedicate steady time to sculpting his body like this.

Slowly I blink my eyes open, gazing up at the man carrying me like I'm the most precious thing in his life.

"Nixon?" My voice comes out breathless.

"I've got you, Savvy. Go back to sleep."

He pulls back my covers and lays me in the center of the bed then covers me back up. I drift back off to sleep quickly and fall into a dream about the man who's owned my heart my entire life. It's the best night's sleep I've gotten in years.