Anywhere With You by Britney King Read Free Book Online

course.
    Yet I stood back just a little as she tried with no luck to hail a cab.
    After witnessing several painful attempts, I showed off my whistling skills and helped her out—even though what I really wanted was for her to have to work for it. Only, it was cold out and there was no point in being cold just to prove a point.
    She shot me a defiant look as I held the door of the cab open for her. It’s her best attempt to convey that she would have been fine on her own. But she wouldn’t have.
    “I need food,” she said looking out the window and her voice sounded about as childish as she’d been acting.
    Once I’d instructed the cabbie to take us to a decent diner, I patted her knee and told her we would get her all fixed up. It’s a statement, which only seems to irritate her further, and so I leave it at that.
    Thirty minutes later, we were seated across from each other in annoyed silence. She ordered enough food to feed the both of us and maybe a few others. Finally, it was me who broke the ice. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be drinking with your medication.” I mumble the words, and I know it’s only going to piss her off—yet I can’t help myself.
    She paused mid-bite and then looked up. “I don’t take medication.”
    “What do you mean?” I asked even though it’s pretty clear what she meant.
    She shrugged. “I just decided to stop taking it one day several years back. And I’ve been fine.” She took a sip of her water and swallowed. “Better than fine.”
    I tread carefully, but not too carefully. “You don’t seem fine.”
    “Well, I am,” she told me and she let me know she was serious by the way her eyes bugged out as she said it.
    The waitress came to check on us then and Amelie ordered pie even though she’d eaten most of the food she had ordered. She really didn’t need it. I was afraid she was going to be sick. But I didn’t say so. “When’s the last time you ate?”
    She wasn’t thrilled with my finesse. “Why do you ask so many questions?”
    I smiled. “I’m a curious person.”
    Amelie shook her head and then rolled her eyes. “I don’t know…maybe lunchtime yesterday.”
    I nod even though I’d figured as much, and then I eye the few remnants of her triple pancake, triple egg, and bacon meal. “Well, it’s a good thing you ordered the pie because, personally, I think you need to eat a little more. You can’t possibly be full.”
    She followed my gaze and we both smiled. She knew I was full of shit, but also that I knew her better than she’d like to believe.
    And just like that, we’re friends again.
     

     
    Back at the hotel, I showered once again while Amelie climbed straight into bed. By the time I came out, she was fast asleep, sprawled out fully clothed. She wasn’t sick as I figured she would be given the amount of alcohol and food she had consumed and this worried me. She must do this kind of thing more often than I’d hoped. I wanted to wake her, but I didn’t. I unzipped her boots, slipped them off, and pulled the duvet back. I wanted to slip her out of her clothes, but I didn’t. I simply arranged the covers, pulled them up, and turned off the light. Then I climbed into the opposite bed. Only I didn’t sleep. I listened to her inhale and then exhale, and I counted the time between her breaths for several minutes. Then I dimmed the screen on my phone, just in case, even though I knew she was out cold. I did a little work. At some point, I dozed off because the next thing I knew, Amelie was crawling in bed next to me. Half asleep, I scooted over to make room even though I knew it was a bad idea.
    “I had a bad dream,” she told me and her breath reeked of syrup and alcohol.
    “I’m not sleeping with you, Amelie.”
    She lifted her head, and I could tell by her tone that she had sobered up some. “That’s very presumptuous of you,” she told me, her voice low.
    “I don’t sleep with drunk women.”
    She sighed and then cuddled up