The Thing About Flip Flops

Chapter Twenty Eight: Warm Pizza and Even Warmer Cuddles

"Well, that took you three long enough."

"Dickhead. You should be glad we brought any of it back for you."

"That's an exaggeration, there's only like two pizzas left."

"That's more than enough."

"Not when you ordered seven! I'm going to call the cops, honestly, this is a crime. I mean, I'm even paying for the pizza, and you ate all-"

I'm awoken by the familiar argumentative voices of Henry and Jenna, right outside my bedroom. I hear the door close sharply, and try to remember where I am.

Groaning, I pull my phone out of my jeans pocket and check the time. The light is too bright and I squint my eyes to be able to make out the 11:38 PM.

Great. Half an hour of sleep. Could my stupid brother just shut up, please? Or take it to the kitchen?

The voices in the hall are suddenly shushed by a quieter male voice, which says, "Audrey's sleeping, you idiots."

I mentally thank Jack for reading my mind.

In a quieter voice, I barely make out Jenna saying, "I'm going to bed. Night, losers."

I assume Melissa and Nat have also already checked in after the long drive and the pizza excursion, so I'm not surprised when Henry says, "Well, someone's waiting for me. See you, bro."

I mentally cringe at the idea of what my brother most likely plans to do with that specific someone (*cough*Melissa*cough*) but I manage to hold back my gag reflex.

I hear Jack exhale an amused laugh from the hallway, before he says, "Wait, uh, are there blankets and shit for the couch?"

I hear the confusion in Henry's voice, even though I can't see his face. "What? Why would you need the couch?"

There's an awkward pause where I can't hear anything, but I picture Jack gesturing towards my door.

To my surprise, Henry just chuckles and says, "It's fine, just don't wake her up. She probably won't punch you."

"She won't want me in there." I barely hear this, since Jack basically whispers it.

"Ah, Jesus, take the couch then, if you really want. But there's no heating and also there's no spare blankets anywhere. Just saying."

But Jack still doesn't say anything, and, grumbling, I pull myself out of bed and trudge towards the door to the hallway.

Pushing it open and blinking blearily at the hall light, I see my brother and Jack standing down the hallway. They both turn to look at me, surprised to see me awake.

"Aud? Are you-" Henry begins to say, coming over with Jack on his heels.

Jack looks guilty, and scratches the back of his neck. "Shit, did we wake you?"

I shake my head, but I know they both see past the gesture. I get to the point, saying, "You can sleep in here, Jack. It's fine." Normally I would be embarrassed by offering this to a guy, even if it's just the innocent offer to sleep in the bed with me. But I'm so tired I'm not even embarrassed.

"Night, Henry," I say to my brother, not wanting to spend more time in the light when I could be tucked into bed, all warm and cozy.

Speaking of warm and cozy, Jack's jacket is literally the most comfortable thing on the planet, and I notice quickly that I'm still wearing it. But I don't take it off, convincing myself it's just because I'm too tired to.

I slip back into my room without waiting for a response from either of them, but I do hear Henry say to Jack, "Well, looks like you won't have to sleep on the couch! As for me, I'm getting pizza and going straight to bed."

I hear Jack mutter something in agreement, probably about getting pizza.

In the few minutes before he shows up, I quickly change out of my jeans and into a soft cotton t-shirt and shorts, along with Jack's hoodie. I take my long, waist-length hair out of its braid and brush it through. Then I wash up in the bathroom and climb back into the covers just in time to hear a soft knock at the door.

"Hey," I smile when Jack comes in, carrying a pizza box. He approaches me and puts the box on the nightstand with the lamp, and I shoot him a grateful look.

I take a slice of cheese pizza and then gag when I taste the combination of toothpaste and pizza. Yeah, didn't think that one through...

Jack laughs at my expression, making a disgusted, stupid-looking face to tease me. Of course, being Jack, he still manages to make it look hot somehow.

He pops into the attached bathroom to get changed and washed up and everything, but soon comes back in sweats and a black shirt to find me sitting up in the bed with an empty pizza box. He rolls his eyes as I shrug innocently, the pizza having really reinvigorated me so that I'm not feeling like a sleep deprived zombie anymore. Well...at least not as much as I was before.

Jack takes the box from me, places it beside the too-small trashcan in the corner, and then climbs into bed after a slight hesitation. I try to pretend that I'm not checking out his arm muscles, but I think I'm blushing again.

The bed dips down on his side as he pulls the covers over him, and suddenly I'm aware of how little space there is between us. I shiver at his sudden closeness, but relax as soon as I reach to flick off the light, plunging us into absolute darkness.

I settle back against the pillows, extremely aware of where my legs are brushing Jack's and of his citrusy smell. I stay tucked onto my side, trying not to invade his personal space, but it's hard in such a small bed.

But all my thoughts fly out of my head as a warm arm tugs me closer, pulling me into a solid chest. He pulls my hair out from where it was caught between my arm and the pillow, gently smoothing it down and twisting the long waves around his finger. His fingers brush accidentally across the back of my neck and I suck in a breath at the contact.

I desperately hope my heart isn't beating too fast, but it feels like I've just run a thousand marathons in a row.

I relax into Jack's body, letting his warmth envelop me as my eyes fall shut and I sink towards sleep. His arm lays draped across my waist with his hand coming to rest on the bed right next to my collarbone area, holding me close but not too tight.

It might be weird, but I've never felt as comfortable in my entire life as I do when laying here with Jack Golden.

"Goodnight," I whisper softly before I'm fully asleep.

"I..." Jack breathe a few words in response, but they're low I can't catch what he says. Still tucked into his warm embrace, still wondering what he said, I fall into a deep, peaceful slumber.