Him and Me.

Him and Me- Forty Part 1.

Ever heard of the expression, all air had been sucked out of the room?

I was pretty sure it was happening right now. It seemed like the air was so extremely thin, it was difficult to breathe. Pushing Cameron away gently, I sat up straighter against the wall, and as I did, I saw Colby was frozen in place, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at his aunt.

Susan looked at me, then at Colby. She shrugged and then asked, “What?”

My own eyes widened as I looked at the woman in front of me, who was going increasingly crazy in my eyes by the second. Was Susan serious? Had she really suggested that Colby and I sleep together, in his room?

Colby was the first to snap out of his haze as he shot his aunt a glare. “What the he—,” he stopped, then cleared his throat.

“What did you just say, Aunt Susan?” Colby almost growled, his eyes shooting daggers.

Susan tilted her head and grinned. “I said Kayla should sleep with—“

“Aunt Susan!” Colby interrupted, a hint of mortification lacing his tone. I could totally understand mortification at this point as my hands flew to my cheeks. Susan raised an eyebrow at her nephew and shook her head.

“You asked me what I said, I was just simply answering your question,” Susan pointed out. “And language, dear, watch your language.” She turned back to Cam’s bed, smoothing out the sheets. Colby just stared at his aunt, dumbfounded and completely at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

If this didn’t involve me, I would’ve laughed. After all, it was not every day that one got to see an expression like that on the face of Colby Mariano.

A hand on my arm startled me, and I looked down, my eyes meeting Cameron’s green ones. They were shining with concern. He was now kneeling on the floor in front of me, a slightly worried expression on his face. At that, I calmed down a little bit, and I managed a barely there smile. Cameron edged closer to me and cupped a hand around my ear.

“I know that Bee Bee would like you to sleep in his room,” Cameron whispered. I blinked twice, my mind having trouble registering Cam’s words. When it finally sunk in, it seemed like my whole body flushed. Why, for the love of everything that was alive, did this little guy say that? I was bewildered.

Then Cameron added, “Because you’re his friend and he likes you. But you don’t like it so you can sleep here with me.” My heart melted a little at Cameron’s concern, and I gathered him in my arms once again. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to sleep in Colby’s room, it was just… Oh hell, I really didn’t know. With an intense urge to bang my head against the wall, I returned my attention to Colby and Susan, and the latter was now facing us again, her hands on her hips.

“I was merely suggesting that Kayla sleep in Colby’s room,” Susan said firmly. “Our guest room, as you know Colby—,” she paused and leveled her nephew with a look before continuing, “is under renovation, and Kayla would have no place to sleep.”

I was pretty sure that Susan phrased her earlier suggestion about me sleeping in Colby’s room differently, but I didn’t want to mention that anymore. I was about to say that I could sleep here, in Cameron’s room, but Susan kept on talking.

“I know that Kayla would not want to share a bed with me. Cameron’s is too small, and there is no way that I will let Kayla sleep on the floor, or on the couch downstairs.”

Sleeping on the same bed with Susan would be pretty awkward, and as I eyed Cameron’s car-shaped bed, little old me would probably have back and neck pains if I sleep on it. Maybe I should just sleep in the backyard, where there was plenty of space, or I could just go home and save them all the huge trouble of figuring out where I should sleep.