Marilyn frowned. Something had to be wrong with the idea. "Eli, I don't think-- It's not--"
"Proper? Who the hell cares? Like you told your mom, you're a grown woman."
"And you're a grown man." A young one, but a man nonetheless.
"So? Look, with me staying here, people are going to think what they're going to think, no matter what really happens. Do you honestly care what they think?"
"I--" Did she? The old Marilyn would have, because she was supposed to care. But did she really? "No, I guess not."
"So, where's the problem? I know you're not going to try anything, and I can't. Hell, I probably can't even turn over without help." Eli reached out with his good hand and flipped the covers back on the empty side of the bed, then patted it. "Whattaya say, Marilyn?"
"My mother really will have a heart attack." Was she crazy? She was actually considering it, sleeping in the same bed beside this leather-wearing, body-pierced man.
Eli grinned, as much as he could. "It'll be good for her."
"I have to--" She pointed vaguely in the direction of the bathroom. "Brush my teeth. And stuff."
"Okay. But you're coming back here. I got your word on it."
When did her life spin out of control? But wasn't this the way she wanted it? Interesting? "You have my word."
Marilyn dawdled in the bathroom as long as she could, breaking out the dental floss she hadn't used since she moved in, opening the moisturizer she got for Christmas. She put on her nightgown and wished for flannel, something that would cover her from ears to wrists to toes, but she'd never liked the way sleeves twisted around her arms. She wore sleeveless cotton year round and piled on more blankets. Finally, she stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't stall any longer. Maybe Eli had fallen asleep and wouldn't notice if she slept on the floor.
She turned off the light before she tiptoed out. As she passed the kitchen, she turned the stove light down to "nightlight." She'd need to see, if Eli needed something in what was left of the night. He was quiet, unmoving. Asleep?
"Come to bed, Marilyn." Eli's voice out of the shadows made her jump.
"You should be asleep," she whispered, moving toward him, hands out in front of her to ward off wandering furniture. She shoved a chair in deep under the table.
"I almost was, but I was afraid you'd get out that damn sleeping bag."
"I would have."
"I know. That's why I stayed awake. That, and I really wanted to say 'Come to bed, Marilyn.'"
She laughed, as he intended. "You are so bad."
"Yeah, but isn't that why you like me?"
She could see him now as more than just a dark shape in the shadows. He lay propped up against the back of the couch, his eye reflecting the nightlight as he watched her approach the bed. It made her nervous, embarrassed, because it was ridiculous, being attracted to a man his age at her age. Did it show? Lord, she hoped not.
"What if I hurt you? Bump against your leg in the night?"
"It can't hurt much worse than I hurt already. Besides, I know you'll probably hug the edge all night."
"Oh, wait." A forgotten instruction for Eli's care had Marilyn looking frantically around the room.
"What? What's wrong?" He struggled to sit up straighter.
"Nothing." Marilyn waved him back down. "I just remembered I'm supposed to wake you every so often to make sure you can wake up. And I don't know where the alarm clock is."
"Don't bother." He slid lower into the bed. "If you wake up on your own, then okay, wake me. But I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of having my sleep disturbed all night. Besides, I figure if I don't wake up, no big loss."
His self-deriding words disturbed Marilyn more than they should. She'd known him less than twelve hours. What kind of hold did he have on her?
"Well, you can scrap that idea right now, buster." She had to keep things light, the way he seemed to want them. "If there's going to be a man in my bed in the morning, he'd better be alive."
Eli chuckled, sounding sleepy. "Yes, ma'am, Boss Lady." He yawned. "So, are you getting in bed or what?"
"I'm getting." She sat down and swung her legs up on the bed. Maybe she should sleep on top of the covers, use the sleeping bag for her blanket.
"Marilyn, get in the bed already." His voice rumbled up from beside her, wrapping her in its deep warmth.
With a sigh, she slid her feet under the covers and lay down. She had to raise up again and arrange her pillows. Then, she had to sit up and straighten the blanket.
"Done?" Eli asked when she lay down again.
"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you? I'll be still."
"Don't worry about it. No problem."
"I'm nervous, I guess. It feels so strange, having you there. Julie shared with me when she was home Christmas, but--"
"Marilyn?"
"Yes, Eli?"
"Stop talking."
She clamped her teeth together, then pulled her lip out of the way. She usually didn't babble when she was nervous, but she didn't remember ever being this nervous before. There was a man lying beside her in her bed. A young, good-looking man she'd met mere hours before. "Sorry."
"No problem."
Marilyn lay on her back and relaxed her muscles one at a time. Eli's stillness and quiet breathing helped. If he could go to sleep in the weird situation, surely she could too.
She went back over the events of the evening, trying to find a place where she could have done things differently. There were dozens. She could have left him in the alley, or any number of times at the hospital. Except she could never have done it.
Even if he hadn't rescued her from the muggers, she couldn't have left him to get beat up. Though if he hadn't rescued her first, she might have been in the hospital and he'd have had no one to help
