Sheets | ✓

TWENTY-FOUR

"Can't sleep again?" Nico asked, making me sigh. 

"I guess. Sofia and Parker joined us," I said, leaving the words hanging there as I rocked in the hammock, waiting for Nico's response. He didn't give me one, silence greeting me. I could just hear his breath through the phone, the sound so quiet I had to close my eyes to focus on it. I didn't realise that I had been holding my breath until I released it when Nico finally replied.

"Did you sleep with her?" Nico asked, and I almost flipped over in the hammock. Nico must have heard my startled yelp as I fumbled with my phone, gripping the stable banister of the hammock to steady myself. 

"What?" I spluttered, Nico still silent across the line. "No! Of course I didn't! Why would you say that?" I frowned, the idea of me sleeping with Sofia a nightmarish image in my head. Nico's words made me imagine myself above her, under her, inside her. It made me feel sick. And the fact that Nico was the one asking me about it made me feel even more unsettled, almost panicked.

"She still likes you," Nico said simply, and I bit my lips as I heard him pull the car over and turn the radio down.

"You're driving and talking again," I said, both concerned and trying to steer the conversation away from Sofia and all the discomfort that she brought with her. I could hear Nico pick up on my far-from-subtle diversion when he let out a slightly displeased sigh, but I was grateful that he went with it any way, probably too tired to walk this path so late in the night.

"Gotta get home from work somehow, Wes," Nico said, the sound of a smile in his voice. I found myself grinning despite myself, Nico somehow always finding a way to tug and pull at my mood with ease.

"How was work?" I asked, rolling over onto my side as the hammock swung. One hand pressed my phone to my ear while the other picked at a fraying twist of hammock cord. My blanket was pooled over my legs, my torso enjoying the cool breeze that lapped at it comfortingly.

"Work was work," Nico said, though I heard him sigh again. There was a squeak, and I imaged him reclining the chair of his car, window slightly open to allow the breeze to waft through. It made me smile to think that we were sharing the same breeze, even though we were so far away from each other.

"You sound tired," I said gently, Nico grunting in response. "We should hang up so you can get home." I bit my lip as I waited for Nico's response. Despite my words, I wanted to keep talking to him about mundane things, to hear his voice through the receiver and imagine his face as he spoke into my ear. 

"Mmhm," Nico hummed, agreeing with me. My smile dropped at this, my mouth opening to say a swift goodnight. My voice was snuffed out when Nico spoke quickly. 

"But not yet," Nico said. "I want to talk to you for a bit longer." My chest ached and my stomach fluttered. For some reason a blush crept onto my cheeks, making me pull the blanket up from my legs to smother my face. I coughed to clear my throat before replying to him.

"As long as you're not driving," I said, voice teasingly stern, Nico snorting in response. 

"Yeah, okay, mum," Nico said, and I could just see his eye roll in my mind's eye. I huffed, rolling over to my other side, the hammock swaying.

"Shut up, Nico," I said, though the words had no bite to them. 

"You hang up then," Nico replied, the smile returning to his words. I stayed silent, making Nico chuckle. "Can't hang up? You like my voice that much, Wes?"

I do.

"The heck are you talking about," I scoffed, cheeks heating. "Arrogant prick."

"Don't lie to me, Wes," Nico said, voice dropping. The way he said it sent shivers down my spine, his words referring to more than just me liking his voice.