There was also something about irritating the hell out of his roommate sometimes that he kinda-sorta-maybe enjoyed.
Something he found fascinating, though, and what brought the thought to mind in the first place was the fact that he was just now waking up from a nap and she was still there. Perfectly still, perfectly okay to let him rest his head on her lap.
He supposed this was a reflection of their history together. They were fairly close in college, and despite all the years of radio silence in between, when they met up again it was almost as though little to no time had really passed between them at all. Sure, there were some new things to adjust to–with so many years apart it’d make less sense if there wasn’t anything new at all–but she was still so easy for him to be around, plain and simple.
Certainly she could push his buttons in a way no other person could without outright pissing him off. As long as it was Mel, he could put up with a lot.
“I know you’re awake,” she eventually said. “Your breathing changed. Exactly how long do you plan to use me as a pillow?”
He turned so he was facing up, though he kept his eyes closed.
“Depends. Do you have to use the bathroom?”
“No,” although a glass of water would be nice to have.
“Then I’m gonna go with ‘a while’. Problem?”
She dropped her gaze; he could feel it boring into his forehead, but he kept his eyes shut. No eye contact meant he was less likely to bend to her will.
For a moment she considered making a comment about him drooling in his sleep or say that her leg was falling asleep. Unfortunately, the latter comment might just earn her a jab in the calf just so Harvey could confirm for himself that she truly had the needly feeling in her foot. “Fine, but I’m out of stuff to do. I finished my book and my phone’s been dead for the past half hour. Could you at least pass me the remote so I can watch something?” She nodded her head in the direction of the end table by his feet.
It was only then, when he heard the light tone in her voice that told him that she really was okay with him staying there if he did at least that much for her, that he cracked an eye open. Just one. And he met her eyes and he could swear he felt his insides actually soften up.
“Here, use this.” He handed her his phone before closing his eye again. “It’s connected to the TV through the streaming stick. If it locks, you can just unlock it with my face. If that doesn’t work, just peel my eyelids back, like this.”
He demonstrated, just to be a little silly, and when she laughed he couldn’t help but smile broadly at the sound.
Melody rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
He imagined, in her silence, that she was responding by making some sort of face at him. That was fine. He was comfortable, after all, and also grateful that she was letting him be. He turned on his side again, facing the TV.
“Mm.. what’re we doing for dinner?” he mumbled groggily, already half asleep.
“If you fall asleep I get to pick, and I’ll pick your favorite spot.” For one reason or another Harvey had been the only one to get sick at Jasmine Mongolian Grill and since then he has been firmly against going there again. Fortune favored him this time since that restaurant didn’t deliver.
Harvey furrowed his brows together and turned over again, his expression a strange mix of sleepy and annoyed. “C’mon, pick something else. There’s so many other restaurants nearby.”
“Then don’t sleep.” Simple as that, otherwise he may or may not be the one paying for dinner. She did have his phone in hand, unlocked and ready to go look through his apps and place an order. An amused smile pulled the corner of her lips at the thought of him reviewing his credit card statement at the end of the month and wondering why there was a fourty-dollar charge at some restaurant.
But no, she might poke fun at times or push a few buttons. However, Melody wasn’t one to take such liberties.
There was a long moment of silence as he considered. He could see, in his mind’s eye, the smug smile on her lips. She had to know she was going to win.
“Mm…” he started, too sleepy to put up much more of a fight. No, instead he gave in and finished with, “Big ask, you make a good pillow. Order whatever you want, just make sure there’s enough for me, please.”
With that he turned and snuggled in, too far gone to overthink the gesture. He figured there were worse things than eating from his least favorite restaurant within delivering distance of their house, and before long he fell right back to sleep.
“You’re such an enigma sometimes…” Amazed by how quickly he fell back asleep, Melody let out a soft sigh and resigned herself to remaining still for another fourty-five minutes, or however long it took for the delivery driver to drop off a large pizza, a side of cheesy bread, cesar salad, and an alfredo pasta dish. When in doubt, order Domino’s.
1001 (gdocs)
