"How on earth are we going to share this?!" I growled frantically, my face a burning red. My bed was only twin sized for my petite form, since I only weighed 108 lbs and was only 5'2. But there was no way both me AND Gaige could squeeze together into it! If I had to guess, it seemed Gaige was around 5'9 which meant his feet might even hang off the bed!

"What do you mean," Gaige asked curiously. "We just squeeze close together."

I growled. "I'm serious! There's no way we'll both fit! One of us will probably end up falling off!"

Gaige gave me a taunting smile. "If you want, I'll wrap my arms around you so you don't fall~"

My face's shade of crimson deepened as I glared daggers at him. "Shut it! I'm trying to think of some sort of solution, without becoming a sardine!"

Gaige let out a deep sigh and pointed towards the other side of my bedroom, where there was a light pink, fluffy recliner. "If you really don't wanna share the bed with me, what if I sleep on that recliner?"

I stopped fussing and turned to scan his expression to see if he was serious. "... Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's your bed and I promised your mom I wouldn't force you into skinship. So I'll sleep over there. Is that cool with you?"

I blinked a few times in surprise. Honestly, I sort of felt bad making him sleep somewhere so silly just because I couldn't handle sleeping together with him... But to be fair, he was taunting me with some terribly embarrassing circumstances. I tilted my head slightly. "Would you be okay like that...?" Gaige grinned broadly. "It's so cute that you're worried about me, but I promise you it's cool." I pouted a little at his comment, but looked at the recliner. "Well... If you say so...BUT," I pointed a finger at him sharply. "I'll be right back; I'll get you some pillows and blankets."

Gaige threw his hands over his heart dramatically. "Ah! You're so caring!"

"Be quiet."

With a bit of an eye roll, I went to another room to bring him back some pillows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Night fell eventually, it was just me and Gaige in the darkness of my bedroom, and I looked at the ceiling blankly. It felt so strange having him there with me... But I had to admit, I felt so much safer with him there. I swallowed to clear my dry throat and whispered through the dark, "... Gaige...?" I waited nervously for his reply, gripping the comforters until I heard his gentle voice break through the darkness, "... Yeah?"

I released the breath I'd been holding and looked at the ceiling again. "... How come you're a bodyguard if you're so young?"

It took him a moment, but he finally responded, "... Well... My father is a cop at the police station you went to. I look up to him... A lot. Someday, I wanna be just like him... When I heard there was a job opening to do something courageous, to do something amazing, to be a hero, just like he does every day, I jumped at the chance. Plus, having someone young like me to look out for you makes it easier when you go off to school. So it wasn't hard to get them to let me take the job. And so far... It is everything it's cracked up to be. Being your protector... Even if it's a bit smaller than being a cop... I finally feel like I'm a hero. Like my dad is everyday."

I listened to his story intently. This was such an admirable quality in him... I had no idea.

I smiled a bit. "... I like that about you."

I heard Gaige shift as if he were sitting up to look at me, though I couldn't see him. "... You do?"

I nodded against my pillow. "Mmhmm. That's really sweet... That you want to be someone who helps keep everyone safe. It's a very admirable quality." It was amazing to me how honest I could be when I couldn't see his face... He was always smiling and his cute little dimples were pretty distracting...

I could hear a smile in his voice when he responded, "... Thanks, Sterling."

My cheeks grew a bit pink. "... You're welcome."

I snuggled closer into my pillow. "Goodnight, Gaige."

"Night, Sterling."