Chapter 414 - 389: She Cares for Him 2

"Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for you."

Dylan Heston suddenly grabbed her hand under the table. "I’ll deal with you when we get back!"

’Deal with me?’

Nancy Hughes blinked in surprise, wondering if he’d had too much to drink. ’I haven’t done anything wrong, so why would he want to deal with me?’

The two people across from him were whispering to each other. Zane Lennox suddenly coughed twice to interrupt them.

He had asked Dylan Heston out today to talk business, not to watch them be all lovey-dovey.

"Mr. Lennox, it’s a rare pleasure for us all to gather as friends today. Thank you for treating us," Dylan Heston said, pouring himself a full glass and raising it to the man across from him.

With that one sentence, he completely shut Zane Lennox down. Even if Zane wanted to talk business now, he couldn’t bring it up.

Zane Lennox forced a smile and said through gritted teeth, "But of course."

Dylan Heston was a perceptive man; he could see Zane Lennox’s intentions. He had simply cut him off at the pass, preventing him from bringing up the topic.

Dylan Heston had been drinking and couldn’t drive, and Nancy Hughes didn’t know how to drive either.

The two of them stood on the side of the road. Nancy Hughes draped one of his arms over her shoulder, and he, in turn, naturally leaned most of his weight against her.

In truth, the few drinks he’d had with Zane Lennox were nothing to him.

It seemed this little woman in front of him thought he was a lightweight, assuming he was too drunk to even walk and taking the initiative to support him.

Seeing her so eager and earnest, he didn’t want to correct her, deciding instead to simply enjoy this wonderful moment.

Nancy Hughes finally managed to hail a cab. She pushed Dylan Heston into the back seat and said to the driver, "Sir, please take us to..."

She’d long forgotten the address of Dylan Heston’s apartment, so after a moment’s thought, she gave the driver her own.

The driver said, "You got it," and headed for the destination.

Nancy Hughes glanced at the man beside her. Worried the bumpy ride would make him uncomfortable, she turned and gently guided his head to rest on her shoulder.

"Feeling any better?" she asked softly.

The sound of his soft, even breathing filled her ears. Hearing him give a faint "mhm" in response, she sat up straighter to better support him.

When they arrived at her apartment building, she paid the fare and helped Dylan Heston out of the car.

Dylan Heston seemed to have sobered up quite a bit; supporting him wasn’t as difficult as before.

"Let’s go sit over there for a bit," the man on her shoulder suddenly said.

Nancy Hughes turned her head to look at him, and he pointed to a nearby bench.

She helped him over to the bench and sat down beside him, panting lightly.

’He looks so lean, so why is he actually this heavy?’

"Do you want some water?" After resting for a bit, she felt thirsty and asked Dylan Heston as well.

Dylan Heston grunted in affirmation. Nancy Hughes told him to stay put on the bench while she ran to the nearby supermarket to buy water.

Dylan Heston grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"To buy water!" ’Where else would I get it, conjure it out of thin air?’

"I’ll go with you." He stood up.

The supermarket was just a short walk away.

The supermarket was crowded, so Dylan Heston didn’t want to go in, waiting for her by the entrance instead.

Nancy Hughes ran inside, bought two bottles of water, paid, and hurried back out. She handed one to him. "Here."

"I was abroad the last few days. My phone was off," Dylan Heston said after taking a sip of water.

’Is he... explaining himself to me?’

’It was the same during the New Year. He was abroad, and his phone was off the whole time. It’s just that back then, she didn’t know the person on the other end of the line was him.’

Nancy Hughes looked up at his profile. He was handsome in a way she couldn’t quite describe.

Dylan Heston seemed to sense her gaze and turned to meet her eyes. "What is it?"

She looked down, shook her head, and said softly, "Nothing!"

Her cheeks grew hot for no reason. ’How could I possibly admit that I was mesmerized by him?’

’If he found out, he’d laugh himself silly.’

To hide her flustered state, she quickly took a few sips of water and wiped her moist lips.

But this innocent action made Dylan Heston’s heart race, a feeling more unsettling than being drunk.

On the way back, Dylan Heston was sobering up more and more, but he didn’t let it show.

Nancy Hughes saw that Dylan Heston didn’t seem to be doing well and wondered what on earth she should do tonight.

"Um, why don’t you just stay here tonight?" This was the only solution she had come up with on the way back.

She had never had a man stay the night before, and this was the first time she’d ever made such an offer.

She hoped Dylan Heston would be rational enough to refuse her.

Nancy Hughes looked at Dylan Heston expectantly. ’Say no! Just say you have things to do tomorrow and can’t stay!’

While she was screaming this internally, Dylan Heston completely ignored her silent pleas and cheerfully said, "Okay!"

’Ugh, I’ve dug my own grave.’

"Alright then, I’ll help you upstairs," Nancy Hughes said, her face fallen.

She helped Dylan Heston into her bedroom, lowered him onto the bed, and was left completely out of breath.

With her hands on her hips, she wished she could just collapse onto the bed herself.

Dylan Heston was a bit of a neat freak and couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping reeking of alcohol. He propped himself up with his hands on the sheets. "Where’s the bathroom? I’m going to take a quick shower."

"It’s out here."

Nancy Hughes casually pointed to the bathroom, which was right across the hall.

While the man was showering, Nancy Hughes found a towel and a change of clothes and placed them outside the bathroom door.

"I left a towel and some clothes by the door for you," she said, standing outside.

The sound of the running water in the bathroom stopped, followed by the sound of Dylan Heston’s voice, then the water started up again.

After his shower, Dylan Heston put on the well-fitting clothes, a frown on his face.

The towel was a woman’s, and as for the clothes... where had they come from?

He highly doubted Nancy Hughes was so prepared to live with him that she had already bought him clothes.

There was no one in the living room. He walked into the bedroom and saw Nancy Hughes tidying up.

"Whose clothes are these?" He was a little angry to find another man’s clothes in Nancy Hughes’s apartment.

Nancy Hughes let out a confused "Huh?" "They’re Elliot Sheridan’s."

"His?"

"Yeah, I don’t have any men’s clothes, so I got these from Georgia Thorne. You know how things are with Georgia and Elliot Sheridan, so it’s not weird for his clothes to be here." She scratched her head. "I figured you and Elliot are about the same build, so his clothes should fit you just fine."

’And they fit pretty well, don’t they?’

Dylan Heston knew about Georgia Thorne and Elliot Sheridan’s relationship, and since Nancy Hughes was Georgia’s roommate, it wasn’t surprising that Elliot’s clothes would be here.

Sometimes, a man’s tolerance can be surprisingly small, unable to overlook even the slightest detail.

Dylan Heston sat on the edge of the bed and glanced at Nancy Hughes, who was keeping her distance. "Come here!"

Nancy Hughes had thought about running, but he saw right through her before she could even move.

She obediently went over, and Dylan Heston pressed a towel into her hands. "Help me dry my hair."

’Dry his hair? Oh.’ Her tense nerves immediately calmed down. She knelt by the side of the bed and began to seriously dry his hair.

Her touch was gentle and felt good. Dylan Heston looked around her room. It was small, but neat and cozy.

When his hair was mostly dry, Nancy Hughes was thinking about taking a shower herself when Dylan Heston suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.

"Did you miss me these past few days?"

Nancy Hughes shifted uncomfortably, but he only held her tighter. She was sitting on his lap, so she adjusted herself into a slightly more comfortable position.

They hadn’t had any contact these past few days. If he hadn’t mentioned he was abroad, she would have had no idea where he’d gone.

’Miss him? Of course, she had.’

She nodded honestly. "I did."

After she said it, she met Dylan Heston’s dark eyes, and the tips of her ears began to burn.

"What did you miss about me?"

"..." Nancy Hughes was speechless.

She pressed her lips together and stared at Dylan Heston’s face as all sorts of wild thoughts ran through her mind.

But she was too embarrassed to say any of them out loud.

"What about you? Did you miss me too?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject with a playful tone, her eyes full of expectation.

"I did. I wanted to just pack you up and take you with me wherever I went." Dylan Heston lowered his head, his lips pressing against Nancy Hughes’s forehead in a soft kiss.

Nancy Hughes’s body grew even more rigid, her expression filled with awkwardness.

She said weakly, "You should get some sleep. I’m going to take a shower."

With that, she scrambled off Dylan Heston and fled the room.

In the bathroom, she stood under the showerhead as hot water sprayed over her body, warming her skin.

She ran her hands through her hair, filled with regret. ’I shouldn’t have dried his hair. It made the atmosphere so... intimate.’

Getting along with Dylan Heston was one thing, but sleeping with him was something else entirely.

Even though they were under the same roof, she wasn’t completely ready for this.

She sighed and slapped her chest weakly. She never should have asked him to stay.

She was regretting it so much she could kick herself.

After a long, slow shower, she changed into her pajamas and came out of the bathroom.

The moment she stepped out, she saw Dylan Heston sitting in the living room watching TV, and her jaw dropped.

She had just been planning to sneak into Georgia Thorne’s room to sleep after her shower.

But no, there he was, blocking her escape route in the living room.

She clutched at her dry hair. "Um, why aren’t you in bed yet?"

Dylan Heston turned off the TV. "Waiting for you."

With those three words, he completely cut off Nancy Hughes’s last escape route.

She had invited the wolf into her house; this was a trap of her own making.

Nancy Hughes followed Dylan Heston back to the bedroom. Staring at her not-so-large double bed, she thought, ’Are we really going to sleep in this together?’

"Aren’t you coming to bed?" Dylan Heston asked, looking up at her.

Nancy Hughes cleared her throat twice and quickly climbed into bed.

She deftly settled on the very edge of the bed and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket.

She glanced at the man beside her out of the corner of her eye. "I’m going to sleep now. Good night."

As soon as the words were out, she shut her eyes tight.

Dylan Heston looked at her frightened posture and wanted to laugh. ’Is she really that scared of me?’

CLICK. The room went dark.

In the darkness, where they couldn’t see each other’s expressions, Nancy Hughes felt herself relax for some reason.

Her tight grip on the blanket slowly loosened.

Still, her palms were sweating with nerves, her entire body was tense, and she didn’t dare move a muscle.

Suddenly, she felt the man beside her stir.

An arm reached toward her. Her body went rigid, and she instinctively wanted to push his hand away.

But then she heard Dylan Heston whisper in her ear, "Move over. You’re going to fall off the bed."