The Stand In

Chapter 29

I wake up with my face stuffed in a pillow, wearing one of Zak's t-shirt. My body hugging the pillow as if it was him.

"Welcome back."

My eyes shoot around the room, until they land on him, sat in an armchair that he had taken from across the room, his feet using the bed as a footstool with a laptop balancing on his legs.

I open my mouth to speak but it's dry from how long I'd been asleep and give up.

Rolling my head back onto the pillow, I don't realise Zak has moved until he is at the side of the bed, holding a bottle of water waiting for me.

I smile and sit up for the bottle when he puts it to my mouth and waits for me to drink. It's a little odd, but I begin drinking whilst he holds my chin in his hand, his thumb soothing over my cheek gently. I look up at him, meeting his eyes, there's concerned there, even now.

"Easy." He says seeing me gulping it down, so much so that he slowly tips the bottle back up right and pulls it away. "You good?"

"Y-yeah." I rasp, clearing my throat. "Hello again." Because I don't know if it's morning, afternoon or evening at the moment.

"How are you feeling?"

"Is it bad to say that I still feel tired?"

He shakes his head as he puts the bottle back on the nightstand. "Not at all. I've read that people are like it for days. It takes a lot out of you, doesn't it?"

"More than I'd like." I mumble, leaning against the headboard.

"You've slept well." He says pointing to the dressed up pillow "I had to do a video call to the channel, so I improvised."

The pillow was slightly weird, wearing his tshirt and severely odd shaped from me clinging to it, but I can't help pulling it back to me and holding it again.

"It's the cologne, right?"

"Yes but also no. I think it's you too." I say, looking at him as he takes his seat back at the end of the bed. "It's more than just that with you."

"Tell me."

I look at the pillow and fix his t-shirt that's covering it. "I used to work in a perfume store. Before I became a virtual assistant. So my knowledge on scents is a little higher than most. You go through a lot of training and usually get a likening for certain scents."

When he doesn't reply, I know he is waiting for a breakdown of what I sense and smell.

Leaning my face into the pillow, I inhale deeply before pulling back.

"You did that in your sleep. You knew it wasn't me the second I did it." He says amused. "At first you grumbled, your brows pulled and lips pouted slightly but you settled again."

Yikes. Was I becoming a sap? Already?

"Well that's embarrassing."

"I found it cute." He shrugs.

"So with this, I can smell the notes. There's a fruity vibe, along with a smoky note and wood."