Anye stepped out of her sandals and walked silently on her bare feet, trusting Nick to shut and lock the door behind him. Because it was Nick, and that was what he did. She turned and leaned against the island, watching as he processed the information she'd just dropped on him before her face split into a wide, triumphant grin.
"You're so stupid," she murmured, voice hushed to just above a whisper. "That's kind of the idea. You're not on a mission. You don't have to work tomorrow. You can sleep here, and actually sleep, and I'm not going to let anyone bother you. Happy birthday, dumbass." She was still grinning as she reached past him into the still-open fridge and grabbed another bottle of water. "Now be quiet," she said, and now she was whispering mischievously. "Just pretend we're kids again. It's a slumber party, and we were supposed to be asleep hours ago, but we're sneaking down to the basement to play Nintendo." She was prepared for some sort of argument on this, so she grabbed his forearm, knowing he probably wouldn't shake her off, and started for the stairs. They were going up instead of down, her room was on the third floor, but that was what imagination was for.