Chapter 21

JESSIE Groaning with pain, I sit up in bed and reach for the TV remote. Sleep is not forthcoming for me tonight. I have a hot water bottle clutched against my stomach and I’ve taken two Advil, but they’re doing little to ease the pain. The cramps I get on the first day of my period are completely debilitating sometimes. It feels like someone is pulling out my insides through my navel with a corkscrew. My bedroom door is open, and I hear footsteps outside. “You okay in there, Angel?” Conor asks as he pops his head inside. “Just cramps,” I say. “They’ll go in a few hours or so. I hope.” “You need some painkillers or something?” he says as he walks into the room and comes to sit on the bed. “I’ve taken some, but they’re not great for cramps. Usually heat works,” I say as I lift my cover and show him the hot water bottle. “But even this thing doesn’t seem to be helping tonight.” “Heat?” he asks with a flash of his eyebrows. “Yes.”I grin at him despite my pain. Since he and I first had sex