desolation.
She ’d been horrified when she woke up to find her self draped across him. He was Reece Hilde n brandt for heaven’s sake. She knew who he was. Sheridan High was small eno ugh that everyone knew everyone. A t least by name, if not as an actual acquaintance. But more importantly , she knew who his father wa s. And though for the life of her she couldn’t ever remember having a single conversation with him before, she did know that he seemed like a nice guy.
The kind of guy everyone liked and that everyone got along with. But not the kind
of guy someone like her just randomly woke up snuggling with.
Instead of making things awkward, he made her a grilled cheese sandwich and a hot fudge sundae. He didn’t even give her a chance to let her self be mortified ov er everything that had happened; f lying into him, sobbing on his shoulder , spilling her heart out all over him, and l ast of all, making her self cozy half on top of him.
They ’d spent that gloomy, dreary, stormy afternoon on his couch. They ’d shared a blanket, talked and pretended to watch movies. He had driven her home after s chool had gotten out for the day. She had thought that would be the end of it.
The next morning she found him waiting for her at her locker. She hadn’t realized at the time that it was just the beginning.
***
She was a nervous mess as she waited for Reece to get to her house . Paul was already gone and she’d told Luci that Emma was on the way . Cleo had then been treated to a full-blow n pout session . S he hurried her along to get her out of the door on time. Cleo was sure Luci purposefully a te her breakfast in slow motion. T rying to make an excuse to miss the bus . Luci couldn’t understand why Emma couldn’t drive her to school , too.
After she was gone, Cleo used the few extra minutes to check her hair again. Then she let out an exasperated sigh because she realized that really, at this point… What did her hair , of all things matter? She decided it didn’t . S ince they were going to be outside, and you never knew what the wind was going to do, she pulled it back in to a ponytail. She dabbed ano ther layer of concealer under her e yes, brushed some powder over her face and basically caved to the whole make-up routine.
She grabbed her bag as she heard a vehicle pull up. As she walked down the side walk she tried n ot to think about how right it felt. Because it wasn’t right. There was Mia to think about now. And the whole Ethan
fiasco. It shouldn’t feel f amiliar. It should feel wrong. She tried to tell herself this as she got into the passenger seat.
“Wha t’s that?” she demanded . S he narrowed her eyes and inhaled.
“What do you think?” Reece asked as he waited for her to buckle up.
“Butterscotch hot chocolate with a shot of espresso?” He nodded and she was already reaching for the cup that she knew she shouldn’t take. But the shot of espresso? She needed it. She al most blurted out the words ‘ Oh, I love you,’ in gratitude but she stopped her self. Butterscotch hot chocolate was her favorite drink. One day last year, Reece had de cided to throw in a shot of espresso. When he thought she needed the caffeine. She’d decided it was the perfect mix.
“There’s a caramel roll in the bag by your feet,” he said.
He kept his eyes on the road . F or a ridiculous minute she was frustrated that h e didn’t look at her at all. Then she reminded her self that he wasn’t supposed to look at her . That would only cause problems.
“You didn’t need to do that ,” she said as she scooped the white paper bag off of the floor. “But thanks.”
He just shrugged.
“And thanks for picking me up. I know it’s kind of out of your way,” she said as she carefully pulled the sticky roll out of the bag.
“Not a problem.” After a pause, he continued. “I almost had to cancel. My dad took my keys away a few days ago . Luckily Mom intervened. P ointed out I needed my
She ’d been horrified when she woke up to find her self draped across him. He was Reece Hilde n brandt for heaven’s sake. She knew who he was. Sheridan High was small eno ugh that everyone knew everyone. A t least by name, if not as an actual acquaintance. But more importantly , she knew who his father wa s. And though for the life of her she couldn’t ever remember having a single conversation with him before, she did know that he seemed like a nice guy.
The kind of guy everyone liked and that everyone got along with. But not the kind
of guy someone like her just randomly woke up snuggling with.
Instead of making things awkward, he made her a grilled cheese sandwich and a hot fudge sundae. He didn’t even give her a chance to let her self be mortified ov er everything that had happened; f lying into him, sobbing on his shoulder , spilling her heart out all over him, and l ast of all, making her self cozy half on top of him.
They ’d spent that gloomy, dreary, stormy afternoon on his couch. They ’d shared a blanket, talked and pretended to watch movies. He had driven her home after s chool had gotten out for the day. She had thought that would be the end of it.
The next morning she found him waiting for her at her locker. She hadn’t realized at the time that it was just the beginning.
***
She was a nervous mess as she waited for Reece to get to her house . Paul was already gone and she’d told Luci that Emma was on the way . Cleo had then been treated to a full-blow n pout session . S he hurried her along to get her out of the door on time. Cleo was sure Luci purposefully a te her breakfast in slow motion. T rying to make an excuse to miss the bus . Luci couldn’t understand why Emma couldn’t drive her to school , too.
After she was gone, Cleo used the few extra minutes to check her hair again. Then she let out an exasperated sigh because she realized that really, at this point… What did her hair , of all things matter? She decided it didn’t . S ince they were going to be outside, and you never knew what the wind was going to do, she pulled it back in to a ponytail. She dabbed ano ther layer of concealer under her e yes, brushed some powder over her face and basically caved to the whole make-up routine.
She grabbed her bag as she heard a vehicle pull up. As she walked down the side walk she tried n ot to think about how right it felt. Because it wasn’t right. There was Mia to think about now. And the whole Ethan
fiasco. It shouldn’t feel f amiliar. It should feel wrong. She tried to tell herself this as she got into the passenger seat.
“Wha t’s that?” she demanded . S he narrowed her eyes and inhaled.
“What do you think?” Reece asked as he waited for her to buckle up.
“Butterscotch hot chocolate with a shot of espresso?” He nodded and she was already reaching for the cup that she knew she shouldn’t take. But the shot of espresso? She needed it. She al most blurted out the words ‘ Oh, I love you,’ in gratitude but she stopped her self. Butterscotch hot chocolate was her favorite drink. One day last year, Reece had de cided to throw in a shot of espresso. When he thought she needed the caffeine. She’d decided it was the perfect mix.
“There’s a caramel roll in the bag by your feet,” he said.
He kept his eyes on the road . F or a ridiculous minute she was frustrated that h e didn’t look at her at all. Then she reminded her self that he wasn’t supposed to look at her . That would only cause problems.
“You didn’t need to do that ,” she said as she scooped the white paper bag off of the floor. “But thanks.”
He just shrugged.
“And thanks for picking me up. I know it’s kind of out of your way,” she said as she carefully pulled the sticky roll out of the bag.
“Not a problem.” After a pause, he continued. “I almost had to cancel. My dad took my keys away a few days ago . Luckily Mom intervened. P ointed out I needed my
Similar Books
