Echoes of Us by Teegan Loy Page A

neat little pile and stepped into his underwear. He seemed unsure what to do, so I solved his problem by tackling him on my bed.
    “Can I ask you something?” I said, hiding my face in his neck.
    “Sure.”
    “Have you ever… er.”
    “No,” Jade answered quickly. “I told you, I did research. Was it bad?”
    He looked like he was starting to panic. I chuckled and dragged my lips over his neck. I rolled on top of him and grinned. “God no, it was you. How could it be bad? But, why me? I mean you had a girlfriend.”
    Jade wrinkled his nose. “I was never happy with her. I tried, but there wasn’t a spark between us. At first I thought it was just Daria, so I spent a lot of time watching other women and there was nothing special. I mean, I appreciate beauty, but they didn’t get me all riled up. I started to think there was something wrong with me, that I didn’t know how to love someone. But then the first day I met you and Maggie, I knew. When you got out of your car something deep inside me woke up.”
    “The first time you saw me?” The thought made my entire body heat up. He had wanted me from the beginning.
    “It freaked the shit out of me, but the trip to the grocery store was fun. Then you fell asleep in my bed. I, um, watched you sleep, and I knew.” A shy smile spread across his face, and I wanted to know what the hell he knew, but I was too chicken to ask.
    I sighed, and he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. I was in deep shit.

Chapter 5

     
    S NEAKING QUIETLY around the house had never been one of my strong suits. I usually ran into a door or dropped something that made a ton of noise. Tonight was no exception when I had to go to the kitchen and find something to drink to relieve my cottonmouth. The plastic glass I fumbled made a terrible clatter when I dropped it on the wood floor. Maggie raced out of her room and almost ran into me.
    “What are you doing?” she asked. I felt her gaze sweeping over my naked chest and landing on the hickeys. They must have glowed in the dark or something.
    “Oh my God,” Maggie said. “Did you bring someone home?”
    “Er…. No.”
    She glared at me and made me feel like I was totally naked. The weird stare down lasted for a few seconds, and then her eyes widened.
    “Oh, holy shit, Rylan. Is it Jade? Oh my God! You fucked. You fucking fucked already. Fuck, Rylan, are you fucking crazy? You told me you weren’t going to get involved with our roommate.” She ranted for a little longer about how fucking stupid this whole thing was and how she wasn’t going to be there to pick up the pieces when one of us freaked out.
    “I think I’m falling in love with him,” I said quietly.
    The statement stopped her in her tracks.
    “What?”
    “I love him,” I said.
    “Whoa,” she said. She handed me the orange juice and left me standing in the kitchen. Maybe she had been sleepwalking and wouldn’t remember this conversation in the morning.
    I shook it off, went back to my room, and quietly pushed the door open. I held my breath, not knowing if Jade would still be in my bed, or if he had hightailed it back to his room. My heart soared when I saw the tips of his damp, sun-kissed hair spread out on my pillow.
    “You scare the shit out of me,” I whispered and kissed his cheek. I gently climbed over him and settled down again. He scooted closer, breathing into my shoulder. I sighed and closed my eyes, hoping he would be next to me when I woke up. I’d been known to have fantastic, realistic dreams when I was drunk.
    So I couldn’t be blamed that I was a little surprised when Maggie opened the door in the morning and I felt Jade wiggle next to me. I wanted to shout it to anyone who would listen that he’d stayed with me and it was all very real.
    Maggie eyed us curiously. The only thing out of her mouth was we needed to get up for school. Even if she had been sleepwalking last night, there would be no pleading the Fifth to get out of this