A Love Least Expected Read Free Page B

the sofa or Jessie’s bed, you know she wouldn’t care.”
    “The sofa’s fine, Ky. Thanks again.”
    “Don’t mention it, I’ll see you in the AM Pay.” She waved behind her as she continued down the hall and into her room, closing the door behind her.
    Alone at last, I shucked the rest of my winter wear and tossed them on the empty chair. I opened the storage bench in the corner and pulled out the pillows and blankets stashed there for just such emergencies and stretched myself out on the sofa. My silent phone poked me, reminding me of its presence, so I reached underneath and pulled it out.
    In spite of knowing that I would sleep better not knowing, I powered the phone back on and watched as the screen came back to life. I had three new text messages. Surprise, surprise, I pressed the icon for my texts, and they were all from Cade.

    So is that a no for breakfast?
    Are you ignoring me?
    Pay you know we need to talk!

    Yup, I definitely would have slept better without reading those. I leaned over and placed my phone on the coffee table and stared into the darkness. The same question spinning in my thoughts. What happened tonight?
    Cade, I’d known now for four years. I’d done everything with him, camping, studying, he’d crashed at each of our houses since we moved out of the dorms. Smiling, I remembered the one time we’d snuck him into our dorm. He was one of my best friends, why all of a sudden was I thinking of him as more.
    In a futile attempt to avoid the heart of the subject I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to sleep, but my mind had plans of its own. The searing kiss from the hallway presented itself as proof that this new development could not be avoided. My body heated from just the memory of his hold on me. How his hands twisted in my hair. His lips against mine, his tongue in my mouth while he pressed me back against the wall.
    The alcohol must still be clouding my mind I concluded, as I flipped on my back to escape the delusions. Staring at the ceiling, a new question surfaced. Would he have continued saying no if he had driven me home?
    Now the problem with considering potential outcomes of what might have happened is you will never get a satisfactory answer. So while my brain came up with several plausible ends to my evening, some pleasurable, others not so much, I knew the chance to find out was gone.
    I closed my eyes and took deep breaths willing sweet slumber to relieve me. Just as I felt the first pulls of unconsciousness I realized I still had no idea what to do about Cade.

Chapter 4

    Light filtered through the windows of Kylie’s apartment. The sunshine reflected off the snow blinding me as I opened my eyes. I so should have slept in Jessie’s room, she had blinds. I turned over and buried my face in the sofa cushions and tried to find sleep again. Too late, once I was awake, I was awake.
    With a groan, I reached for my phone to see the time and was surprised to find I’d made it to ten o’clock. Stiff from having slept on the sofa and a little sore from having kept my jeans on, I stretched before standing up and padding over to Kylie’s small kitchen. I spun the coffee disc holder searching for plain old coffee and popped it into the coffee maker. One of the little luxuries we afforded ourselves, we each had one cup coffee makers.
    I folded my arms over my chest and waited as the hum and whir promised me caffeine in the near future. The future… I’d dodged the bullet last night, but what would happen today. Maybe he was upset that I ignored him and would let it go. I added cream and more sugar than I should have to my coffee and inhaled deeply before sipping the sweetened liquid into my mouth and sighing in satisfaction. I loved coffee.
    Yes, Cade was probably pissed I’d ignored him and would not be speaking to me for the next few days. I carried my mug back to the sofa and eased back under the covers. Although I didn’t like the idea he was mad, it solved one problem