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“Good.”
I snicker and snuggle closer, suddenly exhausted.
The next morning, Deklan is up early. He’s showered and dressed before I even awaken. I roll over and place my feet on the floor with a grunt. My body resists every movement as I force myself to stand.
He’s definitely left me sore. When I look at myself in the bathroom mirror, I see bruises on my arms and legs. I don’t remember him holding me that tightly at the time, but I was rather caught up in it all. I’ll definitely be thinking about him every time I take a step today, which was certainly his intention. I can tell by the smirk on his face when he sees me waddle from the bathroom to the kitchen.
“Coffee?” Deklan holds out a cup.
“Yes, please.” I take the steaming cup and walk over to the couch.
Deklan butters his toast and wolfs it down as he pokes around in the suitcase by his feet. He must have packed before I woke up.
“Are you flying or driving?” I ask.
“Driving,” he says, “but not my car. I’ll leave you the keys in case you need to go somewhere.”
“Who’s going with you?”
Deklan’s only answer is a quick glance and a raised eyebrow. I give up on the questions and just watch him finish shoving things into the suitcase and draining his coffee cup.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Deklan says. “I feel guilty enough as it is.”
“Sorry.” I’m pouty. I don’t want to be alone on my birthday, and it makes me feel like a petulant child to be mad at Dek about it. I take a deep breath and force myself to smile. “What if I want to talk to you?”
“Emergencies, babe.” Deklan hauls the suitcase to the door and then walks over to me. He kneels in front of the couch and takes my face in his hands. “I’ll be working. Text if you really need something. Call if there’s an emergency.”
“An emergency, like I’m horny and I need birthday phone sex?”
“Wish I could.” Deklan grins at me as he shakes his head slowly. “I’m sorry I’m leaving right before your birthday.”
“It’s all right.” I wrap my arms around his neck and stand on my toes to reach him better. “It’s my own fault for not telling you when it is. Um, speaking of such, when is your birthday?”
“Christmas Eve.” Deklan gives me a half smile. “I always ended up with combined birthday/Christmas presents as a kid. It sucked.”
“I suppose it did.” I chuckle and hug him tightly.
Deklan leans back, stares into my eyes for a moment, and then presses his mouth to mine. I try to hold on, but he breaks the kiss and smiles down at me as he stands. A moment later, he’s out the door and gone.
My stomach sinks moments after he’s left. Tomorrow is my twenty-first birthday, and I have no plans at all. I could waste some time taking a shower, but at the moment, I still smell like Deklan, and I don’t want to wash him off of me just yet. I stare into my cup of coffee, now gone cold, and sigh.
“Self-pity doesn’t suit you,” I say out loud.
Though I don’t have to work today, I decide to take a little walk to the coffee shop instead of warming my existing coffee in the microwave. It would be nice to talk to Kathy for a bit. The weather is finally turning warm, so I leave my jacket behind. The sun is bright, and I squint as I let it warm my face. It mellows my foul mood a bit but not enough.
As soon as I get down the street and turn my phone on, I already have a voicemail from Kathy telling me to call her immediately or face the gravest of punishments. I snicker as I find her contact info and press the call button.
“Yo, bitch!” she screams into the phone as soon as she answers. “I sure hope you don’t have any plans for the day!”
“Why?”
“Because I’m in the airport, and I’ll be there in a few hours.”
“Whaa?” I put my hand over my mouth, realizing I’d picked up one of Terry’s expressions. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s a nursing conference Monday and Tuesday, and it’s just a half hour from you. I’m coming early to spend the weekend!”
“Are you shitting me?”
