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After a few minutes, I find the strength to roll over, taking Elyse with me so she’s laying on top of me instead of the other way around.
“Goodnight, baby,” I whisper into her hair before I fall into the deepest sleep I’ve ever experienced.
Chapter Eighteen
Elyse
My phone ringing drags me out of the most amazing sleep of my life. My limbs are entangled with Hero’s, and he’s breathing heavily into my hair, his breath tickling my neck.
It takes me a while to get free from the weight of his heavy arm slung across my body. By some miracle, I get free without waking him up.
I grab my phone from the floor and check who’s calling me so early. Could be Tasha, though I doubt it. My mom maybe? My eyes glance over the screen. It is, in fact, my mother.
Sneaking out of the room, I don’t answer the phone until I’m in the living room. The last thing I want to do is wake Hero up.
“Hello?” I try to keep my voice down.
“Elyse, it’s your mother.”
I roll my eyes. I know who you are, and even if I didn’t, my caller ID would tell me.
“I’m at your dorm. I was hoping we could grab some breakfast.”
“Oh, I’m at…a friend’s house.” I hate lying, but technically, I’m not. You can be in love with someone and that person could still be your friend, right?
“Why don’t you meet me at that coffee place on the corner?” my mom says without missing a beat. But something about what she says doesn’t seem right.
Normally, she would have questioned my whereabouts by now. Has she finally realized I’m not a child anymore? I doubt that. All of this seems strange, even for her. “The Starbucks? Yes, sure, I can meet you there in, say, twenty minutes?” Maybe even thirty. I smile to myself. That’s what she gets for showing up unannounced…again.
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.” She hangs up, and I shake my head. She’s acting weird, and the fact that she’s here to see me without my father is even stranger.
I sneak back into the bedroom to check on Hero. Cracking the door, I peer inside. Thankfully, he’s still sleeping peacefully, just like a baby. As I stare at him, I debate whether I should let him sleep or wake him up.
The blanket is only covering him up to his belly button. His muscular chest, broad shoulders, and well-defined arms are exposed and on display. I wipe at my mouth as if I’m drooling.
Holy hell, I never knew a man could be so gorgeous.
My eyes make their way up to his face, relaxed in his sleep. With his constant frown gone, he appears years younger. It’s a look I could get used to seeing on his face.
Watching him sleeping so peacefully, I decide to let him be. I know he might be angry to discover I left without letting him know or waking him, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. I do not want my mother to see him and put him down some more. I’d rather skip that scene altogether. And honestly, I shouldn’t really be gone that long. I continue to contemplate my options. I don’t want to make Hero angry, not after everything last night.
I nibble on my bottom lip. Maybe I could just go see my mom really quick, pick up coffee for us both, and be back before he even wakes up? And even if he wakes up before I get back, surely he wouldn’t be mad at me for getting coffee, right?
I softly sigh. I know what I have to do…
Grabbing my bag, I make my way into the bathroom and make myself presentable for the outside world. When I’m done, I peek into the bedroom one last time. I smile to myself as I eyeball him once more.
Nope, hasn’t moved an inch.
I’m nearly out the door when I have the bright idea to leave a note. Signing with a heart under my name, I scribble a note on a piece of paper I found on the counter telling Hero where I’m going. I leave it on the kitchen table where he can see it right away and head out to see my mom. I walk briskly and make it there in just under twenty minutes from the time she called, but that doesn’t stop my mother from scowling at me like I’m an hour late.
When I sit down across from her at one of the small tables, I notice her looking past my shoulder. It seems like she’s expecting someone else to show up.
Curious, I too turn my head, scanning the crowd. No familiar faces or abnormal people catch my eye, so I turn back around. Clearly, my mother’s paranoia is getting the best of her.
“So, Elyse, I came here to talk to you about something.”
