AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m running low on clean clothes, decided it was easier to just throw this back on for now.” I shrug, sliding past him to take a seat at the table.
“You’re a shit liar, you know that?” He smirks, pushing away from the counter to take the seat next to me.
“I’m not lying,” I object.
“I have never known you to wear the same outfit two days in a row.”
“Since when do you care what I wear and how often?” I smart. “What are you, the clothes police all of a sudden?”
“Why don’t you tell me what you’re up to, Lake?” Chris leans forward, dropping his elbows onto the table.
I take a moment to study his dirty gray hat, and how even though he looks almost the same as he did the day I left, he seems to have aged several years all at the same time. Something I hadn’t realized until this very moment.
“I did tell you.” I lean back in my chair, taking a sip of coffee.
“Sticking to it I see.” One side of his mouth pulls up in a smirk.
“Sticking to what?” I try to come across as confused but I’m pretty sure it portrays as even more guilty.
“Nothing, sis.” He shakes his head, abruptly standing from the table. “If I were you I’d change before breakfast,” he tells me, using his hand to ruffle my hair as he passes behind me and disappears out the back door moments later.
Well that wasn’t awful or anything.
Deciding the last thing I need right now is to run into another family member, I take my coffee and immediately head upstairs, ducking into my bedroom moments later.
Abandoning my cup on top of the dresser, I collapse fully clothed on top of my bed, not sure if I want to laugh, cry, or pass out.
What are the odds that the two times I end up falling asleep with Thad someone in my family catches me in my attempt to make a clean getaway?
First my mom with the whole fell asleep in the camper/movie debacle. I’m still not sure if she believes that I actually fell asleep and that nothing happened. And now Chris–who clearly knows something’s up. He may have been nice enough not to spell it out for me, but he certainly had no qualms about laying some heavy hints.
I let out a slow exhale and close my eyes, the memory of Thad moving over me the first thing to flash through my mind.
An instant wave of emotion rolls over me. I don’t think I was expecting what happened last night to actually happen. I was prepared to dance around my attraction to Thad during my time here and escape as quickly as possible unscathed.
Clearly that plan went out the window, right along with my self-control. It’s like he smiles at me and I melt into a puddle at his feet. It’s pathetic really.
What’s the most surprising to me though is not my behavior—I’m known for going after what I want and Thad is no exception. It’s how last night made me feel. Vulnerable. Wanted. Needed even. And right now I’m at odds with those feelings.
On one hand I’m happy. So giddy I could dance around my room like a teenager. On the other, I’m terrified. But it’s not enough to scare me off. At least not yet. But it’s enough to make me take notice of what’s happening around me.
There’s no denying how Thad makes me feel. It’s there every time he looks at me. When he touches me... Well, let’s just say it’s even more obvious then. I have to keep my eyes open and remember the end game.
It’s not about some guy who makes my heart pound faster. He’s only the distraction. It’s about my career and getting back to what I love to do. Correction–what I was born to do.
Thad and I can have our fun, but when the time comes to choose, Los Angeles will win every single time.
—-
“Laken,” my mother saysseconds before she appears in the doorway of the kitchen where I’m currently getting my butt handed to me in cards by the twins.
They insisted we play while we wait for the rest of the guys to join us for lunch. I know better. Even in grade school they’d always win. Now it’s just embarrassing.
“Yeah.” I look up over my crappy cards.
“Brylan is on the phone for you,” she says, the kitchen door squeaking open the moment the statement leaves her mouth.
“Brylan?” I question, my gaze falling to Thad as he steps inside, followed closely by my father.
