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Chapter Sixteen
Erin
Iwokewithastart the next morning.
I practically shot up in bed, frantically looking around the room as the events of the night before came rushing back to me.
My heart pounded in my chest as I recalled the kiss, but accompanying it was a feeling of dread. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went out to the other room for breakfast. From the sounds of things, Libby was already up and in the other room with Neils. That would, of course, mean that we weren’t going to bring up the kiss right away, but I couldn’t help but wonder how Neils was going to react when he saw me.
I looked at my phone, shocked it was nearly ten in the morning.
I never slept in, let alone till lunchtime. It only added a sense of urgency to my day as I got out of bed and threw the covers back into place, not even taking the time to smooth them before yanking some clothes out of my closet and wrestling them over my head.
There was a part of me that questioned whether the kiss was even real.
With how perfect, how incredible it had been, I wasn’t entirely convinced it wasn’t just another of my dreams.
But the wet bathing suit I’d hung over my shower rod to dry the night before was a stark reminder of the things that really had happened, and as I brushed my teeth, the knot formed once again in the pit of my stomach.
“Shit,” I said to myself, wishing I wasn’t full of questions and uncertainty after the night before.
I could smell the inviting aroma of breakfast being cooked out in the other room. I wasn’t sure what it was, but with coffee on my mind, I decided to hurry and get out there.
I applied light makeup, and at last, I was ready to head out into the other room. It had taken me nearly twenty minutes to get up and going that morning, and I took a deep breath before leaving the room, mentally preparing myself for the interaction I was about to have.
I headed out to the other room, smiling at both Libby and Neils as I did.
“You were tired!” Libby cried out from where she was sitting at the table.
“I know I was,” I agreed. “I couldn’t sleep hardly at all last night. I don’t think I went to sleep until it was like, I don’t know, three or four this morning.”
“Damn,” Neils said. “You know they have a lot of natural sleep aids if you want to give one of those a try. I’m not one much for sleeping pills, but if you can get something natural that will help you out, why not?”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll look into that. I’ve always had issues with insomnia, so I can’t say this is out of the ordinary, but I feel bad that I slept in so late. Although I’m pleasantly surprised to see it doesn’t look like I missed breakfast.”
“You got here right in time to help with the vote,” Neils said. “Do you ladies want blueberry or strawberry pancakes?”
“Blueberry!”
Libby and I spoke at the exact same time, then she laughed.
“Blueberries make the best pancakes,” I said as I grabbed a mug to pour myself a cup of coffee. “I’m pretty sure everyone knows that.
“Exactly,” Libby beamed.
Neils agreed as he pulled the berries out of the fridge and added them to the batter, and as he turned to toss the plastic container they’d been in into the trash, our arms brushed lightly. I didn’t know what happened, but the suddenness of it caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. I almost spilled my coffee, too.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I wasn’t paying any attention at all to what I was doing. Shit.”
“Careful there; you need to pay attention in the kitchen,” Neils said quickly. “That was on me. I should have slowed down when I saw you were in here.”
“Not much spilled,” I said. “I did get a few drips on the floor, so give me a second before you come over here and I’ll wipe it up.”
I grabbed a washcloth off the counter, my cheeks burning with a blush as I bent over to take care of the few drops that hit the floor. I was keenly aware of Neil’s eyes on me as I bent over to wipe up the coffee. I didn’t dare look up to make eye contact with him for fear I would blush hard, and there would be no way to avoid Libby asking something about it.
“As long as you didn’t burn yourself or damage the floor I don’t care,” Neils said.
“I didn’t,” I assured him, working quickly to get the spill cleaned and heading back to the table to sit with Libby while we waited for breakfast. She seemed oblivious to the entire interaction, though my mind refused to let it go. It wasn’t the fact that we had bumped into each other and I spilled the coffee that had me so worried about it; it was the reaction I had to him brushing against my arm that made me wonder what was going on. I had never been the jumpy sort, and there wasn’t anything about the way he bumped into me that I found startling.
