AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Worry rang in her voice.
“I’m good, all’s good,” I said quickly, not totally meeting her gaze. “That massage and the wine, it’s got me so relaxed I could sleep through the night and most of tomorrow, so I’m gonna go and do just that. That snowball fight tired me out.” I started moving. “Have the cake, don’t let it go to waste. And if you head out before I’m awake in the morning, it’s been…something. I-I enjoyed having you here. Have a good trip home.”
I stalked back to my room, the wine bottle in my hand, nudged the door shut carefully with my toe, then turned the lights on dim. I set the bottle down on the table and sank down on the edge of my bed, downing the rest of the wine in my glass, not even tasting it. I sat there for a while, just…thinking.
So, apparently, I’d lost touch on how to show my thanks and appreciation to people. I could see it, so caught up in things going on in my life, my music, that everything else tended to fade into the background.
I set the glass down then fell back on the bed, rubbing my forehead tiredly, dozens of thoughts and memories whirling through my head.
Nothing like having an almost complete stranger break you down in a handful of words. She hadn’t meant the words to cut as much as they had—she probably had no idea how they would do that.
I stared up at the ceiling, listening to the silence of the room until my eyes finally fell shut. I woke up a few hours later, the room still dim. I rubbed my face sleepily for a moment, trying my best to wake up, then checked the time on my watch. Just after midnight. Guess I really had crashed, not that I’d truly meant to.
I sat up, wondering if Jenna was up or if she’d gone to bed. I headed down the hallway, the dim lighting helping me make it easily down the hall. The door still sat partially open, and when I peeked in, the bed was still made, no light on anywhere in there, no light in the bathroom.
I didn’t think she was crazy enough to take off at night, but then again…maybe she’d gone out to shovel and clear her vehicle off. But her bag still sat on the armchair in the room, so I went up to the top floor, looking in the two sitting rooms—nothing. Living room empty. Same with the kitchen, although the Christmas lights were still on. I thought I could hear something…somewhere.
Where was it?
I headed to the staircase and looked over the side of it, down the multi floors. I moved slowly down the stairs, looking over the rail, keeping my ears open. Something faint was getting louder… Voices? No… Music? Definitely seemed like music.
And suddenly…I noticed movement in the pool below.
I hurried down the stairs, the carpet muffling my footsteps, and made my way to the pool, coming to a sudden stop.
Jenna. In the pool, swimming gracefully. On one of the chairs was her phone, playing a Christmas playlist very, very softly.
I swallowed hard as she turned, starting another lap. She had yet to notice me, lost in her own little world.
Part of me thought I should leave her be…leave her alone and not let her know I was awake, let alone that I’d found her.
But the other half of me, the half currently waking up…had other ideas as I watched the curve of her body beneath the clear surface of the water.
I took a step forward, clearing my throat. “Well, well, well. Looks like someone didn’t pack a suit in her emergency bag.”
Chapter Eight
J
enna
I’d been lost in my own little happy world, my favorite retro Christmas playlist playing softly beside my clothes and a towel. The water felt amazing. I needed as much relaxation as I could get, feeling on the brink of overstaying my welcome. I’d never accidently chased a man off before.
I’d stubbornly fought every urge in my body to go right after him, afraid of somehow making things worse. Instead I let the pesky inner voice that cautioned me to stay put win and stayed on the couch for over an hour, playing a game of solitaire, where I spent more time looking down the hallway than at the cards spread out in front of me.
I had sent a wish up to Santa to magically clear the roads by morning so I could get out of here before things got any more uncomfortable between Dean and me.
I hadn’t meant to put my foot in my mouth and chase him away, but somehow, I had. And when I’d gone by his bedroom to apologize…something had stopped me just as I’d been about to knock. I’d leave a note on the table.
I’d been contemplating going to bed, but knew I’d just lay there staring at the ceiling which would just make me feel worse. So I’d decided to explore the house for a little while and found myself by the pool.
One quick debate about whether or not I should…knowing he’d probably sleep through the night. I’d stripped down and dove in.
The water had calmed me almost instantly, letting me lose myself in my own little world.
And then, I’d heard his voice.
Not just in my head.
