Chapter 2

 

 

“You can’t be serious,” she said.

She scoffed at the idea even as excitement filled her chest. She’d been dreading walking away from him since the moment Aura had called, and feared the doubt that would haunt her just walking to the car, let alone when lying in bed.

“If I’m next to you, you can’t possibly be worried about Aura,” he said.

“But a fourteen-day date?” she asked.

“I said it was going to be a marathon date,” he replied. “You think your roommates will mind?”

“If they do, I’m sure Jackson won’t mind me staying at your place,” Kate said.

“Does that mean it’s a yes?”

She permitted a smile. “It sounds like fun.”

He grabbed a sleeping bag and then paused. “Same rules apply,” he warned. “I can’t let you think I’m easy.”

She laughed. “No one could say that about you,” she said. “Ever.”

He grinned and cradled the sleeping bag under one arm. As they walked to the front of the store he briefly let go of her hand to call Jackson and inform him that he’d be getting a ride with Kate, but he’d be stopping home to pack a bag. Kate could hear the amusement in Jackson’s voice.

“Well played, brother,” Jackson said, approvingly. “Just remember to do everything I would do.”

“She can hear you,” Reed said.

“Good!” Jackson said.

“I’ll see you at home,” Reed said, and hung up. Then he turned to Kate. “You want to warn the blondes?”

Since they were in the checkout, she sent them a quick text while Reed bought his absurdly large sleeping bag. She kept smiling at his back, excited and nervous at the prospect of spending fourteen days straight with Reed. As they walked out of the store she frowned.

“How is this going to work with classes?”

“We already agreed they aren’t overlapping,” he replied. “I’ll just go to your classes and you can come to mine.”

Her excitement mounted. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Why not?” he asked. “I think it will be fun.”

“Or we could get tired of each other.”

He came to a stop and pulled her hand so they faced each other. “We’ll be together,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”

“You mean like breakfast and lunch and dinner and everything?”

“Everything except bathroom time,” he said. “Because that would just be weird.”

She laughed, the sound echoing over the empty Walmart parking lot. “A marathon date,” she said. “I guess we should go for it.”

They reached Ember’s jeep and climbed into the back. Ember looked over her shoulder and eyed him like a criminal in a lineup, her eyes settling on the large sleeping bag on his lap. Squished between Kate and Marta, Reed merely smiled.

“Hey roomy,” he said brightly.

Marta snorted a laugh and Brittney grinned, glancing at Ember before trying not to laugh. Ember merely glowered at him for several moments. Then she turned and keyed the ignition before stomping on the gas pedal and driving across several parking spots on her way out.

“You’d better not snore.”

“I don’t,” he said. “Or at least I don’t think so.”

“Ember,” Kate said, “if you’re not okay with this . . .”

“I don’t mind Reed,” Ember said. “And I think it’s a great idea. But I don’t like Aura coming to our town.”

Reed glanced at Kate and she gave an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, I told them she was coming here.”

“When?” Brittney asked.

“A few weeks,” Reed said. “I didn’t get a day.”

They stopped at his house and he packed a quick bag, stuffing clothes and a toothbrush into a small suitcase. Kate stayed with him, sitting on the bed after the blondes had left. She noticed he kept the door open, but it was still exhilarating to be in his bedroom—the first time since they were dating for real. She knew nothing was going to happen tonight, but it was one more wall coming down. It made her wonder how many walls remained . . .

“Are you doing this just because of Aura?” she asked, trying to stop thinking about his bed.

He considered the question and then shook his head. “It might have given me the idea, but now that we’re doing it, I really want to finish.”

“I do too,” she said. “I’ve never heard of anyone doing something like this.”

“Certainly not for two weeks,” he replied.

He finished his bag and grabbed his backpack before they went out to his car. Jackson and Shelby stood in the doorway as he drove away and she waved to them, amused that they resembled concerned parents.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she said.

“Me either,” he said, his tone tinged with excitement.

She glanced his way, gratified at how he’d turned an impossible situation into an impossible date. Reed could have said he needed time or space, or just asked Kate to leave, but he’d turned immediately to her, thinking of her. And she’d been thinking of herself. Guilt assailed her and she reached over and kissed his cheek at a stoplight.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “When you got that call I couldn’t stop thinking about what she could do to us . . . to me.”

“Kate, I . . .”

“Don’t,” she said. “You responded better than I did.”

“I was worried too,” he admitted. “But there were just too many emotions for me to pick just one. Then I saw your face and knew what you must be feeling.”

“Are you okay?” she asked. “I should have asked earlier but I’m asking now. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling.”

“The shock is wearing off,” he said. “But I still can’t believe she’s awake. I’d accepted the fact that she was gone a long time ago, and that call could have been that she died.”

“I’m glad she’s alive,” Kate said, and when he looked to her in surprise she added, “The blondes and I had a talk a while ago about Aura. The truth is that Aura could have been any one of us. We’ve all ridden with a guy who had drunk too much and we were too afraid to say anything.”

“Even Ember?”

“She wasn’t always that fiery,” Kate said. “That came in high school, or so I’m told.”

He chuckled wryly. “I’m about to see behind the curtain, to witness women in their natural habitat. I can only imagine what I will learn—or will I be eaten alive?”

She laughed with him and then he parked on the street in front of her house. They got out and walked up to the house together, and for the first time in their relationship, entered the house together at the end of the night.

Her roommates had already blown up an air mattress and put on sheets, a welcome for which he thanked them profusely. The girls were ready for bed and Brittney yawned, apologizing as she departed for her room on the second floor. Marta followed.

Ember grinned. “I would ask if you need me to guard your door,” she said. “But I’d rather he went in than stayed out.”

“Ember,” Kate said, exasperated.

“What?” Ember asked with a shrug. “Can’t I want my friend to have some fun?”

She flushed. “It’s not like that.”

“Too bad,” Ember said and walked into her bedroom.

“Sorry,” Kate said.

“She’s my roommate now,” Reed said, amused. “I’ll be fine.”

It was after two but she helped Reed set up his bed. As she did the reality of what they were doing settled in, and she realized their date had already begun—and it wasn’t going to end for weeks. She kept smiling, excited at the prospect of waking up and seeing him in her house, to spend every minute with him until the marathon date culminated in two weeks.

They parted briefly so she could change into her pajamas, a pair of short shorts and tank top. She returned to kiss him goodnight, an odd yet strangely intimate experience as they sat on the couch just feet from his bed.

“I’m glad we were at the store together,” she murmured.

“Can you imagine if I’d gotten that call at my house?” he asked. “We wouldn’t be having a sleepover right now.”

“I’ll thank Aura when I see her,” she said with a smile.

“Good night, Kate,” he said.

“Good night, Reed,” she replied. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”

She gave him a final, lingering kiss and then returned to her bedroom, glancing back as she slipped inside. Already dressed for bed, she climbed under the blanket and lay down, unable to shake the smile that pulled at her lips. Her fears remained but they prowled at a distance, kept at bay by her boyfriend who slept just feet away.