Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
“That sounds good.” I smiled at him. “Can I keep the prize in the box?”
For a moment, he looked puzzled.
“I mean… we were talking about kid stuff yesterday. Chicken tenders and racecar beds.” My cheeks heated. “Clearly I’m not a morning person because that didn’t make much sense.”
“It’s all good. Get your cereal and let’s go out on the front porch. It’s pretty out there.”
I followed him around the kitchen as he showed me the bowls, spoons, and cereal options. Even with my slightly bleary brain, I managed to figure out where the milk was on my own.
A gasp escaped my lips as I followed him onto the porch. “It’s beautiful,” I said softly once he’d closed the door behind us.
Turning my head, I tried to take in everything at once. The tall trees on either side of the house. The narrow road with a clearing on the far side of it—one that provided a sweeping view of the mountains. “Wow.”
“It’s pretty scenic,” Lucas said, sitting down on a white metal chair that looked as if it had once been part of a patio dining set. I sat on another. “And peaceful. But you know what? I study better in the library basement.”
I nodded. “Yeah, why breathe in fresh mountain air when you can inhale decades of book dust?”
He laughed. “I know it’s weird.”
I shook my head as I drew my knees up to my chest, my bare feet balanced on the front edge of the chair. “It’s not weird. Maybe it’s like your classes are your job, so you prefer to do it at your workplace—on campus. But then you get to come home to this.” I gestured to the incredible view with the hand holding my cereal bowl, and milk sloshed over the edge. “Oops.”
“That makes sense,” he said, looking out at the mountains in the distance. “Though you could’ve made your point without splashing milk around.”
I grinned, eating some of the soggy cereal. This was a different side of Lucas up here. In our study group, he was so serious. And I’d seen yet another side of him last night, when we’d gone to Todd’s house. He’d been angry then, but also kind of protective. It was weird to see new facets of a guy I’d known for a year, but it was also nice.
And then I thought of one more new thing I’d learned about him, and I set the cereal down and wrapped my arms around my knees. “Can I ask you something?”
He tore his gaze away from the view and turned back to me. In the morning light, the green of his eyes was even more vivid. “Sure.”
“Why did you follow me last night when I left the laundromat?”
His picked up his mug, staring into it as if it provided answers. When it didn’t, he took a long sip. Finally, he spoke. “I was worried about you.”
“Okay, but why?”
This time, Lucas stared out at the landscape. “I’m… I’m not an intuitive person. Logic is the only thing that matters to me. But I just got the feeling that something was wrong, and since I don’t usually get feelings like that—I listened to it.”
“I’m glad you did.”
His words touched me, especially since he didn’t seem to quite understand it himself. It astonished me that Lucas, who was, as he said, Mr. Logic himself, had seen I needed help.
“You could have told me. Told us.” He turned his head toward the living room window in the direction where Jayden was presumably still sleeping.
“I know. I realize that now, but before… it’s not like we ever talked all that much about our personal lives. But… I’m sorry I didn’t.”
His kind eyes settled on me again. “I didn’t mean it as a reprimand, as if you should have. But I just wanted you to know that you could have.”
“I do know that. Now.”
“And Jayden,” Lucas said.
“Glad you two finally remembered me.” The voice from the doorway startled us both. Jayden stood there, his legs still bare, but now a Langley t-shirt covered his upper body.
“Hi.” I suddenly felt shy, perhaps because of the way I’d stared at him before. “Were you able to get much sleep?”
He grinned. “I did, so you can drop the guilty look. How’d you sleep?”
“Good. It’s a nice bed, but the décor wasn’t quite what I was expecting.”
Something passed over his face, but I couldn’t identify it. “What time is your first class?”
“Eleven.”
“I can drive you.”
My gaze went to my car. It was parked on the grass on the side of the driveway under a tree. “I can drive.”
Jayden shrugged. “We’re going to the same place. Why not go together?”
“I—”
“And I’ll drive you back,” Lucas said. “Can you meet me in the union at six?
“Yes, but—”
“Then it’s settled.”
It was? I hadn’t planned on spending more than one night here. No, I wasn’t going to attempt another night in my car, but If I was going to impose on anyone, it should be Hailey. She’d offered. I’d barely spent time with either of these men except for our study sessions. But as I looked from Lucas to Jayden and back again, they seemed resolute.