Begin Again (Again #1)(33)

Chapter 12


Bright light pierced through the curtains and blinded me. I blinked and stretched lazily until I felt something heavy on my stomach. I turned my head and held my breath.

Kaden.

Kaden White was in my bed.

And he had an arm draped over me.

Judging by the pounding in my head, last night hadn’t been a dream. Nor a hallucination or delusion. Smiling, I observed my roommate and decided to make this moment last as long as possible.

Then I felt his fingers on my naked belly. And froze. I didn’t dare move when Kaden stroked my skin again. A shiver spread over my entire body. I felt the urge to press myself against him, to wrap my arms around him, to bury my nose in his chest so that I could breathe in his smell.

This wasn’t good.

I gingerly removed his hand from my belly and sat up. Then I crawled as quietly I could to the end of the bed and swung my feet over the edge.

On tiptoes I snuck out of my room into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Then I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. As I washed the last traces of the night before from my face, I decided to make scrambled eggs and pancakes for breakfast. My stomach might be queasy, but I knew from experience that a good breakfast was one of the best cures for a hangover.

I had just taken the eggs out of the fridge when I heard my bedroom door open. With the carton in my hand I turned toward Kaden. I didn’t know what to expect, but …

In a few steps he’d crossed the living room and closed his bedroom door behind him. I pursed my lips and stared at the closed door. Something banged. As if he had thrown a shoe against the wall.

He’d probably thought last night was awful. First my mother showed up, then he had to cancel his own plans for the evening and bring me home in my inebriated state. And then, the intimate moments in my room … That was definitely too much for him.

But it was too much for me, too. I was hoping we’d have closed the gap between us by now. Maybe we weren’t really friends yet. But we had at least worked out how to live together like two normal people.

Another bang.

I guess I was wrong about that.

Sighing, I finished my breakfast and dragged myself back to my room. The entire bed still smelled of Kaden. I lit my candles and opened the window. Less than a minute later I heard him in the kitchen.

Great.

Back to square one.

That afternoon I went to see Dawn, to apologize. Luckily her roommate wasn’t home.

“Hey,” I said, as Dawn opened the door.

She looked at me just as guiltily, but she had no reason to feel that way. I was the one who’d screwed up last night.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie,” I blurted out and raised my hands. “I didn’t want to leave you in the lurch. I don’t know what I … ”

I didn’t get any further. Dawn threw her arms around me and hugged me hard. “Kaden told me that your mom just showed up on your doorstep.”

I stiffened. “Oh, did he?”

“Only after I called to ask him to pick us up. He didn’t give me any details, so don’t look so pissed off,” she said and dragged me into her room. “I was just worried about you. You had so much to drink, and then those weird guys were all over you.”

“It’s okay. You were just being a good friend. And I on the other hand was an idiot.” I sighed. “Dawn, I’m sorry. I should have talked with you or someone else, instead of losing it like that.”

She nodded. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone has something that weighs on them that they don’t like to talk about. For me it’s my ex.” She shuddered. “So no worries. I just hope Kaden wasn’t too nasty.”

My expression must have changed radically, because Dawn sat down immediately and stared at me, eyes wide.

“Wait a minute. You didn’t …?”

“No!” I cried, indignant. “He … he just brought me to bed. And then stomped off to his room in the morning, as if I’d tried to rape him.”

Dawn laughed. “I don’t believe a word. The bro with 100 rules for proper cohabitation brought you to bed?” She made imaginary quote marks in the air.

I nodded and told her what happened. Frowning, Dawn pulled her hair out of her face.

“Will you tell me about your mom?” Dawn finally asked, her voice soft.

I swallowed hard and shook my head. “Actually, I just want to forget this encounter.”

“I’m good at that, believe me,” Dawn sighed. “My ex tried to call me many times.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Watch out that he doesn’t show up at the door,” I joked. The color drained so fast from Dawn’s face that my smile disappeared. “It was just a dumb joke!”

She clapped her hands. “I think we should indulge in a repression beauty program, with homemade facials and a trip to the movies. What do you say?”

I agreed.

The more time passed, the better I felt. It did me a lot of good to spend time with Dawn. It was like balm for my soul, and I felt like everything was going to be all right.

When I came home that night, Kaden wasn’t there. Nor the next morning. He hadn’t texted me, hadn’t left a note on the fridge, saying where he was. I figured that he must have hooked up with someone and spent the night with her. I practically wanted to slap myself over the sting that these thoughts spread through my body.