“What? Why? I thought things were going great.” I think back to the few times I talked to Mia. I liked her.
“Not sure, really. Alex just said she wasn’t who he thought she was.” Kendrick exchanges furtive glances with Will. The atmosphere feels so heavy I’m positive I’m missing something here.
“And where are you two idiots going to stay?” Haze asks.
“Right here. Think of it as Lauren repaying my mom.”
“Does my mom even know you’re here right now?”
“Yep. We talked on the phone a few hours ago.”
So, Kendrick gets a phone call but not me. Thanks, Mom.
“And Maria’s okay with this?” I ask.
“I won’t be getting in trouble or making a mess in the house. Trust me, she’s never been happier.” Kendrick snorts.
Kendrick may be laughing, but Haze is not. Barely a few hours ago he was telling me how much he wouldn’t miss having them around. Funny how life works. Sure, he and Kendrick made peace after our prom disaster, but there’s a difference between tolerating and liking each other.
Kendrick smirks. “Which one’s my room, cuz?”
I slur something about the guest rooms upstairs at the end of the hall, and next thing I know, the boys have disappeared up the stairs with their luggage.
I glance at Haze over my shoulder. Shit, the room’s spinning.
“One day. We couldn’t even get one fucking day,” he huffs, and I laugh, grabbing his hand and leading him up the stairs. I almost trip over my own feet five times—Will and Kendrick’s surprise visit might have slightly sobered up my brain but not my body, apparently. As I push the door to my old bedroom open, I can’t help but think that, although I’ll never admit it to Haze. Maybe, just maybe…
I’m happy the guys are here.
I wake up to the sound of a woman screaming. Opening my eyes a crack, I wince at the bright sunlight coming in through my window and listen. “What on earth were you thinking?” I hear the woman say, and it doesn’t take long for the mystery voice to find an owner. That woman is not just any woman.
That woman is my mother.
The smell of burnt food sneaks in through the gap under my door, and a smile stretches my lips. I don’t even need to go down to understand what happened.
Kendrick and Will happened.
The guys tried to cook, didn’t they?
I roll over to my side, only to see Haze sleeping safe and sound on his stomach. He doesn’t seem bothered that my mother is shouting at the top of her lungs or that it smells like someone set the house on fire. I swear this guy could sleep through anything.
“I didn’t sign up for this. You better clean this up!”
Lauren Kingston has never been a morning person. Her default mode is moody and cold, and I can’t even imagine how two guys making a mess in her kitchen—which she can’t stand as the neat freak she is—will enhance her already unpleasant personality. Here’s to hoping she won’t lose it when she sees Haze walk down the stairs. With my luck, she’ll get mad that someone stayed the night without her permission and kick him out.
The fire alarm going off finally seems to be enough to pull Haze out
of slumber. Opening and closing his eyes a few times, he groans.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Oh, you know, the guys almost burnt the house down. The usual.” I slip out of bed, walking to the large windows and drawing the hideous pink curtains I’ve had since I was nine. “And my mother’s in a mood.”
“Awesome.” Haze flips on his back, blocking the sun with his hand.
“Get up. It’s past ten.” I pull on the blanket, almost drooling when the sunrays illuminate his perfectly defined torso. My eyes trace every curve, every highlighted muscle on his body, and I’m suddenly tempted to jump right back into bed with him.
“She’s literally going to bite my head off when she finds out a stranger stayed the night.” I roam my bedroom anxiously. “Hey, Mom, what’s up? Meet the boyfriend you didn’t even know I had.”