“It really was.” He starts laughing again. I can’t do anything but join him. His laugh is addictive. The sound is almost a melody in my ears. I realize I would probably sound insane myself if anyone were able to hear these thoughts. It sure is insane finding a man you kidnapped by accident so attractive, but then again, I am pretty sure kidnapping victims don’t usually stalk their kidnappers.
“What happened to the dog?” Kai asks after a few minutes of silence. It’s almost as if he can’t stand the silence either.
“My father decided we couldn’t keep him,” I admit. This story is not one I share; not even Noah knows about this. “I have always wanted to get another one, but every time I talk myself out of doing so.”
“I think you should get one.” He encourages me with excitement. This man, full of tattoos and with darkness surrounding him, is very much like a puppy himself if you think about it. Clingy and following me around as if he doesn’t have anything better to do.Or anyone better to do.
“Come on, big guy,” I say as I help him remove his shoes and guide him under the blanket.
“Time for sleep,” I say. He smiles, getting comfortable in my bed, still a little drunk from all the alcohol he and Leo consumed hours ago. It makes me wonder how much they must have had to drink to still be drunk so many hours later. I make a mental note to ask more about this tomorrow, but right now he needs to sleep.
“Nooo,” he complains when I try to stand. He pulls me onto the bed, pulling the blanket over both of our bodies. His arms wrap around me, forcing me to stay in bed with him. I can’t help but laugh.
“Fine, I will stay with you.” I give up fighting this; his embrace wakes up feelings that have been numb for way too long. It’s nice to be in someone’s arms who wants you to be there, someone who craves to be in your space just for a moment without asking for more—no demands, just affection offered without you even having to ask. This is not something I am used to, but then again, I can’t say I’ve had many affectionate moments in my life. My parents might not have traumatized me, but their lack of love to give followed me into adulthood. I am always chasing emotionally unavailable men who would never stay in bed with me if it just meant cuddling and sleeping. But this man right here? He is not only willingly staying in my bed,but he is demanding my presence here. He wants me to be in this bed with him.And who am I to deny him?
Chapter 12
Rachel
WHEN I OPEN MY EYES, it’s almost eleven in the morning, and Kai is nowhere to be found. I walk toward the kitchen, my eyes roaming the house looking for him. Disappointment fills me when I reach the kitchen, and instead of him, I see Noah cooking pancakes.Again.This man and his pancakes. I hate them, but he loves them, so as his best friend, I have to love them too.
“I saw him leaving as I was pulling up your driveway,” he informs me. I’m not surprised he read my thoughts; Noah has always been like this. He has always known the right things to say or what crosses my mind before I can voice it. He might be the asshole who will tease me for an eternity for my mistakes, but he has always been the most supportive friend a girl could have.
“Okay,” I say as I take a seat, and he puts a plate of pancakes in front of me. I smile and cut a piece of the warm food on my plate. Bringing the fork to my lips, I taste the bite. Noah loves pancakes, but pancakes don’t love Noah. This is terrible. I force myself to swallow and then take a long sip from the coffee mug he has set next to the plate, trying my best to wash the taste away with the dark liquid.
“Don’t go there,” he warns.
“Where?” I pretend that my brain hasn’t already gone into overthinking mode about all the reasons Kai felt the need to leave before I woke up. Maybe he had hoped for more than a cuddle and a sleepover, or he was embarrassed when he woke up after his alcohol-induced nap. He was out cold five minutes after pulling me into that bed, but not once did his hold on me loosen. I tried to move away once, but he pulled me back, and after a while, I fell asleep.
“You know what I mean.” Noah takes a bite of his pancakes. His expression suggests he is savoring the taste in his mouth, eyes half-closed, his mouth moving slowly, chewing the piece of pancake.He can’t really like this, can he?“You’re spiraling about the fact that he left without a goodbye. You always go for the emotionally unavailable ones and then get depressed when they don’t give you what you want.” Rude. He’s not wrong, but this is plain rude. “This man is obsessed with you; this is clear enough to me, but he also seems to have the habit of ghosting you. And yes, this time I agree with you—leaving without a goodbye, especially after you picked him up from jail yesterday, is not okay.”
“I’m not attracted to him,” I lie. “Besides, he’s the one chasing me around.”
“You both chase each other around.” He takes another bite of his food.
“You’re not wrong,” I admit. I stand and walk to the counter where the coffee maker is plugged into the wall. I take the empty coffee mug with me and fill it to the brim before I go back to my previous seat.
“So...” Noah lets the silence fill the room for a minute before he continues. “Book club?” He changes the subject because my friend knows me too well. He knows when to back off.
I laugh. “Book club,” I say back with excitement, and Noah has already left his seat and is taking our plates to the sink. Thisis what we need: our familiar routine, without drunk boys and stupid kidnappings.
ABOUT THREE HOURS LATERand a hundred pages deep in our books, I decide that enough time has passed for me to ask about Leo.
“What happened with Leo when you left?” Straight to the point. There’s no need to fool around trying to be discreet. I want the tea, and this book isn’t providing tea-worthy drama so far. It’s a good book, don’t get me wrong, but slow burns are not my cup of tea either most of the time. I can appreciate one, and I pick one to read more often than Noah, but I prefer a taste of gasoline with the smut starting from page one more. Noah, though, who was the one to pick today’s book, heard great things about it and insisted this was the perfect read. So here we are, reading a slow-burn romantic comedy with a grumpy male main character and a ray of fucking sunshine for a female character. This book is unrealistic; no woman is that perky and happy all the time.
“I drove him home.” Noah doesn’t bother to look up from his book. He turns the page and keeps reading, unbothered.
I place my half-open book on my lap. “Your home?” I question with a smirk.
“No, Rachel.” Noah sounds annoyed, but I know better.
“Then whose?” I press until Noah puts his book next to him on the couch.
“His apartment, Rachel.” He gives me an annoyed look. “Not all of us take home the criminal we bailed out of jail, Rachel, and cuddle him to sleep.”
“Cruel,” I say, laughing. “But fair. I did cuddle him.”
“You did, didn’t you?” Noah laughs with me, and just like that, the book is a distant memory of our day. We get into a long conversation about men, jokes, and work gossip, as we usually do on Sundays. The aroma of coffee fills my house, accompanied by our laughter and voices. It’s what I like about Sundays—the routine we've had since we were eighteen. We met when we were kids and have always been friends, but it wasn’t until our first year of cosmetology school that we became best friends, and since then, we have never spent a single Sunday apart. It is the best kind of friendship a girl can ask for—a best friend who loves to read smutty books and gossips with you while he fixes your hair, feeds you terrible pancakes, and gives you good coffee.