by Judy Corry
He stepped closer and pulled her against him. She sighed and relaxed against his chest, breathing in his clean scent. How had he known she needed his arms around her after revealing her past? It was like he always knew just what she needed.
He spoke into her hair. "I'm so thankful you got out of that marriage as quickly as you did. It couldn't have been easy."
Kate bit her lip and nodded. "Thanks for not judging me. Especially after I lied about it at first."
"You'll never have to worry about that with me. Never."
Could that really be true? Could the guy who only wanted to get engaged once really not care that she was married and divorced within a few months of each other? She never would have believed it if she hadn't heard the sincerity in his voice with her own ears.
Even though she wanted to stay close to him forever, she pulled herself away and tucked some hair behind her ear.
"Enough about me." Kate cleared her throat, needing a lighthearted moment with him after the heavy one. "What are you going to do now that you're officially, if not secretly, single again? Gonna take another shot at a reality dating show?"
Drew laughed, like him going on a reality dating show was the most farfetched idea ever.
"I'm actually hoping to be out of that world in a few months. If it didn't work for me once, I'm not going to try it again."
"What about that fancy dating app of yours? Think you'll give that a shot?"
"Um, nope."
"Afraid no one would swipe right?" she teased. There was about zero chance of that happening. He'd probably break the system with all the right swipes he'd receive.
"Not really my style, coincidentally enough."
"Weird." She smiled.
"I'm actually just hoping to get back to real life once this is all over with. And as for finding the future Mrs. Burrows…" He shrugged. "I'm hoping destiny will finally decide to help me out."
20
Drew
"You sure you don't mind waiting for them to get back?" Kate asked Drew after they'd finished the dishes.
He was tired, but he couldn't bring himself to go home just yet. He didn't want the evening with Kate to end. "Have they texted you?"
Kate pulled her phone out of her back pocket. "They did." She unlocked the screen and read the text. "Jonas says the baby is looking fine so far. The doctors just want to monitor them for another hour or so."
Drew checked the time on his watch. "It's after midnight, but I'm okay to wait another hour." If he was tired the next day at work, it would be worth it.
"Wanna watch a movie then?"
"Sure."
Kate led him back into the living room and they both sank down onto the big couch. There was a huge ottoman pushed right against it, and Drew couldn't help but think it might be a nice spot to doze off on.
They picked the latest blockbuster hit and got comfy, but it wasn't long before Drew felt his eyelids getting heavy. He shifted on the couch to get even more comfortable. Kate was just inches away, her legs stretched out on the ottoman. When she glanced at him, her eyes were sleepy too.
The movie was okay, but it was only a matter of minutes before Drew drifted off into a deep sleep.
"You got all the supplies?" Aiden opened the oak door to his parents’ house, a huge smile on his permanently tanned face. Of course he would wait until spring break of their last year as roommates to finally promise an actual all-nighter.
Drew held up the grocery sack filled with energy drinks. "No more pansy soda and hot chocolate. I got the hard stuff this time."
Aiden shook his head and led the way to the family room in the back of the house.
"Hey, Drew." Aiden's sister, Kate, peeked her head around the corner when she heard them walking through the kitchen. "How much do you wanna bet Aiden conks out before dawn?"
Drew held up the grocery sack. "It's not gonna happen. I got the real deal this time, and I'll feed it to him with an IV if I have to."
Kate smiled and stepped beside him. They continued to the family room together, arguing over whether it would really work this time. Drew tried to stand up for his friend, but Kate did have a point. Nothing had seemed to work in the past. Why would this night be any different?
Aiden was already centering their gaming chairs in the middle of the room when Drew and Kate came in.
"Gonna spy on another guys’ night?" Aiden asked Kate as he plopped down in his chair.
"Believe it or not, I'm busy tonight. So no, I'm sorry I won't be able to cheer on your gaming." She ruffed up Aiden's blond hair before plopping herself down on the couch. "I'm just here for the peanut butter cups that I know Drew bought for me."
Drew hid the bag behind him, though he knew it was pointless. Kate had a way of charming him out of anything. All she had to do was look at him with those bright blue eyes of hers, flutter her long eyelashes, and he would do anything she asked him to do. Part of him wondered if she knew just how much control she had over him…she probably did.
Aiden certainly had noticed. And then lectured him about it.
Yes, Drew knew logically that he shouldn't notice Kate, who was still just a senior in high school…three years younger than himself. But he couldn't not notice her. She was gorgeous, and her outgoing, carefree personality was captivating to his more reserved self. He was pretty sure she'd been flirting with him for months, and it was totally killing his self-control since she seemed to always get dressed up even more when he hung out at her family's house.
But he needed to keep that self-control, or Aiden would beat him up. At least, that's what he said whenever he caught Drew smiling stupidly at his sister.
It was so wrong. Wanting to make-out with his best friend's sister. So, so wrong.
But also so tempting.
When Kate realized holding her hand out passively for the candy wasn't going to do the trick, she lifted herself off the couch and marched over to where he stood with the candy still behind his back.
"Come on, Drew." She looked up at him expectantly, her hand open in a ‘gimme’ gesture. "I know you always buy an extra when you come here."
Drew shook his head and finally opened the bag for her. "Fine, just take one though."
She grabbed an orange-wrapped candy. "Thanks Drew, you're the best." She kissed him on the cheek before leaving.
Drew stood frozen for a moment, heat snaking up his neck. Then he finally set the bag on the ground between him and Aiden, and took his seat, all while trying not to notice the way Aiden scowled at the interaction.
"Remember, you touch her before she's graduated and I'll beat you up."
Drew grabbed the controller and turned it on. "Thanks for the reminder."
But if Aiden was that determined for Drew to avoid his sister, then maybe he should have a talk with her instead.
The hours of video games passed quickly, and the energy drinks seemed to be working because at one o'clock, Aiden was still going strong.
"Do you wanna take a break for a minute?" Aiden stood and stretched after another round of Halo.
"Yeah, what do you want to do?" Drew stood as well, lifting his arms up and out and cracking his back.
"Wanna run a few laps around the cul de sac? I don't know what's in those drinks you bought, but I feel like I could run a marathon."
Kate was just walking in the front door, her hair a lot curlier and her make-up a lot bolder than it had been earlier.
"Where have you been?" Aiden asked her as he pulled his jacket off a hook by the front door and shrugged into it.
Kate set her purse on the knob at the end of the banister and started unzipping her jacket. "Sarah's big eighteenth birthday party was tonight. Mom said I could stay out, so don't even try to get me in trouble."
"I wasn't gonna tell, we're actually headed out now."
"What are you guys doing?" Kate looked to Aiden then to Drew.
"Aiden wanted to run a few laps around the neighborhood, but I ate way too much crap to be running anytime soon. I'
ll probably just watch him." Drew shrugged, his hands in his pockets.
Kate zipped her jacket back up. "I'll keep you company. We can make fun of Aiden's sloppy running together."
They all headed outside, and Kate and Drew sat on the curb while Aiden ran from one end of the cul de sac to the other.
"You do realize he's going to burn off all that energy, don't you?" Kate said as they watched her brother. Aiden had stopped jogging back and forth, and was now entertaining them with badly executed cartwheels and goofy leaps, finally ending his performance by skipping around the circle, his arms flailing out to the side like a dork.
Drew chuckled as he watched his friend. "That's okay. I rented Not A Lucky Charm from Redbox. He won't be able to fall asleep after watching the opening scene."
Kate grinned. "You are so mean."
"More like desperate. We've been attempting an all-nighter for ten years, and he still hasn't made it."
"Well, I'll come watch it too then. That way I get to witness this once-in-a-lifetime feat."
"Maybe we should film the amazing accomplishment, so we can be sure it actually happened."
"I'll grab the video camera." Kate smiled.
A few minutes later it started to sprinkle. Kate and Drew stood to go inside before the clouds started dumping on them. Aiden did a few jumping jacks before finally walking back to the house.
Kate offered to pop some popcorn in the microwave before joining the boys on the couch. Drew sat in one corner, Aiden in the middle—ever the chaperone—so Kate settled at the other end.
While the reviews had claimed the movie would keep viewers at the end of their seats, and scared awake all night, it did not deliver. Aiden was soon on the floor, claiming he was just stretching out, but his snoring soon gave away that he had indeed fallen asleep.
"He's such a kid when it comes to sleep." Kate nudged Aiden with her foot, but he didn't stir one bit.
Drew smiled at Kate. "I know I should be annoyed that it's impossible for him to stay up past two, but it's kind of nice that even though everything else may change in life, Aiden will still turn into a zombie each night."
"We should warn his future wife before they have any kids. He'll be no help at night."
Drew laughed, imagining Aiden’s future wife shaking him awake to grab the crying baby, and Aiden just turning over to his side unable to hear a thing.
Kate poked Aiden with her foot again, testing how deep in sleep he really was.
Still nothing.
With a satisfied smirk, she turned back to Drew and asked. "Are you comfortable? It's a little chilly tonight."
Drew shrugged. "I'm okay. Not that cold."
Kate got up to grab a big quilt from the stack of blankets in the corner of the room. She sat next to Drew and draped it across their laps.
"That should be better." Her pink lips quirked up into an amused smile.
Drew took in a deep breath to try and relax himself, but it was impossible for him to think when she was that close.
She was doing it again.
Did she have any idea how fast his heart was beating?
They continued to watch the movie, and Drew didn't even care anymore that it was ridiculous, or that there was still an hour left before the stupidity would end, because being so close to Kate was worth every second.
But Drew was still very aware that her protective older brother was only a few feet away. So he sat there like a gentleman with his hands resting prudently in his lap.
"What do you think of the movie so far?" Kate whispered as the guy on the screen pulled his ‘lucky’ wristband onto his forearm.
Drew shrugged. "It's okay. Not the hit I'd hoped for, obviously." He nodded pointedly at Aiden.
"I actually think it's perfect." Kate leaned her head against Drew's shoulder, and he tried not to have a heart attack. What was it about this girl that made him so nervous and anxious? He was twenty-one, she was eighteen. He should have been the cool one, but his chest was full of bouncy balls banging around so fast and hard he didn't know how to catch his breath when she was around.
She reached for his hand where it sat on the quilt. He should make an excuse to stand up or leave, but instead of doing the right thing, he slowly curled his fingers around hers. His thoughts ran a thousand miles a minute as he tried to concentrate on the movie. Aiden was going to ask him how it ended, and he was going to have to make something up because his mind was so focused on the way Kate was drawing lines all over the back of his hand and forearm.
She was insufferable.
She was gorgeous.
She was lifting his arm and tucking herself under it, cuddling up next to him and watching him with those eyes that seemed to always see through him.
"I just want to know what it's like to be close to you," she said. "I've always wondered how it would feel."
Drew swallowed hard. "And how is it?"
She leaned against him and turned her gaze back toward the movie. "It's nice. Don't you think?"
Drew shifted on the couch to make them more comfortable. Kate rested her head more fully against his chest and sighed contentedly.
"It is nice," he said softly.
They watched the movie like that for a while, and Drew couldn't help but wish the movie would go on forever. It was so hard to think of Kate as being too young for him, because in his arms right then she didn't feel too young. She felt like a grown woman. A woman who had slowly snatched his heart from him through the years.
Aiden had always given him a hard time for being so willing to help Kate with her films, but Drew never minded. He was impressed with her ambition and talent. None of the other girls he'd dated seemed to know what they wanted to do with their lives, but this eighteen-year-old had been chasing after her dreams for years. She was smart and talented and beautiful. She had everything he'd ever looked for in a girlfriend…just not the right amount of years.
At least that's what Aiden thought.
Kate had been quiet for a while, her breathing slow. Had she fallen asleep?
He looked down to check, but her eyes were still open. She tilted her face toward him. Their eyes met and their lips were only inches away, her breath warm on his face. Her soft lips slightly parted.
"You want to know something else I've always wondered about?" Her voice was so quiet he could barely hear her.
"What?"
"I've always wondered what it would feel like to kiss Drew Burrows."
Drew's whole body went weak. What was she doing?
She lifted her head and moved her face so their noses were touching.
Drew's heart doubled its speed.
"Kiss me," she whispered, her face so vulnerable yet strong at the same time.
And he melted. Molten lava seemed to pour out all over his body, and then he was tilting his head down and kissing her. Kissing those soft lips that had taunted him one too many times.
He meant to only kiss her for a second, just to see if she tasted as good as he'd always imagined. But one kiss led to another, and another, until he could no longer tell where one kiss started and the other ended.
21
Drew
Drew was glad he'd woken just in time. He didn't want to relive what happened next. Kate's blonde hair tickled his nose, bringing him back to where he was. He was lying on Lana's sofa with Kate nestled against him. They must have fallen asleep.
He lifted his head to see if she was still sleeping. Her eyes were closed, her expression peaceful. It was a beautiful look, one without the worries or stresses of everyday life. How had they ended up spooning? They hadn't been that way when he'd fallen asleep. But he wasn't complaining. She felt so nice against him.
"See, I told you he was Kate's new boyfriend." A young voice startled Drew so bad he almost had a heart attack.
Standing just a couple feet away were two little boys in matching pajamas.
The boys kept saying things about him being Kate's boyfriend. Was Kate going around telling people she had a
boyfriend?
He didn't know how to respond to the boy's comment. While he wasn't Kate's boyfriend at the moment, a huge part of him wanted to be. So he decided to pretend he hadn't heard it and hoped the boys would forget about it.
"How long have you guys been awake?" Drew whispered as he untangled himself from Kate and scooted to a sitting position on the next cushion, though he'd much rather stay close to her. She smelled amazing, and it was nice to have someone soft and warm in his arms.
"We just woke up. Mommy and Daddy are still sleeping, but we wants breakfast," Tayden said.
How deep had he slept? He hadn't even heard Jonas and Lana come home.
"What do you usually eat for breakfast?" Drew pulled his shoes on, hoping he could help so they wouldn't need to wake their parents after their long, stressful night.
"Cereal," Decklan said.
Drew could definitely manage pouring the boys a bowl of cereal. "Let's go into the kitchen and see what we can find."
He opened the pantry doors, searching for a cereal box. But there was none in sight.
He turned back to the boys, who were standing at his heels. "Where does your mom keep the cereal?"
Decklan shrugged. "They went to the store last night before the car crashed."
Which meant the cereal probably never made it home.
"Do you think your mom would mind if I went and bought some breakfast for everyone?" Drew asked.
The boys’ eyes brightened. "Like McDonalds?"
Drew laughed. Of course they'd want McDonalds. That was like the happiest place on earth to everyone under the age of ten.
Drew hunkered down to be on the boys’ eye level. He'd always loved kids and hoped to have some of his own in the near future. "What do you like to get from McDonalds?"
"Happy meals!" Tayden shouted and jumped, his face showing pure excitement.
"You can't have a happy meal for breakfast." Decklan crossed his arms.
"Pancakes?" Tayden said, more unsure about his answer this time around.