I sit up in my bed and check my phone. It's 9:45. How did I sleep in so late?
Liam is staring at me. Correction: he's staring at my chest. My bare chest.
"Oh my god," he begins.
I tense.
His eyes rise to meet mine. "Don't tell me you secretly sleep naked. Shit, do you wait for me to fall asleep and then strip —"
"No!" I interrupt, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. Liam flinches, and I cover the important parts with the blanket. "This is just… an accident."
"An accident," he repeats.
I close my eyes and groan. After showering, I'd walked over to my bed, about to get changed and start the morning. But I'd been so tired, the way you get after jerking off, and my bed had looked so warm and inviting, so I pulled myself in it. Fifteen minutes, I'd told myself. I'd nap for fifteen minutes.
It's been almost three hours.
"Well," Liam says, straightening up. "When you're ready, come downstairs." He's not meeting my eyes.
"Is something happening?" I ask. I hope we're not doing another activity like sailing.
"Yes… no… you'll see," he answers.
Before I can ask for clarification, he disappears through the door and closes it behind him. I stare at it for a minute before burying my head in my hands, my cheeks hot against my palms.
As quickly as possible, I get ready before heading downstairs too. To my surprise, only Kennedy and Liam are at the kitchen table, eating sugary cereal and nursing a cup of coffee each. "Morning," I say, grabbing a mug from a cupboard. "Are Bonnie and Erin still on a run?"
"Yeah," Liam says.
I nod and make a cup of green tea and a bowl of porridge. I'm not much of a runner either, but I should exercise more on this trip, especially since the last time I exercised was when we played beach soccer a few days ago.
"Bonnie told me they're taking a long route by the beach today, so I don't think they'll be back for a while," Liam says, shooting Kennedy a sympathetic look.
I wonder what's up with that, but before I can ask, I catch sight of Kennedy's face up close as I take a seat at the kitchen table. She's wearing a frown, with dark circles and her skin more pale than usual. "Hey, are you okay? You look sick."
"Thanks." Her voice is dry. "That's what every girl wants to hear."
"Kennedy," Liam warns. He turns to me. "She got her period last night."
I open my mouth. Close it. Open it again. "Oh."
Liam studies my reaction, and I feel myself flush again. I must look clueless.
"It's a week early," Kennedy grumbles. "My period is never irregular, so I don't know why. Maybe I'm secretly stressed, and I didn't even feel it." She looks at me. "You don't want to hear about this."
I shake my head. Clear my throat. "No, that's okay. Do you need… something?" I know the basics of the menstrual cycle — everyone had to take health class in high school, though I didn't pay much attention — but what the heck are you supposed to do when your girlfriend gets her period? I rack my brain, trying to think of something helpful to say. "Do you need painkillers?"
"You've already taken ibuprofen, haven't you?" Liam asks.
Kennedy nods. "I borrowed some from Bonnie this morning, but it takes a while to kick in. And she only had a couple left, anyway."
"We should have some more here," Liam says. "And maybe there's a hot water bottle here. I'll look."
"I could call Erin," I say, pulling out my phone from my pocket. "She might know."
Liam nods at me as he pushes himself up from the table, checking the cupboards around the kitchen before disappearing into the laundry and storage cupboards in the hallway and living room.
I dial Erin's number, and she picks up in the first couple of rings. "Hi Curtis," she says, puffing.
