“Just talk to your brother.”
“No.” I made my way into my bedroom and set my alarm. “This man isn’t interested in me. He’s probably just trying to see if he can trick me into sleeping with him. But I’m too smart for him. I’ll talk to my dad about the repair costs, then go from there. I’ll probably never see him again.”
“Okay, Ms. Oblivious. We’ll see.”
“Yes, we will. I love you, but I have to go to bed. I have a million things to do tomorrow and it’s way past my bedtime.”
Kim laughed. “Okay dear, sweet, innocent friend. Love you too.”
“’Night.”
“’Night,” Kim said, and hung up.
I brushed my teeth, climbed into bed, and closed my eyes, but all I could see was Austin’s face in front of me, smiling and leaning forward for a kiss. I rolled over and tried again, but this time, Austin’s head was on the pillow next to me.
“Crap.” I flopped onto my back and dragged my hands down my face. Glancing at the clock, it said eleven-thirty and I groaned. Six hours.If I can fall asleep right now, I’ll get six hours of sleep.
I glanced back at the clock at midnight and this continued until I finally fell asleep around two. By the time the alarm sounded, I was sure I’d only managed a twenty minute power nap, so I snoozed. The problem was I snoozed until six a.m., which meant I was still rushing around my apartment when my brother arrived to pick me up. Lucky for me, he didn’t grill me about why I was so tired. After I told him what time to pick me up, he dropped me off at school and went on his merry way. Thank God for small favors.
Danielle
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, I laid the last piece of paper in the last stack of grading I’d been putting off for a week and sat back in my chair. Checking my watch, I groaned. I was probably the last person left in the school and with another early morning, I was exhausted. But at least now I was caught up and could enjoy my weekend.
Opening my desk drawer, I grabbed my purse just as my new phone jingled. I found it buried in the bottom of my bag and answered it without checking the ID. “Hello?”
“Hey, babe.”
I frowned. “Austin?”
He chuckled. “Your car’s fixed.”
“But I haven’t had a chance to talk to my dad yet.” I rubbed my forehead, my sleepless nights and money worries manifesting themselves into a wicked headache. “I have to see if he’s okay with the amount. Don’t most places have to get authorization to do repairs beforehand? What if I can’t pay for them? Crap, Austin, I don’t know if I can pay you. I thought you were going to call me yesterday. I need more time to figure this out.”
“Babe, take a breath,” he said.
I did, but found I needed to take a few more.
