I was lost in a weird dream that night; really weird.
I didn’t remember anything except blurry images and smells that seemed real. How could anyone dream of a smell? It was absurd. But I smelled it clearly even when I opened my eyes and looked around. The morning light sluggishly penetrated through the half-open shutters, and silence reigned. There was nobody except me in the living room.
I curled up under the covers, basking in the feeling of warmth, and for a few moments I closed my eyes. But then I remembered something.
I hadn’t had any blanket when I fell asleep. Why did I have one now? I rubbed my eyes, struggling to get off the couch. I went to the bathroom to freshen up. My hair was scarily rebellious, and I was still wearing the sloth pajamas under my hoodie. Had I really confronted James Hunter dressed like that?
I checked the time on my phone. It was a quarter to seven. I even had time to make myself breakfast. I looked in the pantry, but it was practically empty. There were no cookies, croissants, or anything sweet. And I always needed sugar in the morning. I checked the fridge and saw that there were enough eggs and milk, so I grabbed a new bag of flour and got to work. Pancakes.
“I can’t believe it, you really slept on the couch?” Will’s drowsy voice came from behind me.
He hugged me from behind before whispering in my ear, “Sorry about last night.”
I tensed under his warm hug.
“You were really pissed.”
And I was scared to be around you.
“I told you, I got in a fight with James,” he explained calmly. Obviously, it was water under the bridge for William.
“Okay.” I cut him off and started cooking again. I heard heavy footsteps come down the stairs.
William smiled and sat down at the table, waiting for the food.
“Of course—” He paused when he saw me serving warm pancakes. “What more could I ask for?”
I shyly smiled back.
“What more could you ask for?” asked James, swaggering into the kitchen with an arrogant look on his face. He looked at the food on our plates and grabbed a coffee mug, staring at it intently. “A cappuccino with decent foam, softer pancakes, and a blow job before school?”
I’d had every intention of not even saying a word to him that morning, but this was too much. I laser focused my eyes at him, so much so that Will waved his hand for me to let it go.
“As you can see, you can always do more,” James sneered, crossing his arms across his chest after sprawling on a chair.
“Like spit in your food while I make it? Huh?”
“Given what a bitch you are, who says you haven’t already?”
“I guess I’ll let you wonder about it, then,” I whispered using his exact words from the night before.
James didn’t get irritated, but he bit his lip and focused all of his attention on his phone.
“Don’t listen to him, June.” Will squeezed my arm and pulled me onto his lap. He whispered, “Why’d you sleep on the couch? You could’ve come to my bed.”
“I was hot, and I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to wake you up. I get really agitated in my sleep.”
Hearing my words, James hinted at an insolent smile without taking his eyes off the screen.
“You even stole the precious fleece blanket that James uses when he sleeps here. It’s incredible that he didn’t notice,” exclaimed Will, confusing me. Oh, that that explained the scent. Well, well, well.
“Yeah, I stole his precious blanket, exactly.” I narrowed my eyes at James, who didn’t bat an eye.
“You didn’t notice?” Will asked James suspiciously.
James answered with a fake smirk. “Let me know when you’re done fucking around.”
James’s morning crankiness skyrocketed when Will started feeding me forks of pancakes full of maple syrup.
