She had an urgent need to address. One that required leaving the bed and going away from the warmth. Gia sat up, looking around for her discarded clothes, which were too far out of reach. She needed to get home before her parents wokeup, but she did not want to leave Jake’s side. The walk of shame was not something she was looking forward to. The longer she waited, the less likely her chance of sneaking in would be.
Fuck.
Scurrying along the bedroom, scooping up her discarded clothing, she ran into the adjoining bathroom. The click of the lock engaging was the only sound in the otherwise quiet house. Dropping the pile of clothes on the counter, she took care of business, nearly moaning at the relief.
The toilet flushed with a push of a button.
Fancy schmancy.
The faucet was automatic and warm to the touch. Jake must have a fancy water heater hooked up to make it nice and warm on cool mornings like today.
When she finally looked at her reflection, her eyes widened in disbelief. It wasn’t the mussed-up after-sex hair or the lips still swollen from last night. And she could only imagine how bad her morning breath was, since she’d fallen asleep without brushing her teeth.
What caught her off guard was the way her eyes seemed to glow with happiness, with life. The woman staring back at her was not the same person as the one from a few weeks ago.
Quickly, she washed her hands, splashed some water on her face, and got dressed. She was amazed at how light her chest felt, as if the weight was finally gone.
If sex had been the key, it would have worked a long time ago. She suspected the answer lay in the giant king-sized bed, naked and asleep, and it pained her to have to leave him. Creeping back to the bedside, she admired the sight of Jake sprawled across the bed, blanket covering his waist, one arm slung over his head, and wished she didn’t need to go.
Fuck it.
She knelt on the bed, ready to climb back in, when a familiar chirp broke her concentration.
Her stomach dropped. She recognized the ringtone. She needed to get out of there.
She bent down, looking for her phone, which had landed under the bed last night. The cool metal felt like ice in her hands as she wrapped her fingers around it. She did not dare to look at the screen until she was alone. She didn’t want to ruin the memory completely.
Scurrying out into the hallway and down the stairs, she’d nearly made it to the front door when a voice stopped her.
“Gia? Is that you?” Marley’s surprised voice sounded directly behind her.
Fuck—almost made it.When she whirled around, her expression was wiped clean of the shame of being caught sneaking out of Jake’s house. “Marley! Good morning!” She winced, mortified by the shrillness of her own voice. “What are you doing up so early?”
Gia bounced from foot to foot as Marley scrutinized her. “I was checking up on Tuna.”
“Oh, how is Tuna doing? Has she had her kittens yet?”
“Not yet.” Marley crossed her arms across her chest, leaning on her hip. “Are you leaving without saying goodbye to Jake?”
Guilty.“Um… yes?”
“Why?”
“He’s sleeping, and I need to get home before my parents wake up…” It wasn’t a complete lie, but still her stomach twisted.
A look of understanding crossed Marley’s face. Maybe Marley knew a thing or two about the wrath of parents. “I’ll tell him you were in a rush.”
“Thanks, Marley.” She stepped forward, folding Marley into a brief hug before whirling away, squeezing her feet into her shoes. “See you later!”
The door shut on Marley’s quiet goodbye. Gia raced down the street. It would take at least fifteen minutes before she made it to her parents’ house. Her phone burned a hole in her hand asshe jogged home. She wanted to be in the privacy of her bedroom before confronting her past.
She rounded Main Street, which was blessedly empty. Her luck ran out when she turned the corner to find none other than her dad sitting on the porch steps with a cup of coffee in one hand. Gia screeched to a halt, her breath visible and smoky in the morning air.
She offered him a lame wave and got an arched brow in response. Instead of anger on his face, she saw mild curiosity. She muttered a quiet “good morning” as she moved past him and up the steps.
If her dad was up, Mom wouldn’t be too far behind him. Quickly, she toed off her shoes and ran up the steps. Finally, when she had made it into the safety of her room, she closed the door and leaned against it, breath huffing from the early-morning activity.
The phone chirped again, reminding her she was overdue for confronting her past.
