Page 28 of A New Chapter

Chapter 15

The next morning, Emma finally roused around nine o’clock. Her first thoughts were that her head hurt, she had a horrible taste in her mouth, and she was still wearing Kelly’s purple dress. Then images from the prior evening flashed through her mind and made her wince with each recollection. What a disaster! Zack must have covered her with blankets and left a full glass of water on her bedside table before he’d left last night. She would definitely have to call him later and thank him for taking such good care of her.

Emma extracted herself from the covers, drank the water, and slowly rose from the bed. She felt a little shaky, but at least her stomach wasn’t roiling. In fact, she actually felt hungry. Since today was Sunday and Brett was working at the bookstore, she could take her time getting ready. She decided to change out of the dress and go downstairs in search of food.

She slipped into her gray sleepshirt with the phrase “I Woke Up Like This” stamped across the front and had just opened her bedroom door when she heard a noise and stopped in her tracks. The kitchen was out of her sight, but she swore the sound had come from there. Emma stayed perfectly still and cupped her ear with her hand. Yes, the humming sound was definitely coming from the kitchen, and it could only belong to one person… Zack!

Emma saw no choice in the matter. He’d already seen her at her worst, so there was nothing left to hide. She carefully made her way down the stairs and around the corner into the kitchen.

Holy wow! Zack stood at the stove with his back to her while he cracked eggs into a pan… shirtless! He was clad in a pair of Superman boxer shorts and nothing else! The vision was enough to make Emma feel dizzy all over again, and as she leaned against the wall for support, she bumped against a kitchen chair, causing a loud clatter.

Zack whipped his head around and broke out in a huge grin. “Well, well, look who’s finally up.”

Emma didn’t know where to look. Now that he faced her full-on, the view was even more spectacular. She had seen the exercise room in his house and knew that he liked to lift weights. That explained the defined biceps, shoulders, and pecs tapering down to a narrow waist, and that sexy indention where his boxers hung low on his hips. Even the man’s feet were sexy! Add in the olive-toned skin, just-woke-up wavy black hair, and that confident-as-all-hell smile, and…

“How are you feeling this morning?” Zack asked, seemingly oblivious to her perusal. “Nice shirt, by the way.”

Emma glanced down at her sleepshirt and crossed her arms over her chest, realizing that without a bra, he could probably see the outlines of her nipples.

“Don’t worry about it, Em. We’re all friends here,” he said, chuckling before he turned his attention back to the stove. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes if you want to grab a robe.”

Emma battled with herself for a few seconds and then decided that if Zack could stand around in just his boxers, she could wear her sleepshirt. How did I know he was still going to behere?

Emma slumped into the nearest chair. “I feel ok, but I’m a little surprised to see you this morning. Where did you sleep?” The last thing she remembered was Zack crawling in to bed with her. Oh God.

“After you fell asleep, I came downstairs and crashed on the couch. I didn’t want to leave in case you needed me.”

Zack plated their eggs and toast and delivered them to the table. He brought her a bottle of water from the fridge and poured himself a glass of orange juice. Emma watched him move around her kitchen with ease and had to smile. This was the first time he’d officially been over, and he was the one making her a meal!

“You really didn’t have to do all of this, although I appreciate it,” Emma said when he joined her at the table.

“Wouldn’t a friend do this for you? Kelly, let’s say.” Zack plunked a large helping of scrambled egg in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

“Yes, but Kelly wouldn’t be sitting here in just her underwear.”

Zack leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I didn’t want to sleep in my suit. Besides, I thought I’d have time to get dressed before you came down. I had planned on serving you breakfast in bed.”

Emma arched her eyebrows at him. “That would have been going above and beyond friend duty.” In fact, that was perilously close to boyfriend/girlfriend territory.

Zack shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how you’d be feeling this morning, so I thought I’d stick around to find out. Now that I know you’re fine, I should take off.”

When Zack stood up to gather their empty plates, Emma found herself at eye level with his Superman boxers, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was underneath. Of course, she knew what was there, but she didn’t really know, know.

“Are you a fan?”

“Huh?” she asked, guiltily.

“Of Superman? Or do you like Batman better?”

“I like Superman,” she admitted, suddenly feeling overly warm.

“Me too,” Zack said and smiled softly.

Emma felt trapped. If she stood up, Zack would certainly see her tightened nipples straining against her sleepshirt, but if she remained seated, she would continue to have her face in his…

“I’ll just put these in the dishwasher, and then I’ll be on my way.”

“Ok,” Emma said, and she watched his fine backside as he moved away. Who knew having a sleepover with a friend could feel so dangerous?