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"Looks like your plans have changed," he said with a sht then and there
"Us spending Christ, he shoved his hands in his pocket "About that shower?"
He’d fallen asleep sitting up on the sofa, head back with his ht, dark stubble on his jaw and cheeks Unbidden, syently patting on his ar up at her "Let’s get you cohan from a basket by the sofa, she shook it out and held it up
A thick sigh left him as he stretched out on her sofa She covered hie to brush back his hair or kiss his forehead
"Thank you," he rulasses back in place "You’re welco away, she moved to the kitchen to fix herself a pot of hot chocolate In some ways he looked exactly as she renize hiuy She wouldn’t have fallen in love with hi, stupid and head-over-heels in love, hiding their relationship from almost everyone for months
The Morales cousins had loved to race her Caswell cousins as often as possible for pink slips So arrested or ticketed by the sheriff, but that hadn’t stopped s
Apparently, this had amused the Moraleses to no end and they had perpetuated the stereotype by cruising through town in flashy cars with tinted hile blasting rap music Not to be outdone, the Caswells had driven jack-up trucks and serenaded Broad Street with Hank Williams, Jr and Lynyrd Skynyrd
The suh school, she’d started sitting in the back of flashy cars instead of her cousins’ trucks--first with Mandy and a couple of other girls as sort of a dare It had been fun and exciting to be with the Moraleses, their laughter and caious
Every time she saw or talked to one Morales in particular, she couldn’t stop the sweet thrill that had run through her body They’d been friends sincethat their respective parents’ problee and Joaquin’s
The e was around Joaquin, the more she liked him, until like had turned into a full blown crush Not that she thought anything would’ve coirls, never settling for just one She dated boys her parents approved of--safe, boring and et the way Joaquin had swaggered over to her, confidence gleao for a ride She had said no for three weekends straight, until one night he’d ditched his cousins and asked her out on a real date, one that had ended with thee frowned as she poured the hot chocolate into herand added tiny marshmallows to the top
The second date, however, hadn’t ended so well Her cousins, Fred and Lloyd, had found the in the woods and called their daddy, the Sheriff Uncle Neil had threatened to arrest Joaquin for trespassing, and her for breaking curfew
From then on, they’d sneaked around and headed out to Paliven her virginity to hi There they could be a couple out in the open and Sage ca theraduated froe, he’d asked her to marry hi one ht, across several state lines to get married, then spent their honeymoon in a rundown, seaside ht
It had beenfrom the counter with her cup of hot chocolate, sheYeah, they’d been young and dumb, but in love
And now she was older and wiser Joaquin didn’t have a chance
Liar, her heart whispered
Chapter Five
A gentle shake of his ar awake He rubbed his eyes and cracked the side of his neck
"Sorry to wake you, but you need a driver," Sage slurred in his ear "I mean we need a driver"
"We need a transfusion," another woled
"Is that your professional opinion, Mandy Doctor, er, Doctor Mandy?"
"Mandy Intern is the correct ansher"
He blinked and sat up Sage and her best friend since first grade stood beside the sofa, watching him They both listed to one side at the exact sa a marathon of Buffy the Vas straps," Sage said, her brorinkling "Wait, switch that"
"Aren’t you two a little old for drinking ga the Presidential debates," Mandy said, her chin-length black hair glossy in the light "There was this thing on Twitter"
"Good to knoitter has its usefulness" Pushing the afghan to one side, he rose to his feet and stretched, then walked to the bathroo a yellow scarf around Mandy’s head
"Doctor’s orders are to takeon hiirl this tiet lanced behind hiet your coats, but…" Mandy shoved a knit hat over Sage’s head, covering her eyes, until Sage flipped up the edge "Looks like y’all got it covered"
Fiveinto town He glanced in the rearview e, her e said, her words re
"I’ve always liked her," he said, his eyes back on the road Spattering of rain and sleet hit his windshield "Do you usually pretend to be drunk?"
"No I wasn’t in the mood, but Mandy was determined to cheer me up and I didn’t have the heart to tell her no Mine were virgin"
Silence reigned as they entered the town lihway turned into Broad Street Everything in Holland Springs was accessible froht on Poplar There’s a new apartment complex called Poplar View"
"They went all out with the naht, then sped up "What’d the two of you talk about?"
Sage snorted "What do you think?"