“Sorry, bud, I have work today. Up and at ’em if you want breakfast.” A muffled groan was the only reply. Good enough. I shut his door as quietly as I could, trying not to rile Sadie in the next room.
Layla was still crashed and would be for several more hours. She was meeting some guy today to play music with. She’d run into him at a coffee shop in town, and they’d hit it off after discovering their shared love for Martin guitars.
Part of me was apprehensive about her meeting up with someone we didn’t know, but the other part of me was happy for her. I’d been worrying lately that she was going to regret coming to live here, but if she started dating, she’d hopefully put down a few roots and make a home here as well.
A scratching noise caught my attention, and I glanced to the right to see Rugsy dancing in front of the patio door, whining. “I know, I’m coming.”
Dropping my shoes, I put my body weight on the door, shoving it open as far as I could, hissing when the frigid morning air battered against me. “Make it quick, sausage roll, it’s freezing out here.”
I left her to do her business, sliding my socked feet across the kitchen floor and aiming for the coffee pot. There were a lot of things I’d given up over the years to save money, but coffee would never be one of them. I’d shank a bitch if someone tried to take away my caffeine.
I hummed a random children’s song to myself and scooped in the butterscotch-flavored grounds. I was filling up the water reserve when I heard the patio door shifting and creaking and stepped back, looking over the bar to see Jamie. “You got it shut all the way?”
“Yeah.” He rubbed his eyes, readjusting his crooked pajama pants and stomping his big feet into the kitchen. I wasn’t any happier about being awake on a typical day off than he was, so I decided to give him a free ride on the sassy train.
Tossing some bagels in the toaster, I began mixing up a big glass of chocolate milk to help pump up his mood. “Layla won’t be home, so you’ll be staying the night at grandma and grandpa’s tonight.”
He dropped into a chair, crossing his arms over the table and laying his head on them. “I know, she told me.”
I offered up a small smile, hoping he wasn’t too mad about me and her both being gone on our hangout day. “This won’t happen often, I promise. I just have to go in for training today.”
The bagels sprang up, and I plucked them out, tossing them on the counter and sticking my semi-burnt fingers in my mouth. “You’ll have fun, and I’ll try to swing by and see you before I head out tonight.”
He nodded over his arms but said nothing, and the guilt that had eaten me up last night hit me again like a speeding bulldozer. I swallowed it down, putting a smile on my face and telling myself I was doing the right thing.
I handed him the chocolate milk and an apple, the guilt I felt thicker than the topping for his bagel. “Regular cream cheese or strawberry?”
A half hour later, I herded him out the door, amazed we’d managed to walk out on time. We’d both lazed about, daydreaming about our pillows rather than actively getting ready.
We each zipped up our jackets and walked out front. Technically we had a one-car garage, but the door sounded like a herd of stampeding dinosaurs, and I was scared of it breaking and trapping my vehicle inside, so we didn’t use it.
“—so nice. I wish you’d come out more often, you don’t have to stay home all the time.”
My head swiveled to the side at the sound of a woman’s voice. Jamie and I paused mid-walk, looking at the three individuals also walking out of the house next door.
Garrett wore gray sweatpants that hung off his hips in a way that felt indecent, and a black tank that showed off every ripple of muscle all the way to his shoulders. It was unfair how attractive he was without even trying.