My Sweetest Escape (31 page)

“Does your hair always look this

spectacular in the morning?” It looked like a

stylist had spent hours teasing it to the max.

She tried to pat it down and failed.

“Pretty much. And if you tell anyone, or

ever take a picture, I will kill you.” She

yawned and stumbled to her feet.

“Can I use your shower?”

“Sure, go ahead. Towels are in the

cabinet and you can use whatever you

want. Need some clothes?”

“Yeah, that would be great.” Hannah

was taller than me, but I found some pants

that I had to roll up and a shirt that worked.

“I know we’re close, but I’m not sure I’m

ready to swap undies just yet,” she said. “I’ll

just keep mine on.”

“Sounds good. Listen, I have a favor to

ask you about when you’re more awake.”

She gave me a thumbs-up and shuffled

to the bathroom.

While Hannah took her shower I went

upstairs to see who was actually awake.

Mase was lying across the dining table, a

cup of coffee steaming inches from his face.

Darah closed the fridge and yawned,

running her hand through her hair. I’d never

seen it so messy before. Definitely sex hair.

At least somebody got some last night.

Well, with someone else other than their

hand, which was what I was reduced to

after everything with Dusty. It was the most

epic sex with myself I’d ever had.

“You want me to make some eggs?”

Darah said to Mase.

“Hey, Jos. You and Hannah sleep okay?”

“Yeah, great,” I lied through my teeth.

Mase mumbled something incoherent.

“Hey, it’s not my fault, babe,” Darah

said.

Taylor and Hunter came down, followed

by Renee and Paul as Darah got out the

skillet and started making eggs.

I decided to help by making massive

amounts of toast and handing everyone a

full cup of coffee when they walked into the

kitchen.

Hannah emerged from downstairs

looking significantly more chipper. I handed

her a cup of coffee as she dried her hair

with a towel.

“Sugar?” I got the sugar jar and started

spooning it into her cup. “Say when.”

I put about four tablespoons in when

she stopped me.

“That’s disgusting,” I said, sipping my

Lemon Zinger. I was definitely addicted to

the stuff now.

“Meh,” she said, taking one of the last

available seats. It was Sunday, so that

meant cleaning, but it looked like it was

going to be a while.

My phone vibrated in my sweatshirt

pocket.

Okay, I can’t wait anymore. Can you be

over here…nowish?

This time I could almost feel the

desperation in the little black letters. Or

maybe that was just me.

I typed out an answer.

I have to drop Hannah off first. And get

dressed in something cute.

He responded a fraction of a second

later.

You always look cute.

Ass kisser. But no. I need to shower.

An hour, then?

One hour.

I could barely contain my excitement.

Then my phone went off again.

Bring socks. Brand-new ones.

What the crap? Maybe he meant to say

something else and got auto-corrected.

Socks?

That’s right, Red. Socks.

I could just picture him saying it with a

smile on his face.

Are we making puppets? Because that’s

a little weird.

I couldn’t think of anything sexy we

could do with socks, but then again, I was a

virgin. Maybe it was something I had yet to

learn about. I did a quick internet search

and didn’t find anything illuminating.

You’l see. Come soon. Bring socks.

I’d have to make a trip to Walmart to get

some. That seemed like a mission Hannah

would want to be in on.

She had already downed her coffee and

was washing out the cup.

“I should get back. I have a shit ton of

homework. And clothes. I’d really like to put

on a fresh pair of panties,” she said. Mase

choked on his toast.

“You okay there, buddy?” Hannah gave

him a look.

“Fine. Just fine. How’s the hand?”

Hannah held it up. You couldn’t really

tell because it was all bandaged up, but she

didn’t seem to be in much pain.

“Can I check it?” Renee said. Once she’d

ascertained that Hannah’s hand was just

bruised and swollen, she went back to her

coffee and staring off into space.

“I’ll drive you. Do you just mind if I take

a shower first?”

I said, giving her a look, and I watched as

she remembered I’d said earlier that I had a

favor.

“No big. Hey, do you have a comb I

could borrow?”

“Yeah, sure.” She put her cup in the dish

drainer and followed me back downstairs.

She rounded on me as soon as the door

shut.

“I’m guessing you need a favor so you

can sneak away and make out with a certain

boy that has gorgeous green eyes. Am I

correct?”

“Let’s just say that we sort of made up.

Kind of. Anyway, we’d like some alone time,

so would you be my alibi?”

She got down on one knee and held my

hand.

“I would be honored to be your alibi

anytime you want to get together with

Dusty and bump your bits together.”

I took my hand back. “That does not

sound sexy. At all.”

She shrugged and I went to my drawers.

She followed and shoved me aside as I

pawed through, trying to find something

remotely cute.

“Girl, you have a serious wardrobe crisis.

We need to get you some new clothes

ASAP. But for now, how about this?”

She pulled out a green

three-quarter-sleeve shirt that must have

hitched a ride from my previous life.

“This is cute. And it brings out your

eyes.” She also selected a pair of dark

skinny jeans that I’d bought with the

intention of wearing them, but it had never

actually happened.

“He said I needed to bring socks.

Brand-new ones.”

She laid the clothes out on my bed and

then went for my underwear drawer,

picking out the only matching set of a black

bra and panties that I owned and adding

them to the pile. “Are you making

puppets?”

“That’s exactly what I said.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Okay, then. Socks.” She found a pair

and set them on the bed, as well. I didn’t

have much choice in footwear because it

was winter and we lived in Maine and you

had to wear shoes you could potentially

slog through the snow in, so that meant

boots nine times out of ten.

“I’m going to shower.”

“I’ll be here.”

I showered as quick as I could and got

dressed, wondering what to do with my

hair. Dusty seemed to like it when it was

down, but it was wet and it was winter and I

didn’t

fancy pneumonia, so I twisted it back on

the sides and formed a bun. Once I was at

his place I could take it down and let it dry.

Maybe it would actually have some curl in it

from being twisted up. Yeah, probably not.

“Verdict?” I said, coming out and

spinning around for Hannah to see.

“You need jewelry. Other than your

bracelet. Which is why, when we were

buying stuff last week, I got you these.”

She pulled something out of her pocket

and handed them to me. They were tiny

silver studs shaped like trumpeting

elephants.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“But I did. Do you like them?”

“Yeah, I do. Thank you.” I gave her a hug

and then put the earrings in. They were

small and understated, which I liked.

“Perfect. Now we just have to get you

some socks. Oh, by the way, are you on the

pill, or anything else?”

“Yeah, the pill.” I’d gone on it last year

when I’d thought things were serious with

Matt. Yes, I hadn’t planned on having sex

until we were married, but that didn’t mean

I thought it couldn’t happen earlier. More

than anything, it was probably wishful

thinking. If I’d learned anything about living

with Renee, it was that you always had to

protect yourself and never leave it up to the

guy.

“You got condoms?”

This should have been a crazy

uncomfortable conversation, but somehow

it wasn’t.

“My sister gave me a box when I got my

period. No joke.”

I’d been thirteen and so mortified I’d

hidden them in the very back of my sock

drawer. “And I find them periodically in my

stuff, especially now. There was a box in the

drawer when I got here.” I went and got it,

putting a few in one of the zippered pockets

on the inside of my purse.

“Good girl. I think you’re ready.”

“We’re not going to have sex, Hannah.”

“Well, it won’t be long. I’ve seen the

way you look at each other. The logs have

been laid, the gasoline has been poured and

all someone has to do is strike the match.”

She gave me a hug and we dashed

upstairs.

“Renee? I’m going to study with Hannah

today. We have this thing to work on for

our class.” This was true. First step in

crafting a good lie was to use something

that was actually true and build upon it.

“Okay. Just be careful. There’s supposed

to be a snowstorm coming in this

afternoon. If you get stranded, Mase can

come get you.” He had an extra truck with a

plow attached to it so we didn’t have to pay

anyone to plow the driveway.

I’d been so wrapped up in everything I

hadn’t even paid attention to the weather. I

hoped it didn’t cut my time with Dusty

short. That would seriously suck. But then,

weather forecasters were notorious for

predicting a huge storm that would never

happen. They’d already been wrong at least

twice this winter.

“Very smooth, Jos. I’m impressed,”

Hannah said, giving me a high five as we

drove toward the Bangor Mall.

“I’ve had a lot of practice.”

Hannah gave me a lot more advice, most

of which sounded like she’d gotten it from

the internet or movies or from urban

legends. Sometimes it was hard to tell.

I dropped her off and had strict

instructions to give her every single dirty

detail when I called her that night.

Dusty’s place was pretty easy to find

from his directions.

He was also right; it was a shit shack.

How the crap was this building still

standing?

It kind of looked like someone had taken

parts of three other buildings, glued and

stapled them together on top of each other

and called it good. I sent him a message

saying I was here as I tried to figure out the

least dangerous way to get to the front

door. The porch was definitely suspect. He

messaged me back that there was a set of

stairs around the back, which weren’t much

better than the porch, I discovered.

If I die coming up the stairs, I’m suing

you from the grave.

I made it all the way up the steps and

knocked on the door.

“You made it,” he said, his face splitting

into a smile that made my knees feel like I

was still climbing the dangerous steps.

“And I brought socks.” I didn’t know

what kind to get, so I’d brought three bags.

White, multicolored and a bag of knee-high

argyle socks that were too cute not to buy.

“I see that. Come on in.” He moved

aside and I walked in.

“This isn’t nearly as shitty as I was

expecting. You made it sound a lot worse.”

Granted, it was no Yellowfield House, but it

wasn’t that bad. We stood in a tiny kitchen

with room only enough for the appliances

on one side and a small table and two chairs

on the other. A narrow hallway led to what I

assumed was the rest of the house.

“Want the tour?” he said.

“Sure.” I put the bags of socks down on

the table and followed him down the hall.

“Bedroom, bathroom.” He pointed to

the rooms on the right and left of me. “And

living room slash study slash library slash

storage room.” The apartment was shaped

a bit like an hourglass, but it was adorable.

All the furniture was old and patched, but it

wasn’t dirty.

“And this is Napoleon. He thinks he’s

going to take over the world.” Dusty

reached behind the couch and pulled out

what looked like a black ball of fuzz. On

further inspection, I realized it was a kitten

with huge blue eyes. Dusty cradled him like

a baby in his arms and Napoleon meowed

and I died, right there, in the middle of

Dusty’s living room.

I’d always heard about the appeal of

guys with babies, and I’d never really gotten

it. But Dusty holding a kitten and scratching

its belly as it purred like a little tank?

Pantie-meltingly sexy.

“Here, you want to hold him?” I’d never

had a pet before. My parents had always