Page 40 of Along Comes Trouble

TESSA

I waketo my phone wailing at me .

“Hello,” I mumble as I rub sleep from my eyes .

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Sarah’s voice singsongs its way into my fuzzy thoughts .

“Sarah?”

“None other. Did I wake you ?”

“Yep.” I don’t sugarcoat the word. I’m grumpy. She woke me. She deserves any wrath I send her way .

“Good,” Sarah replies, way too cheery for first thing in the morning. “You deserve it after ditching me at Smitty’s last night .”

“But you ditch me at Smitty’s all the time.” I flop back on my pillow and drape my arm over my eyes .

“Right. And I deserve an early morning wakeup call every time I do it, too. It’s not my fault if you’re too nice to me. Now, get up. Come on. Get up .”

I push myself into a sitting position. “I’m up. What time is it ?”

“It’s time for you to get dressed and come get coffee with me. You owe me after leaving me with the estrogen crew last night .”

“I thought you liked Michelle and her friends .”

“I do. But that doesn’t mean I want to hang out with them and listen to them talk about babies all night long.” I can hear her rolling her eyes from here .

“You can be such a jerk,” I say. “And what’s wrong with talking about babies?” When we first met, Sarah insisted Colton was a selfish ass. I’m starting to realize those conversations were pot and kettle moments .

“I really can be a jerk and everything’s wrong with talking about babies. Now get up. Get dressed and answer your damn door already .”

“You’re here?” I swing my feet off the edge of the bed .

“Yep,” Sarah says and then ends the call. Seconds later, there’s a knock at my front door. I wander down the stairs and open the thing to find Sarah leaning on the doorframe, looking too adorable for this early in the morning. Her dark hair is piled high on her head and a very Colton-esque pair of aviator sunglasses cover most of her face .

“What would you have done if your brother was here?” I ask Sarah as she invites herself inside, sliding her sunglasses up on her head .

“Ew. Yeah. I definitely didn’t think this all the way through.” She plops onto the couch and waves her hand. “Go on now. Get dressed. Coffee awaits .”

By the time I’ve brushed my teeth, pulled back my hair, and chosen an outfit, I’m fully awake and decidedly less grumpy about my wakeup call. I bound down the stairs and grab my purse. “You ready?” I ask .

“Are you kidding me? I was born ready.” Sarah smirks as she stands .

The morning is brisk and bright and my breath puffs in front of my face as I lock my apartment behind me. I smile and drag a finger through the frost gathered around the edges of the windows before I turn to Sarah. “Colton invited me to Thanksgiving at the farm.” I beam at my friend .

“Did he now?” Sarah pulls her sunglasses off her head and slips them into place. It feels like a dismissal, but I don’t let it bother me. If she can show up at my house unannounced, then I can talk about coming to her family’s house for Thanksgiving .

“Yep. And I’m really excited to see what a family get together of that magnitude is like.” I say as we head to her car. “Are your brother’s friends always at your Thanksgivings ?”

Sarah pulls open her car door and shrugs. “You’ve got me,” she says and then climbs inside. “I haven’t been to a Thanksgiving in years .”

“You won’t be there this year?” I lower myself into the passenger seat and she brings the car to life .

“Nope. But I can guarantee it will be loud and hectic and overwhelming. Everything David says will be hilarious, according to my parents anyway, and Mom won’t even notice I’m not there. And if I’m weird lately, please forgive me. The holidays send my anxiety into overdrive .”

I frown. I can’t imagine there’s a mother anywhere who would not notice if her only daughter didn’t show up for the holidays. “What happened between you guys?” I ask, cautiously .

“I just figured out I was better on my own.” Sarah clenches her jaw .

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