Page 42 of One Day

Her gaze doesn’t waver as she slides the leather through the buckle, doing it up. A grin crosses her lips, her hands sliding over my waist before pushing up on her toes to press her lips to my cheek.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime,” she hums, falling back on her heels. “They’re probably all in the kitchen waiting for your walk of shame.”

“I’d expect no less from your friends,” I tell her, picking up my jacket from the floor before pulling her bedroom door open.

“Well, well, well!” Bekah’s voice is the first I hear when I reach the bottom of the stairs, finding her propped up on the living room couch with a book in her lap. “Fancy seeing you here, Bodie. I don’t remember having a fourth roommate.”

“Ignore her,” Sonya says, pressing into my side.

“No, please don’t! Whatever will I do?”

“I had no idea you liked me so much, Bekah. You doing okay over there? Jealous?” I ask with the tip of my lips.

She rolls her eyes. “As if,” she says, burying herself back in her book as if I was never even here to begin with. I suspect she’s just waiting until I’m gone to bug Sonya about our little sleepover.

“Do you want a coffee for the road, man?” Everett asks me from his spot in the kitchen.

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks, Everett.”

He nods his head and turns to grab a to-go cup from one of the cupboards to fill up from the full coffee pot. Sonya heads for the cabinet, pulling out a packet of sweetener I always put in my coffee like it’s second nature. It brings a smile to my lips, knowing she knows how I like it.

“Where’s Reid?” Sonya asks, taking the cup from Everett when he’s done filling it up to pour the packet in.

“He was out early this morning,” Bekah answers from the couch. “I think he was meeting up with a study group or something. God knows he’s the only person willing to get up at seven on a Saturday morning to study.”

A laugh falls from my lips because as committed as I am to being the best student I can be, not even I would be willing to get up that early on a weekend. I’m not sure if the guy has an off switch. He’s always eager to learn, ready to absorb all the world has to offer him. Before I met him, I’d say I was just as eager, but he’s on a completely different level.

“Shoot.” Sonya frowns, popping the lid on my coffee. “Would either of you be willing to let me borrow your car so I can drive Walker home?”

“Sunny, it’s okay. My place isn’t that far of a walk.”

“You didn’t drive here?” Bekah asks.

I shake my head. “No, Flynn drove last night, and I kind of," I pause and consider whether to give them the truth or not. "Ran here.”

“You ran here,” Everett says, setting his coffee mug down. “In the snow?”

“Yeah, well, I had places to be.”

Before either of them can berate me for being a man obsessed, the front door opens, and Reid steps inside, shaking the snow out of his hair. He stops when he feels all our eyes on him, his book bag hanging off his shoulder with two books tucked under his arm.

“Morning,” Reid says, about to slip out of his boots when Sonya holds her hand up.

“Can you give Walker a ride back to his place?”

“Good morning to you, too, Sunny,” he says with a laugh before slipping his book bag off his shoulder, holding it out for her to take from him.

“Sorry,” she says, resting her hand on one side of his face before leaning in and pressing her lips to his cheek. “Good morning, Reid. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Come on, man.” He nods his head towards the door for me to head out first. “Beks, I got our next book,” he says, holding the two books out to Sonya that I now realize are identical.

“I thought it was my turn to pick our next book,” she whines from the couch.

“Yeah, I know, but it’s about a book editor and agent. It’s right up your alley.”

Bekah perks up at that and tosses the book in her lap to the side to perch over the back of the couch. A laugh slips out from my lips at the sight of her, arm stretched out and body half off the couch.

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