Page 36 of Falling With a Spin

The sound of the front door flinging open causes me to jolt awake, the brightness of the TV blinding me. I rub the sleep from my eyes and see Taylor and Garrett walking through the front door but quickly look away. They are currently too busy with each other right now.

I’m pulled back against the couch, and I look down to see Hunter's arm around my waist. His eyes closed, and breathing deeply.

Well fuck.

I shake him awake, and his eyes flutter open. “Hey, there, sleepy head. Looks like we fell asleep.”

“Oh shit,” his voice is deep and husky, causing my heart to pound in my chest, “I’m so sorry.” He sits up, rubbing his face, and I scoot away, putting some space between us.

“Nothing to be sorry for. If Taylor and Garrett hadn’t walked in, then we’d still be sleeping.” I laugh, looking away from him. “You should probably head home.”

“But this couch is so comfy,” he whines, snuggling into the pillow.

“No, no, no. None of this singer boy.” I say attempting to pull him off the couch but he doesn’t budge.

“Singer boy?” He questions

“It’s lame. I know. But it’s all I could think of in my current sleep deprived state.”

“Well, I should probably head home and get some sleep before tomorrow.” He stands up, and I follow him to the door.

“Yes, that is a wonderful idea.” I throw my hands up in defeat as if that wasn’t my idea first.

“Goodnight, Emma. I will see you tomorrow.” He leans down, placing a soft kiss on my cheek, and I stand there in shock as he walks out the door.

“How's the starring contest with the door going?” I jump at the sound of Taylor's voice, and I turn around to see her laughing.

“I wasn’t having a staring contest with the door. But to just let you know, Hunter just left.” I cross my arms and follow her into the kitchen.

“Yeah, I gathered that.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I roll my eyes and grab a cup from the cupboard, filling it with water.

“Nothing happened. We fell asleep watching a movie, you and Garrett came back, and then he went home. That's all.” The look she is giving me tells me she is anything but convinced by what I’m telling her.

“Spill it, Em,” She gives me a pointed glare as she takes a sip of her water.

“Okay, fine,” I tell her everything from when he showed up and how it felt nice to have him there, even if we are just friends. “But then he kissed me on the cheek before leaving.”

“That’s sweet.” She gives me a small smile. “Just be careful. I don’t want you jumping into things with someone after what you’ve been through.”

I give her a tight smile and dump the rest of the water in the sink. “I’m going to head to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

A heavy sigh comes from her, and she walks past me to her door, slamming it shut. I shake my head. I know Taylor is looking out for me, and I appreciate it, but she also knows I can handle my own.

When I walk into my room, I collapse onto my bed and pull the covers over me, hoping that sleep comes easy to me, but I’ve been saying that for weeks now, and it hasn’t.

I pull into the coffee shop, desperately needing caffeine, before I head over to Hunter's house today for my first tutoring session. As I walk inside, the freshly brewed coffee and pastries hit my nose, and I instantly feel a little more awake. LaLa’s Coffee & Sweets is one of the smallest coffee shops near the university. A neon light that says Stay Caffeinated hangs from a painted light blue wall. I bought the sign from an Etsy shop and hung it up. It took Liam three weeks to notice it.

Even with how small the shop is, the space is filled with various couches and chairs and round tables. A gray fluffy rug lays out under one of the couches in the far corner. Various art pieces hang from the walls that Liam and I went scrounging through garage sales, goodwills, and other places for art that would fit the Coffee Shop perfectly.

“Hey Em, what can I get for you?” Liam says, behind the counter, waiting to take my order.

“Can I just get a medium iced latte with oat milk, please?” I grab my wallet from my purse, getting ready to pay.

“Sure thing and don't worry about it. It’s on us today,” He gives me a small smile and goes over to start on the drink.

Should I get Hunter a drink for coming over last night?

“Hey, can I add on a drink?” He looks up to me, raising his eyebrow. “An iced coffee with sugar and cream.” I list off the drink that I made for him a few days ago.

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