Page 89 of Accidental Roommates

“Okay, thanks.”

He heads to his squad car. I’m about to close the door when I hear Jace.

“Kenzie!”

I look outside and see Jace running up to the house.

“What are you doing here?” I ask as he comes inside. “I thought you were at work.”

“I was, but a guy at the gym said he saw the police here. I called you, but you didn’t answer your phone.” He looks me up and down. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. I called the police because some guy was trying to get in the house. The cop said he was drunk and thought he lived here. So he wasn’t intentionally trying to break in, but it scared me because he kept banging on the door and trying the handle to get it open.”

Jace pulls me into his arms. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been home.”

“I feel stupid now that I know it was just some drunk guy, but when it was happening, I really thought he was going to break in and hurt me.”

“Let’s go sit down.” Jace takes my hand and leads me to the couch.

When we’re seated, he puts his arm around me. “Everything’s okay now. You’re safe. I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Don’t you need to get back to work?”

“Yeah, but I’m not going. There’s plenty of people there to help out.”

“How’s the sleepover going?”

“Good. When I left, the kids were playing all the games we set up. Now they’re supposed to be sleeping but most of them won’t. They’re having too much fun.”

“Are you sure you don’t need to be there? I don’t want you getting in trouble.”

“I won’t, but even if I did, I wouldn’t leave you here alone. Not after what happened.”

“I’m okay. It just scared me. I’ve never had anything like that happen.”

“You’re still scared.” He rubs his hand up and down my arm. “You’re shaking. Would watching TV help, or do you want to go to sleep?”

“I can’t sleep. I’m wide awake.”

“Then TV it is.” He grabs the remote. “It’ll be like the first night we met. We can order more infomercial stuff.”

I lay my head on his shoulder. “That was a great night.”

“Yeah, it was.” He kisses my head.

Why did he do that? That’s something a boyfriend would do. And holding me like this? That’s also something a boyfriend would do. I like it, but it makes my feelings for him even stronger.

The TV, combined with being in Jace’s arms, relaxes me and I drift off to sleep.

When I wake up, it’s morning and I can hear Jace in the kitchen. I get up from the couch and walk over to him.

“Don’t you have class?” I ask, still feeling groggy.

“It’s Saturday.”

“Oh, I forgot.” I go over to the stool by the breakfast bar and take a seat. “What time is it?”

“Nine. I’m supposed to be at work at ten, but if you want me to stay here with you, I will.” He sets a cup of coffee in front of me.

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