Page 79 of What I Should Have Known

I’d never done something like this before. Sneaking into a man’s bedroom in the middle of the night was definitely not an adventure I’dimagined myself on, but here I was, quietly walking to the base of a big aspen tree. The branches would spit me out at his window, where I hoped he’d wake to the sound of me tapping and let me in.

The bark scratched at my palms as I hopped to the lowest branch. And heaved with a silent grunt. The leaves from the tree tickled my cheeks as I grasped for the next branch. Kicking my feet up, I managed to wrap my legs around the trunk and scootched up a little higher, as if I was an inchworm in the rain.

“Pretty sure the front door is unlocked.” Bernie’s voice seared through the absolutely still night.

And my fingers slipped.

Oxygen tore from my lungs. My palm grated against the bark as I plummeted from the tree and my back slammed against the grass. Placing a hand against my chest, I coughed. My lungs wheezed, the oxygen coming in through short gasps.

“Hi, Kit Kat,” Bernie said, his face appearing above me. A smirk rose on his lips as he stared down at me.

Rolling my eyes, I pushed my bottom lip out. “What are—What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask you the same thing seeing as I think breaking into a minor’s room this late at night would land you in jail.”

“A minor’s room?” I gasped.

He nodded. “That window you were attempting to climb up to is Raiden’s.” He stood up straight and stretched his back. “Kinda disappointed you weren’t on your way to see me.”

“I thought it was yours, dumbass,” I muttered. Groaning, I rolled to my side as a soft chuckle left his lips.

“And what if Ford was sleeping in that room with me? What then?”

“I don’t know. You could maybe kick him out,” I sarcastically replied as I glanced up at him.

He grinned even wider. “Fair. Good thing he isn’t though.” He winked and crouched down, offering me a hand. “Maybe leave the sneaking into someone’s bedroom to me then?”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” I placed my palm in his, and he helped me rise to my feet. A shiver of warmth danced down my spine as he gave a gentle tug and pulled me into his body. My cheek pressed against his bare torso, filling my entire figure with comfort and strength. “Again though, what are you doing up this late?”

His chin plopped down on the top of my head. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Duncan?” I whispered.

His chest expanded slowly, but silence was my answer.

“By the way, my mom knows,” I continued.

His fingers against my back paused. “Knows…what?”

“About us. She literally smelled the sex.”

“Smelled the sex? Baby, did you hear what you just said.” He snorted, his chest vibrating.

“Oh, quit being an ass. You know what I mean.”

His arms tightened around my body. “And?”

“And she’s good with it. Though, before you say anything because I know you will, she knows to keep it to herself until after prom.”

“So, did you really have to sneak out of your house for this?” Fingers pushed the hood away from my head, and his warm lips pressed against the top of my hair.

“Well, sort of. My dad doesn’t know.”

He chuckled. “Doesn’t count unless both parents don’t know.”

“That’s not fair,” I whined.

He leaned away, both hands cupping my cheeks to turn my gaze up to his. “Totally fair. I’ve done it without waking either and neither of them ever found out.”

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