Page 140 of The Overtime Kiss

It’s a new day, and the sun streams through the windows, bright and, mostly, welcome.

With a deep sigh I push myself up in bed, blinking, orienting myself. I look down at the sage green cover, the dark gray pillows. At the spacious bed. At the huge en suite bathroom. This room is so…not mine.

Oh. Right. I sit up. Rub my eyes. Scan my surroundings. On the navy blue chair—the same chair where Tyler sat last night and read on his tablet—is a neatly folded sweatshirt.

I swing my legs out of bed, taking my time to gauge how I’m feeling. The verdict? Surprisingly good.

I stand. Wow. Is this what it feels like to be normal again?

My head doesn’t hurt. I don’t feel hot all over. I’m not really achy anymore. I’m still a little tired though, and my breath is foul.

I need to go downstairs and brush my teeth, but when I look more closely at the chair, my heart squeezes.Underneath the hoodie is a pair of leggings—my leggings—and in front of them, a white card. Something warm and hazy runs through my bloodstream.

Tyler and his notes.

There’s also some white panties and a sports bra too. A stupid smile spreads as I unfold the note.

Hi.

Hope you feel better. You slept all night. Okay. Not the WHOLE night. You woke up once in the middle of the night and we had a very brief conversation, but I promise you only divulged your social security number and all your bank account information. In any case, if I’m not here, it’s because I went downstairs to change the cat litter and feed the kitten—like Drama would let me do anything else.She’s demanding. Also, I did grab some clothes for you in the middle of the night in case you want to shower. I left out a toothbrush on the bathroom counter too. Since I know you’re obsessed with minty breath. And I shut the door in case you just want to spend the day in bed doing none of those things.

But if you’re up for food, I’m ordering some bagels right now since I know you love those.

With avocado.

Unless the thought of avocado makes you want to hurl. In which case, pretend I never said avocado.

—T

My heart swells even more. I do love bagels so much. I also want to feel human again so I head straight for Tyler’s spacious rainfall shower and indulge.

When I’m out of the shower, I pull on the fresh clothes,towel-dry my hair, then twist it into a makeshift bun since he left my hair tie on the counter for me.

Of course he did.

I pad downstairs still feeling a little tired and slow but mostly better. When I reach the first level, the faint sounds of a familiar song drift from the kitchen. It’s Camden, the pop singer, and her bold, brassy voice is like a calling card that tells me Tyler’s in there.

I feel weirdly…shy.

Having him see me like that last night was uncomfortable.

I walk into the kitchen, where he’s putting something in the fridge. I stop at the island. When he turns around, the fridge door shutting, his hazel eyes light up. He gives me the warmest smile. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes,” I say, then quickly amend it to “mostly.” I shift gears since I don’t like talking about how I feel. “How’s Parker?”

A smile shifts his lips. “All better. I talked to my mom. He’s back at school, and Luna too, of course. She never caught it.”

“Good. That’s a relief. Thank you for everything.” Then I’m quiet for several seconds, weighing how far to go. But he carried me upstairs and gave me meds and Gatorade, and watched skating videos and left out clothes for me. I swallow down my pride. “I hate being sick.”

His eyes soften, and he gives a gentle nod. “I had a feeling. But it’s okay, Sabrina. It happens to everyone.”

“But I don’t like it when it happens to me,” I say, with maybe a pout.

“Well, no one does.”

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