Page 86 of Red Zone
LYLA
By early Saturday afternoon, I’ve changed the sheets on my bed twice, deep-cleaned the coffee maker, restocked the fridge, and rearranged the entryway shoe rack—because apparently, the only thing that calms my nerves after spending three days tangled up with Carter Hayes is reorganizing my environment until my brain stops spinning.
We watched movies. Slept in the same bed. Ate toaster waffles like a married couple. He brushed my hair off my face one morning and kissed my shoulder like it wasn’t a big deal.
But it was.
To me, it was.
So, I came home.
Not because he pushed me away. He didn’t. He kissed me goodbye, slow and quiet, like it meant something to him. And that was exactly why I had to leave.
I did the only thing I know how to do when things get too big.
I made myself small again.
The door clicks open, and I hear the familiar sound of Madison dragging her duffel inside, keys jangling, and boots thudding onto the welcome mat.
I pop up from the couch like I haven’t been nervously refolding the same blanket for the past twenty minutes.
Madison steps inside, Jaxon’s hoodie swallowing her frame. She drops her bag, then her whole body onto the couch.
“I brought back pie. And news. In that order.”
I arch a brow. “You go first. I’ll go grab plates.”
“Skip the plates, just bring spoons.”
By the time I return with spoons and a can of whipped cream, she’s kicked her boots off and curled into the corner of the couch, eyes wide and already half-smiling.
“Well?” I nudge. “How was it?”
She laughs. “It was actually really fun. I was a little nervous about how it would be going there for the first time since…well, since we’re kind of together?” A blush creeps up her cheeks, and she can’t help but grin.
“Did he ask you to be his girlfriend?”
Don’t get me wrong. I am beyond happy for my best friend, and I truly hope she has her shit figured out. She deserves to be happy, more than anyone else I know. I just worry that she hasn’t figured out the healing she needs to in order for this to last long term.
“No, nothing like that. I don’t really know how to explain it, and I get a little anxious if I think about it too much, honestly.”
After a beat, she turns to me. “And what about you? How was your trip?”
Here it comes. The lie I’ve been rehearsing for hours.
“I didn’t end up going,” I say with a small shrug. “Didn’t feel great, and with everything going around…didn’t want to risk making Grandma sick. So, I just stayed home.”
Madison tilts her head. “Why didn’t you say anything? I could’ve come back or even stayed home to begin with.”
“I didn’t want you to do that. You and Jaxon needed this.” I offer a tight smile. “I just needed a couple days to rest. Nothing a little couch rotting couldn’t fix.”
More like nothing a few orgasms couldn’t fix.
I scrunch my nose at the thought, but it’s not wrong.
Madison doesn’t question it. Just reaches over and squeezes my arm. “Next year, we are definitely going back to Friendsgiving.”
“Deal.”
