Page 47 of Until Tomorrow Comes
Clearing my throat, I turn to Kat, waiting to catch her eye before I lean in closer.
“How’s girls’ night going so far?” I whisper. She shifts closer to me, the sweet scent of her coconut shampoo invading my senses.
“It’s fun,” the way she answers has me raising a brow in response. “It is! I’m glad I came out tonight.”
“But…” I inquire. Kat laughs, sparing a quick glance to Thea before leaning closer until we’re shoulder to shoulder.
“But,” She says quietly. “I would kill for some sweats and a fuzzy blanket.”
There’s no hiding my smile. “Say the word and I can get us outta here, Kitten.”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s no hiding the blush staining her cheeks. Shaking her head, she purses her lips. When she finally looks at me again, her eyes shine with excitement.
“Can we get pizza on the way back to the house?”
17
Jackson
“You said you wouldn’t laugh.” I try to say with conviction, but fail. Kat slaps a hand over her mouth, but it does nothing to stifle her giggles.
“Sorry, sorry! I know but like… it’skindafunny.” She laughs again, scrambling to her feet and scurrying away.
“Where are you going?” I lean back against the couch, watching as she skips to the kitchen.
“I need my phone. Alan needs to see these!” She exclaims, hurrying back to the room with her phone in hand.
“Oh hell no he doesn’t!” I say quickly, snatching up the books. But even I can’t stop laughing as I fumble to gather them.
I couldn’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself this much.
We’ve been laughing since the moment I managed to get us out of the bar without any fuss. If anything, Thea was very understanding, making me wonder what Kat had told her.
Once we got home, and changed into sweats, we set up camp on the living room floor. I’d managed to call in a favor at the pizzeria before it closed, grabbing us a small pizza, wings and breadsticks.
Between each bite, she animatedly talked about anything and everything. As I took a bite of pizza it dawned on me that the sound of her voice was something I could listen to all night long.
When she wanted to make a Target run for a new Girl Scout flavored ice cream she saw online, it reminded me of the care packages she used to send.
Which led us to talk about how she managed to get a squad full of grown men to binge read all thirteen books in a series centered around the dramatic life of two teenage girls.
At least we both agreed that the books were better than the show.
Kat squeals and the next thing I know she’s in front of me. Her hands grip my wrists, my heart skipping at the touch, and stops me instantly from picking up the third book in theGossip Girlseries. Kneeling in front of me, she quickly moves to take the book from my hands. Setting it back next to the others. Twisting, she takes her phone out to snap a picture, but before she can, I wrap an arm around her waist, and pull her against me.
Her laugh tapers off as she tenses, making me realize my error. I’m about to release her and apologize when she relaxes into me, shifting slightly until she sits in my lap with her back to my chest and lets out a deep breath.
“Thank you.” She whispers, making me wish that I could see her face.
“For what?”
Kat drops her head back to my shoulder, turning her face to look up at me.
“For giving me a safe place.”
Slowly, giving her time to react, I wrap my arm around her waist and clasp my hands together before resting them on her stomach. Holding her to me, I inhale deeply.
“You don’t have to thank me for that, Kat.” I leave out the fact that I would say yes again in a heartbeat. Saying yes this time around has turned out to be the best decision I’ve made in a long time.
