Page 127 of The Perfect Spiral
Beside me, Knox was still lost in slumber, his head heavy against mine. Damn it, we’d fallen asleep on the sofa.
“Well, don’t you two look comfy,” my mom said, barely suppressing a laugh.
I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head, causing Knox to stir. He tugged the blanket back, planting a kiss on my cheek and pulling me closer. I froze, our mothers’ eyes widening in surprise.
“Morning, baby doll,” he murmured, his eyes still closed, oblivious to our audience.
“Well, good morning to you too, son,” Delilah said, her eyes sparkling with delight at the sight of us.
Knox’s eyes snapped open at the sound of his mother’s voice. He turned to face her, his eyes mirroring the playful glint in hers.
“Uh, morning, Mom, Annie... Um, morning,” he stammered, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
“You’ve said that already, sweetie. But I hope we aren’t interrupting anything here?” Delilah’s voice was laced with cheeky insinuation, suggesting something more had happened between us. But it hadn’t.
Well, it had, but they didn’t know and they would never know.
Deny, deny, deny! That was my strategy. We scrambled to our feet, picking up the blanket that had slipped onto the floor.
“Uh, no, you didn’t interrupt anything. We... just... fell asleep out here last night. That’s all,” Knox assured them, rubbing the back of his head nervously. They didn’t look convinced, but it wastrue.
They exchanged a look that clearly said, Yeah, right. You just slept out here. With playful grins, they winked at us. My mom tilted her head up.
“Do I get a morning kiss, Knox?” she teased. Delilah let out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth. They were acting like a pair of schoolgirls.
Knox went over and hugged them both, planting a kiss on each of their cheeks. They gave me a mischievous look, wrapping an arm around him.
I rolled my eyes and shifted my weight, trying to suppress a smile at their antics. I looked up to see Knox standing there in his tight red boxer briefs. Damn, he looked good. An awkward silence fell over us, a silence our mothers seemed to be enjoying.
I couldn’t help but glance at his perfectly sculpted abs. Clearing my throat, I forced my gaze back to his face, which was now focused on me.
“Um - I’m making you breakfast this morning, remember?” I squeaked, pointing at nothing in particular.
He smiled back at me. “You don’t have to, baby doll, I—”
“No, no, it’s fine. I promised,” I interrupted, reaching up to stretch my neck.
I walked past them into the kitchen, taking the mug of hot chocolate from last night with me to clean. It was stained pretty heavily, so I had to soak it. I was just trying to distract myself from the conversation I didn’t want to have with my mom and Delilah.
“Uh, I’m going for a quick shower. I’ll be down in ten!” Knox practically sprinted out of the kitchen and up the stairs, leavingme alone with our mothers.
Thanks, Knox. Thanks a lot.
I whisked up some eggs while the bacon sizzled in the pan, chopping up peppers in the meantime. I heard the screech of chairs and the thud of bodies settling into seats.
I didn’t look up, fearing the questions they might ask. They cleared their throats again, and I instinctively looked up, immediately regretting it.
“Spill it, now!” my mom demanded.
“There’s nothing to spill. We literally fell asleep last night out there. That’s it,” I replied, focusing on the peppers.
“Why don’t I believe you?” she pushed. “I don’t know. That’s your problem, I guess,” I shrugged.
“Alex, you can tell us,” Delilah coaxed.
“Mom, seriously, there’s nothing to tell. We just sat out there and fell asleep. So move on,” I said, sprinkling the peppers and bacon bits into the eggs and shredding spinach over the pan.
“I will get it out of you if it’s the last thing I do,” my mom threatened.
