Page 62 of Awakened in September (Sleepless November Saga 4)

“Seriously?” Bree’s voice sounds. I wince, keeping my eyes closed for a second and hoping this isn’t happening.

I turn around and am faced with my very angry ex-girlfriend. “Bree, I didn’t know you were here. I swear.”

“Just like you both swore you’re just friends.” She sneers.

I go to put my hand on her arm but quickly realize it’s a bad idea. “Calm down. Let’s go somewhere and talk.”

“No.” She growls. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you. You’re exactly what Kayleigh said you are – a selfish, egotistical, man-whore.”

Hearing that Kay has said those things about me hits me where it hurts. I glance at her and remember that things are different now. My eyes focus back on Bree in a hard glare. “Leave Kayleigh out of this.”

Bree becomes more enraged, if that’s even possible. “Now you’re defending her?!”

It happens in slow motion. She rips the lid off her large iced coffee and splashes the contents all over the front of me. The ice bounces off me and lands on the floor while the liquid coats my body.

“Fuck you, Holden.”

She marches out the door but I’m too shocked to move. Taylor, however, is still standing there. She turns and smirks at Kayleigh.

“I knew I was right about you, slut.”

No one says a word as she goes to chase after her friend. I hear Dawson mumble something about a mop and he disappears. Kayleigh looks scared to say anything at all.

“Are you okay?” She all but whispers.

I pull my coffee soaked shirt over my head and use the dry side to clean off my face. I shake away the stray pieces of hair that have fallen into my face, but when my fingers hit it, I cringe. The coffee is mixed in with my hairspray, already making it sticky.

“Suddenly, I have the urge to shower.” I try to lighten the mood.

She frowns. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know she was here. They must have gotten here before my shift started.” She’s cute when she rambles.

I shake my head calmly. “Kay, relax. You have nothing to apologize for.”

She looks down at her hands. “I feel like I do.”

Reaching forward, I lift her head and her eyes meet mine. She is breathtaking. “Not at all.”

“Okay.” She responds but doesn’t look away.

Dawson emerges from the back and comes around to clean up the mess. “Oh, how nice of you to take your shirt off.”

I’m too focused on Kayleigh to see what he’s doing, but she grabs a straw and throws it at him. I use her distraction to lean over the counter and place a quick kiss to her lips. “I’m going to go get cleaned up. I’ll see you later?”

She nods, flustered. “My shift is over at five.”

“Perfect.” I make my way towards the exit. “We can go out to dinner after work.”

Her smile is all I need to for everything to be worth it.

I WALK IN THE front door of the frat house, hoping to go unnoticed. Unfortunately, luck isn’t on my side. Jesse, Caleb, Jason, and Riley are all sitting in the living room. Their jaws drop when they see me soaking wet.

“What the hell happened to you?” Jason asks first.

I roll my eyes. “Super pissed ex-girlfriend.”

Caleb barks out a laugh. “Bree did that to you?! Damn. What the hell made her do that?”

“Uh, I went to Dolce and unintentionally flirted with Kayleigh in front of her.”

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