Page 44 of Awakened in September (Sleepless November Saga 4)

“Drop it, Kayleigh.” I’m about to reopen the game I was just playing when the device is ripped from my hands. “Give me that back.”

“Not until you tell me why I shouldn’t be with Caleb.”

“Fucking hell.” I bark. “You don’t know how to let something go, do you?” I mean for it to sound intimidating, but it’s obvious I lack any sort of animosity towards her.

“Nope.” She grins smugly.

I reach for my phone but she pulls it away, just like I did with her book. “Give me it.”

“No.” She giggles.

As I try again, the two of us tumble to the floor. I land on top of her, with our faces only inches apart. The sound of her breath hitching tells me all I need to know. As she glances down at my lips, I lean in and kiss her. My hand caresses her face as my mouth moves against hers slowly. I’m almost positive we both stop breathing at the intimacy of it. When I pull away and see the way she’s looking at me, I give in.

“I don’t want you to be with Caleb because I want you to be with me.”

She doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t have to. The way she smiles and pulls back in for a kiss is enough to answer for her. As much as I would love to have my way with her again, I resist the urges. I don’t want her to think I only want sex. She means so much more to me than that.

After a few minutes of kissing, the sound of someone coming down the hallway alerts us to my door, which is still wide open. I get up and run over to shut and lock it, not wanting any interruptions. The two of us move to my bed where she cuddles against me. I can tell by the way she’s talking that, while she may be a little buzzed, she’s not drunk. The revelation makes me happy, knowing she’s doing this because she wants to – not because she’s intoxicated.

We spend the rest of the night in conversation. Some topics are light while others, such as the one about Bree, are serious. When she finally starts to doze off, I offer to drive her home. The ride to campus is quiet but her fingers stay interlaced with mine and that’s exactly what I need. When we get there, she kisses me once more before climbing out of the car and going inside. All I can do is watch and wonder what it is about her that has me so bewitched.

THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS are filled with constant text messages and secret make out sessions. I feel guilty about what I’m doing to Brianna but I can’t help myself. The things Kayleigh makes me feel are something I’ve never experienced before, and no matter how much I try to fight it, I can’t. She has me tightly wrapped around her little finger.

We spend sociology class sitting next to each other and sneaking subtle touches. The only person who notices anything is Professor Bradley who smiles at me knowingly. Our ankles stay hooked together as we focus on the lecture and I do my best to ignore the tingles that still come from her skin touching mine.

I practically float around the frat house, grinning widely every time my phone vibrates in my pocket. I’m sitting at the kitchen island, texting Kayleigh back, when Jesse enters the room.

“Alright, I have to know.” He says as he sits in the seat next to me. “What have you been on lately, and can I get some of it?”

I chuckle and shake my head. “I’m not on anything.”

His eyebrows furrow as he studies my face. “Then who’s the girl?”

I’m about to deny it when my phone vibrates in my hand. I open the text and feel as the smile falls right off my face.

Kayleigh: I think we should stop… whatever this is.

I’m sorry.

My heart sinks and quite possibly cracks as I read her words. Here I thought I finally had her. I guess I was wrong. Two days into it and she’s already running away. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.

“There is no girl.” I answer Jesse, and I wish more than anything that I wasn’t being honest.

Chapter Fourteen

There’s a vast difference between being a caring person and an overbearing stalker. However, tell that to my brain as it refuses to cooperate and not contact Kayleigh. It’s been three days since I received her end-all text, and ever since, her phone’s been off. I’ve sent numerous text messages and even left a couple voicemails, but they’ve all gone unanswered. When I couldn’t handle it anymore, I even asked Bree. All she told me was that Kayleigh’s sick – but I figure that’s just the lie she told her.

I’m currently sitting on Jesse’s bed as he tosses a ball in the air. He called me in here to talk about some fraternity stuff for next year, though I can tell that’s not all he wanted. Sure enough, once the important conversation is done, the topic changes.

“So, what’s been up with you? You were ridiculously happy, then all of a sudden, you crashed.”

I shrug, hesitant on whether or not I should confide in him. “It’s no big deal. Just been dealing with some shit.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“If I do, are you going to run your mouth to Caleb and Jason?”

He chuckles. “Come on, H. I’d like to think you know me better than that.”

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