Page 59 of Awakened in September (Sleepless November Saga 4)

A nervous expression appears on her face. “His name’s Dawson. I met him at the coffee house yesterday. He’s cool, you’d like him.”

So that is who she was with in that picture. I was going to ask about it, but if I’ve learned anything about Kayleigh, it’s that sending someone to spy on her would only piss her off. It’s better if she doesn’t know.

“So, you have a date?” I ask the question even though the answer terrifies me.

She sits up and faces me, looking completely serious. “Not a date. He has a girlfriend.”

“Means nothing.”

“Maybe not to you.” Okay, ouch. “He doesn’t get out of work until three though, so I’m yours until then.”

That’s still hours away. I raise my eyebrows and she pushes me backwards. Suddenly, I remember my offer has still gone unanswered. “Will you come back here after?”

The moment she nods, happiness radiates through my entire being. I reconnect our kiss and lay her back, running my hands up her sides. She moans as my tongue explores her mouth. It’s amazing to me how she’s the only person to ever make me feel these things. In order to even stay hard last night, I had to close my eyes and envision it was Kayleigh – but nothing beats the real thing.

She pulls my shirt over my head and rolls us so I’m lying on my back and she’s next to me. Her fingernails lightly drag down my torso. When her eyes hover on one spot, I look down to see what she’s focused on. There are three light hickeys along my pant line, left there by Hailey.

“I really am sorry.” I whisper.

She bites her lip before bending down and placing her mouth over the first one. She sucks the small section of skin into her mouth, leaving her own mark over top of the original. I watch her with my heart pounding loudly inside my chest. Her actions are so possessive as she repeats them over each of the three love bites but I don’t mind. She’s absolutely mesmerizing. Make me yours, babe.

BY THE TIME KAYLEIGH leaves with Dawson, I’m having trouble holding in my anger. Between her going to the movies with some guy and Caleb’s douchebag move from earlier, I’m fuming. I watch from the door as Kayleigh smiles brightly in the passenger seat. When they pull away, I turn around to see Caleb leaning against the kitchen counter. I storm into the room, ignoring Jason and Jesse.

“What the fuck is your problem?”

He rolls his eyes. “My problem is that you’re a piece of shit. You have a great girl right in front of your face, and yet you still fuck random chicks at parties. I’m not sorry I blew up your spot. She had the right to know.”

“I was going to tell her myself!”

“Yeah, right.” He snorts. “You never own up to anything. She deserves so much better than you.”

“You think I don’t know that?! You think I don’t grasp how perfect she is?! I wake up every morning, praying to God that she doesn’t realize she’s a fucking goddess and I’m just some stupid frat boy. But if you think you’re going to be the reason that happens, you’ve got another thing coming. She could be with you but she’s not – she’s with me. So be a man and get the fuck over it!”

All of them are stunned into silence. I turn around and march out the door, slamming it shut as I leave.

Chapter Eighteen

It feels like hours pass until Kayleigh finally gets back from her ‘not-date’ with the barista. After going off on Caleb, I went for a drive. When I got back, I went straight to my room. Not a single one of them dared to say a word to me. Since then, I’ve been listening to music while trying not to pace.

My door opens and Kayleigh walks in, smiling at me as soon as our eyes meet. I take out my headphones and put them on the nightstand. Making grabby hands at her, she chuckles and puts her purse on the desk before climbing onto the bed. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close.

“How was the movie?”

She lays her head against my chest and hums as I run my fingers through her hair. “It was good. I had fun.”

“Did he try anything?”

“No.” She snickers. “I told you, he has a girlfriend. Your jealousy is adorable, though.”

I scoff. “I’m not jealous.”

“Oh, you’re not?” I shake my head. “Good, then you won’t be mad when I tell you I got a job at the coffee house.”

“You what?!”

She sits up and looks at me. “Yeah, I mean, he’s an awesome friend and wants me to work with him. I think we’d have fun. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to have some extra money.”

“Baby, you don’t need money. I can pay for everything we do.”

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