Page 12 of Up in Flames

MAKAYLIE

The Next Day

It always takes my breath away.

Waking up to a bright but freezing forty-nine-degree morning, I hop out of bed and move over to my window to look out and watch the cityscape. Joey and I always spend the day after Thanksgiving together, seeing as we always spend Thanksgiving with our parents. We like to have this day as quality BFF time. Stretching as I hear the unmistakable sound of bacon popping and sizzling in the kitchen, the smell hits me soon after, and I move from the window and out to the kitchen.

Joey is sizzling up a huge pile of bacon and pancakes. It’s our ritual. We never stray. Every year, it’s the same.

“Morning, bitch,” I call out, and she pops her head around the corner and waves a pair of tongs at me.

“Morning, slut,” Joey calls back as I walk over to the coffee pot to pour myself a cup. I chuckle at the way we talk to each other. Some might think it strange, but it’s how we roll. They are like terms of endearment to us.

“Here…” she says, shoving a plate full of deliciousness in my face, almost making me drop my coffee cup. “Pancakes with extra crispy bacon on the side are ready.”

Smirking, I raise my eyebrows in appreciation and walk over to our small circular dining table and sit as she brings her plate over and sits next to me.

“So, tell me more about that hot piece of ass last night,” she says with a mouthful of food as she digs into her pancakes.

“There’s not much to tell. He’s obviously good with cars. He lives upstairs. His name is Cain. And that’s about as much as I know.”

She nods and purses her lips as a drip of maple syrup slides down her chin. “Mm-hmm… so… would you fuck him?”

My eyes open wide as I burst out laughing, but I don’t say a word.

She giggles to herself, nodding like she already knows the answer. “Okay, so that’s a gigantic yes…” She pauses as a serious look crosses her face. “Kaylie, seriously, let yourself go once in a while. I know my dick-faced whore of a brother hurt your tender pussy feelings, but you, girrrl… seriously, you need to liven the fuck up.”

“I’m alive,” I defend.

She rolls her eyes and waves a piece of bacon at me. “Honey, double-clicking your mouse does not make one… ‘alive.’” She uses air quotes to show emphasis. “You need to get out there and just, you know…” She trails off with a shrug and a big smirk.

“No, I do not…know. Please, by all means, enlighten me.”

Joey grunts and picks up a pancake, takes a large bite out of the center, leaving a gaping hole in the middle, which makes it appear more like a donut, and then grabs a strip of bacon and proceeds to shove it in and out of the hole while raising her eyebrows up and down with a heavy chuckle.

I choke on thin air at her childish behavior. “Goddamn, I will never look at pancakes and bacon the same again. Bacon having sex with a pancake is not how I envisioned my morning. Thanks very much, Joey.”

She rolls her eyes, leaning across the table, slaps my cheek with the offending slice of bacon, then shoves it in her mouth, the crunch following soon after.

I laugh as I wipe the grease from my cheek and eat my not-so-sexualized breakfast.

“Okay, but seriously, if you see Cain again, for God’s sake, let it play out. You never know where it could lead, Kaylie. Not all guys are douches like Deacon. By the way, I still can’t apologize enough for my dufus, dick of a brother.”

I shrug. “Meh, I’m over him. That was a while ago. I can’t help but figure with my history of men, and that’s not just Deacon, that maybe I’m too plain, too boring. There’s nothing exciting about me for guys to be interested.”

She scoffs. “Look, the way I see it, if this Cain guy shows interest, don’t shrug it off and push him away. See how it goes. Don’t stop it before it begins. Take a chance. Don’t let fear stop you.”

I weakly smile. “I’ll probably never see Cain again anyway.”

“Maybe. Just keep what I’ve said in mind. Anyway, I need coffee,” Joey announces, standing up and grabbing our plates. She puts them on the counter as I sip on the last of my coffee while she opens the refrigerator and pulls out the plastic creamer bottle.

“Kaylie, you did it again,” she calls out.

I look over while raising a brow in confusion. “Huh?”

“You used the last of the creamer and put the empty bottle back in the fridge, you ditz! Man, I need coffee. I’m gonna go to the store. I need creamer to get that caffeine hit before I continue studying.”

Dammit!I mentally berate myself for doing that…again. It’s a bad habit I need to stop. I stand to drink the last of my coffee and shake my head. “No, I’ll go. You start studying, and I’ll grab the creamer. You need to focus.”

---