Page 24 of Top Shelf

“Right, of course,” she says. “Well, thank you.”

“‘Course. Well, come on in,” I say. “It’s not much, but it’s mine.”

She looks around.

“It’s perfect,” she says. “I’m really proud of you, Ty.”

I look at her, and she’s already looking right at me. I smile.

“I’m really proud of you too, Sade,” I say. She scoffs as she sits on the couch and curls her legs under her.

“Proud of how I fucked up my life?” she says. I clench my fists. That’s a Mrs. Blackwell comment if I ever heard one, and I always hated the way her mother would get in her head. I sit down next to her.

“No. I’m proud of how you’re taking it back,” I say. She looks at me, her eyebrows knit together. I know that look. It’s the face she makes before she gets teary-eyed. And I can’t bear it. Not when she’s looking all sexy in her sweatpants and her messy bun. Not when I’m already fighting off the urge to carry her upstairs and show her how fucking worthy she is of everything good in this world.

I pat her hand.

“Come on, kid,” I say, “let’s eat shit food and watch shit TV.” She smiles and nods, leaning back into the couch.

We laugh and talk for a bit, going through two bags of chips, a bowl of popcorn, and a couple of beers a piece. I fill her in on the Calway family updates she’s missed, and she tells me about the job she had at the hotel before Hayden “requested” that she quit. She told me about how she opened a secret bank account shortly before she quit and moved her last few months of paychecks into it, in case she ever decided to leave.

She told me about how her mom told her she’d made the biggest mistake of her life when she left Hayden. About how they barely speak even though they live in the same house.

She told me about all the jobs she’s applied to and how she’s asking for more hours at the coffee shop until she finds something. She loves working in events, and she’s hoping to lock down something soon. She’s always been one of the most driven people I’ve ever known.

And then, after a few minutes, she doesn’t say much else. And when I look over, it’s because she’s asleep, with Odie curled up next to her. And suddenly, this house doesn’t seem so lonely.

Quiet, but not lonely.

I smile as I reach up and pull the blanket off the top of the couch, spreading it out over top of her. Her dark locks are falling out of her bun, and her sweatshirt is all bunched up around her chin.God, she is so beautiful.

She doesn’t stir. She doesn’t even move. She just lies here, on my couch, in my house, with my eyes on her, making sure no one ever gets to her again.

I scoot to the edge of the couch, but then I look at them, both snoozing away, and I know there’s nowhere else I’d rather get a better night’s sleep than right here on this couch with them.

CHAPTERELEVEN

sadie

I stirwhen I feel something warm and hairy stir around near my face. I open my eyes to see Odie, on his back, paws in the air, an ear over his eye as he sleeps. I smile as I blink, and then realize that I’m still here, on Tyson’s couch. I sit up, looking around in the early morning light, and there he is, sound asleep, feet-to-feet with me, lying the other way. And I smile again.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept that deeply. Like there wasn’t any hurt or disappointment waiting for me when I woke up. I could just sleep. And I did. But unfortunately, it was at the once-love-of-my-life-ex-best-friend-new-fake-boyfriend’s house. And that makes it a little bit complicated. I slide off the couch as quietly as I can, careful not to stir Odie, and slip into the hall bathroom. When I see my reflection, I almost scream. God, I look like hell.

The instant I see myself, I hear Hayden in one ear, and my mom in the other.

You’re not going out like that, are you?

Did you mean to do your hair like that?

I sigh, turning the water on as gently as possible and scrubbing the leftover mascara off from under my eyes. I tug my hair tie out and try to run my fingers through the rat’s nest, to no real avail. Finally, I give up.

He’s seen you naked, girl.

I turn the water off and go back out to the living room.

“Thought you were sneaking out on me, Blackwell,” he whispers, making me jump. I smile.

“No. Not unless you’re kicking me out.”

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