Page 78 of Counting On You

Idon’t know why, but I like Kade.

He’s the first guy I feel like I can fully confide in. And he’s hot.

Damn.

He’s really hot.

Like cover of a magazine, Photoshopped hot.

He’s sitting in front of me, half-naked, his upper body exposed. I can see the tattoo on his shoulder, snaking down, and can’t help but wonder what the design means.

“You’re staring at me,” he says, raking his hand through his hair, as though I’m making him nervous.

“Sorry.” I peel my gaze off of him. “I still feel like a fool. I’m so sorry about last night.”

“Stop apologizing. We had a lot of fun. That’s important.” I smirk. He catches my glance and laughs. “Not that kind of fun. But fun, nonetheless.” He points to my plate. “How are the eggs?”

I stare at the fried mess he calls breakfast. “Good.” Fidgeting in my seat, I take another bite of my omelet, pondering how to put it so his feelings won’t get hurt. “A bit salty, maybe.”

“I have a confession to make. I didn’t really make this.”

“I reckoned that much. We don’t have eggs in the fridge.”

“While you were in the shower, I dashed down to the cafeteria and scraped together all the leftovers I could get,” he says just as I’m about to stuff another forkful into my mouth. “How bad are they?”

“Disgusting?” I peer at the fork, unsure whether to eat the stuff or go hungry until lunch.

“You know…” He lifts his fork and helps himself to the remnants on my plate, then grimaces. “One day I’m going to learn how to cook.” His chocolate eyes meet mine.

“Maybe for the right woman?” I laugh at his expression. “This is really disgusting, but thank you anyway.”

“No need.”

As we eat, the sudden silence makes me aware just how comfortable I feel around him. I haven’t even thought of Bruce yet. I still have the phone, but the thought of checking up on him hasn’t even occurred to me today.

“How can I repay you, Kade?”

“By having coffee with me?” He pushes a mug of some milky concoction toward me.

“You know what I mean.” I lean back and brush my hair out of my face. “This place sucks. I don’t think anyone wants to be here. You took a risk by inviting me along even though you didn’t have to. You don’t even know me.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “I like your company. You’re fun.”

“You mean fun as in acting like an idiot.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Kade says. “The way I saw it, I could leave you behind and risk you exposing my temporary escape. Or drag you along and be partners in crime.”

I smile at him. “I really enjoyed our night out even if I don’t remember a great deal of it.”

“We don’t need to keep it at just one. We can sneak out whenever we want.”

“You want to go out again?” Even though my head’s still spinning a bit and my stomach isn’t quite ready yet to digest solid food, I find the idea appealing.

“Sure. You don’t?”

I let the thought sink in for a moment. “What if someone sees us?”

“Won’t happen because we’ll be even more careful.” His eyes soften. “The next time you’re upset and you feel like hitting the bottle, I want you to tell me. Do you think you can do that?”

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