Page 62 of Unbidden

“Thank you. I was thirsty, so I thought I would come down and get some water.”

“Tinsley has a mini fridge in her room with bottled water. Try again.”

“How fucking rich are you?” I say exasperated.

I mean, who has a damn mini fridge in their room?

I try to focus on his features, but with only a small night-light in the corner, I can’t see him very well.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he grumbles.

“Jesus. You can’t even take a damn joke. No, I wouldn’t like to know. Nor do I care how much money you have. As for why I’m down here, I couldn’t sleep. So rather than toss and turn and possibly wake up your sister or V, I thought I would come down and grab a glass of water before trudging back upstairs to hopefully fall asleep.”

I take a long pull from the glass, now regretting my choice to come down here.

“I’m going to sit outside for a little while. You can too, if you want,” he says before turning and heading out the side door.

He doesn’t wait for a response, but he does leave the door open. I think about it a couple of moments before I decide to follow him.

I must be a masochist, but I’m curious as to what made him make the offer. It could be a trap, of course. Another ploy to humiliate me. But my gut says it’s not.

Walking out the door, I find him sitting in a chair on the patio. I take a seat next to him, setting the glass of water on the table between us. Looking out, I take in the moonlight reflecting off the lake.

I smile as I admire the beauty. I’ve always loved nature and water. Scooting a little farther down in my seat, I lay my head back, admiring the stars.

“It’s beautiful,” I mutter, not realizing I spoke out loud until Reed responds.

“I’ve always preferred the calm of the night. Even the lake is calm with no wind to ruffle its waves.”

I resist the urge to look over at him, enjoying a moment of truce between us.

“It’s comforting. Things have been changing so much recently that it’s nice to have a moment where everything is still.”

As soon as the words slip out of my mouth, I want to take them back. I never share, especially with a guy who’s made it his life’s mission to humiliate me. Yet, sitting out here in the dark with the stars shining above, I felt like I can confide in him.

I bite my lip, waiting for a response that never comes. Finally, after a few moments, I turn to look at him.

The moonlight is bright tonight, illuminating his face. He appears lost in thought, and thank whatever god is watching out for me, as it seems he didn’t hear my slipup.

Turning back to the lake, I let myself get lost in the silence. For once, my brain isn’t going a million miles a minute. Just like that, my mind settles, and I feel my eyelids become heavy.

∞∞∞

I go to turn over but find my movement limited. Grabbing my blanket, I burrow into the chair a little more.

My eyes pop open as I become aware of a bird chirping. I gasp quietly as I realize I’m still in the patio chair, curled up and covered with a blanket.

I glance over and see Reed also still in the chair with his head facing me. I stare at him a moment, watching his chest rise and fall with steady breaths.

I wonder where the blanket came from.

There wasn’t a blanket out here last night. One of the servants must’ve brought it out.

Then why doesn’t Reed have one?

I hush the annoying voice of reason in my head and stand up, hoping to get inside before he wakes up.

“Where are you going?”

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