Page 62 of Set the Moment
Sunlight?
Groaning, I roll out my neck and stretch letting out a loud sigh as my muscles loosen and I roll around my bed, the smell of vanilla and leather engulfing me.
Wait…
Vanilla and leather?
I come to an abrupt stop in my rolling and open my eyes. A scream ripples from my throat at my unfamiliar surroundings before another scream drowns it out.
Jace comes running up the stairs into the loft, shirtless with grey sweatpants hanging loosely off his waist, wearing a hockey helmet and defensively holding a hockey stick.
“Why are we screaming?!” he yells before pausing, taking me in from the way I clutch the blanket to my frightened expression. When his eyes linger on my hand a little longer, brow furrowing, I realize one crucial thing.
I’mnaked.
The scream that rips from my throat is instant, “Why am I naked?!”
“You’re naked?!” he asks, pulling off the helmet. “Can I see?”
Scoffing, I hike the cover up higher. “Whyam I naked Jace?!”
He sighs, putting the helmet and stick down, “I don’t know! You had on that cute little dress when I put you to bed… Look at this by the way.” He grins, jogging over to the bed, uncaring of me being in my underwear as he plops down beside me, shoving his phone in my face.
I gape in horror at the screen.
Jace’s lockscreen is an image of me, obviously from last night, knocked out with my mouth ajar and spread across the bed wildly. A purple bonnet covers my hair and my makeup is off except for a smudging of mascara near my eyes. I cringe, noting the small amount of drool near my mouth and look away from the phone.
He put me to sleep?
That doesn’t explain how I…Oh!
Images of me getting up from the bed and stripping down to my underwear before crawling back in next to him flashes in my mind as my cheeks warm.
So maybe I stripped out of my clothes while we were asleep…Big whoop…
Jace sighs, pursing his lips as he stalks away from me around the room before tossing something at my head. I grimace as I peel the blue SFU hoodie away from my face. “If this is your way of getting me in your clothes, you could’ve asked nicely.”
“Trust me, I want nothing more than for you to be naked in my bed…but I also have breakfast on the stove right now, so…”
At the mention of food, my stomach growls and my sense of smells heighten. The smell of something sweet and savory makes my stomach growl even louder. In an instant, the hoodie Jace had thrown at me is over my head and I’m following him down the stairs to the kitchen. The hoodie is warm against my skin and huge, with its material stopping just above my thigh.
Sitting on the kitchen island, facing Jace while he cooks, I admire him. His back muscles flex as he whisks something in a bowl, humming a tune that I can’t place.
The air in the loft this morning is peaceful and calming, a complete contrast to the man before me.
“Now, I’ll be so honest with you right now…This might taste like shit.” He chuckles, still facing the stove as he pours a liquid into a pan, the pan sizzling lowly.
“Derek usually cooks and meal preps for us at the house, and since I live there more than here, I never have to cook,” he says, smiling as he turns to face me, a hint of powder on his nose and hands.
I scrunch my nose.
Derek?
DerekPerez?
He must sense my confusion, because without thought, he elaborates.
“He’s the guy who took you home after the football game.”
