Page 4 of The Alien Reindeer's Bounty
“Stop it,” she said, refusing to open her eyes.
“Wake up before I drag you out of this bed,” Mads said. He would. He’d done it before, grabbing her by an ankle and pulling until her butt hit the floor.
Odessa reluctantly opened her eyes, finding Mads’ grinning face inches from hers. “How the hell did you get in my room?”
“Through the window.” Mads hooked a thumb over his shoulder.
“I’m on the fourth floor.”
He snorted. “Like that was a challenge.”
“So many questions.” She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “One, some best friend you are. I was sleeping.”
“Not a question, and you were sleeping the day away. Come on. We have things to do.” He jumped up, wearing worn jeans that hung low off his hips and a thin T-shirt. The shirt rode up, exposing his firm stomach and the dark trail of hair leading down—
Down, girl. Mads was her best friend and he didn’t think of herthatway. Unfortunately. When they were younger, he climbed through her bedroom window and crawled into bed with her—granted, that hadn’t happened since they were twelve—but it always remained strictly platonic. Clothes on, no touching other than fighting for mattress space and the blanket. They weren’t kids anymore.
Oh, and she was in college now and lived an hour away.
“Question two, what are you doing here? You should be at work.” She wore reindeer-printed pajama pants and an oversized T-shirt. Super seductive, right?
Mads grinned at the pajamas. “Work is boring. Everything is boring without you, so I’m taking a field trip. Dress warm. We’re going on an adventure today.”
“Very funny,” she said. He never missed a day of school. “Mister Perfect Attendance is skipping work.” He had never missed a day of school. A thought struck her. “Did you run away from home? Does your dad know you’re here?”
He shrugged. “I told him I had some things to take care of today.”
“So, he doesn’t know you drove an hour to break into a girls’ dorm before dawn.” No doubt Mr. Sommerfeldt would pin the blame on Odessa. He’d taken a dislike to her in the last few years.
“Let’s go sledding.” He picked up a notebook from her desk and flipped through it.
“Who are you, and what did you do with Mads?”
“Very funny.” He tossed himself on the bed, arms folded behind his back. “Why is your bed so much comfier than mine?”
“Girl magic.” Also, her mattress wasn’t filled with concrete and she piled on the fluffiest comforters and blankets.
Odessa grabbed her clothes and dressed in the bathroom. When she returned, Mads was full-on snooping through her books. “Find anything interesting?”
He shrugged again. She went off to college that fall and Mads worked with his father. The state university was only an hour away from home, but Odessa and Mads couldn’t hang out the way they used to. They texted every morning and every night, but it wasn’t the same.
“Hey, I miss you.” She bumped him with her shoulder.
“I miss you too,” he said, draping an arm over her shoulder. She shouldn’t read too much into this—driving during the night to see her, skipping work, defying his dad, breaking into her room—but she sighed and leaned into his familiar warmth.
“How are you so warm?” she asked.
“Dude magic. You should feed me now. I want to see if the cafeteria is really as bad as you claim.”
Odessa stuck her head out the door to make sure the hallway was empty. She wouldn’t be the first resident of the girls-only dorm to sneak a guy out in the morning, but she’d rather avoid the knowing looks and smirks. They took the stairs to avoid the elevator and nearly made it out the door until, “Muller! Looks like you had a good morning. A very good morning.”
“Ha ha,” Odessa replied, dryly.
“I want to meet your friend,” Mads said, twisting around as she shoved him out the door.
With the cafeteria mostly empty at the early hour, Odessa grumbled into her latte and waited for the caffeine to wake her up. She knew she looked like a mess with her barely brushed hair and the shapeless fleece hoodie she wore. Super attractive. Mads looked like he stepped out of an advertisement for milk: wholesome, handsome and just a hint of a milk mustache.
He chugged the glass and grinned.
