Page 16 of Home Stretch

EIGHT

Kade

I’m notsure what Malia likes for breakfast, but I figured pancakes were a safe bet. I haven’t made them in a while. I never really have time, but I woke up early this morning and wanted to do something nice for Malia.

Hendrix stopped by the apartment late last night to crash for a few hours, and Thorne strolled in about twenty minutes ago to rinse off. Both of them have already left for campus again, so it’s just the two of us in the apartment. I know Malia needs to get to her classes soon, so I head down the hall to wake her up, but she’s already awake.

“Morning,” I say as she wraps her arms around my waist.

“Morning. I was just coming to find you.”

“I made breakfast.”

“You’re the best.”

I laugh as I hug her and then lead her down the hallway to the kitchen.

“I have to be on campus soon,” she warns, and I nod.

“I’m ready to take you home and then to campus whenever you want.”

She smiles as she adds a few pancakes to her plate and digs in. I do the same, and we eat in companionable silence.

“Do you like to cook?” she asks as we clean up the dishes.

“Every now and then. Thorne and Hendrix aren’t the best in the kitchen, so I tend to do it more than them.”

“Do they at least clean up since you cook?”

“Yeah, they’re good at cleaning up and keeping their space clean.”

“It’s good that you guys can stay friends. My first year in college, I heard so many horror stories of best friends rooming together and winding up hating each other by the end of the year.”

“Yeah, we had some people like that in our dorms the first year too. Maybe it helps that I didn’t really know Hendrix or Thorne when I first got here. Besides, Thorne tends to stick to himself. Or he did anyway.”

Malia giggles, the sound light and joyful in the small kitchen.

“We should get you home and to campus,” I say as I finish loading the dishwasher.

“I’m ready when you are.”

I grab my keys and cell phone before I take her hand and lead her out of the apartment. Malia’s place is only a few blocks over from mine so it doesn’t take us long to get there. It doesn’t take long to get anywhere in Sequoia, and I love it.

“Do you ever miss Los Angeles?” I ask as her parking lot comes into view.

“Not really. It never quite felt like home to me. I don’t want to be a celebrity or a socialite. I didn’t exactly fit in with my classmates or friends. Plus the traffic,” she groans, and I chuckle.

“Yeah, I never knew how people did that. Just sit in your car for hours to get somewhere that should take twenty minutes tops.”

“Some people love it. Maybe if I wanted to be famous or if I liked surfing.”

“You don’t like surfing?”

“I could never even stand up on the board without falling off,” she says with a laugh as I pull into the parking lot. “Have you ever surfed?”

“No, I’ve only seen the ocean once in my life, when we went to Corpus Christi for a vacation when I was younger. I remember playing in the waves, but I don’t think anyone was surfing there.”

“Do you want to?”

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