“Right now?” I bit my lower lip as it stretched into a wide smile. “For you to do that again.”
Grinning, he leaned in close again and ducked his head for another kiss.
But eventually the exhaustion won and we had to give in to the greater need for sleep instead of kisses. So we pulled the comforter down from the loveseat to cover us then laid on the pallet together, my head on his shoulder, his arms around me, my hand resting on his chest so I could feel his racing heartbeat gradually calm and slow.
Part of me wanted to relax into the moment, soak it all up like a sponge and hopefully remember every detail of it for the rest of my life. Another part of me wanted to analyze it, to question what this meant and when his feelings for me had changed and where we would go from here. I had to keep reminding myself to let the questions go and simply enjoy the moment for however long it lasted.
I fell asleep still smiling.
CHAPTER 15
Monday, December 14th
Hayden
I woke up alone. Worried, I turned and found Tarah watching me from the couch, her hair a sexy tangle over one shoulder.
“Hey, what are you doing up there?” I must have been pretty out of it. I never felt her leave my side.
“I had to move. You snore.”
I made a face.
She laughed. “Just kidding. Actually, I heard your grandma coming to bed, and I didn’t think she’d like me sleeping down there with you. So I moved up here.”
“Sounds like everyone’s up already.” And all downstairs, judging by the muffled quality of the noise. Smells of bacon and eggs wafted in, making my stomach grumble. “Man, I’m starving.”
“Me too.” She jumped up from the couch and tried to step over me.
I grabbed her ankles and tugged until she fell laughing on top of me.
“Hayden, I’ve got morning breath,” she squealed, trying to lean away.
“So? Can’t be worse than mine.” I cupped her face with one hand, staring up into her eyes as light from the windows above the couch made her irises sparkle. “You’re so beautiful.”
“Come here, cactus face,” she murmured with a smile, leaning down to kiss me.
It was the only way I ever wanted to wake up again, with her soft lips on mine, the tip of her nose brushing mine, her wild and crazy hair falling around both our faces like a dark cloud. Perfection.
Perfection soon shattered by a giggling, curly haired girl who burst into the room shouting, “Breakfast!” Pamela and Steve’s kid, Cassie.
Tarah burst into embarrassed laughter, which she tried to muffle by burying her face against the side of my neck. “Come on.” She rolled up to her feet then pulled me up after her.
She grabbed her clothes and ducked into the bathroom to get dressed, then reemerged with a sheepish smile. “My ponytail holder broke. And I feel weird about using your grandma’s makeup...” Which she’d obviously opted not to do, considering her face was still bare.
“Nope, give it up, gorgeous. You’re still beautiful.” I pulled her to me for one more quick kiss before we headed downstairs.
I should have made my move with her years ago. Why had I waited so long?
Everyone seemed to be up and roaming around, obviously enjoying their newfound freedom outside a cramped vehicle. I snagged the only seat left, a barstool beside Steve at the kitchen island. We exchanged cool nods of greeting before ignoring each other again. News on the small kitchen TV competed with cartoons blaring from the living room. In the dining room behind me, people both sat at the table and stood around it eating as mothers tried to get their hyper kids to sit still in their laps and eat.
The kitchen was even more chaotic, filled with women and men trying to cook, clean plates at the sink and load the dishwasher, or dart in for a refill from the coffeemaker. I was half worried Grandma Letty would already be frazzled and ready to kick us all out. But she didn’t look it as she stood at the counter flipping pancakes on an electric griddle with one hand, pouring a glass of grape juice for Cassie with the other hand, and laughing at something Pamela said as the younger woman cooked bacon and eggs beside her on the stove.
It was hard to believe all these people weren’t related. If not for the worry lines still etched into every adult face, their shoulders slumped and rolled forward with some combination of despair and resignation, this gathering could almost be mistaken for one big family gathering for some holiday.
Steve snagged his daughter’s shoulder as she tried to run past us with her juice. “Walk, Cassie.”
Cassie took off at a slightly slower pace, a ring of purple lining her upper lip.
Steve was still smiling as he raised his head and caught me watching them. His smile disappeared.
Tarah joined us, leaning her forearms on the end of the island countertop. Keeping her voice low, she added, “Have you see the news this morning?”
In this noise? Who could hear it? “No, what did I miss?”
She swiveled the small flatscreen toward us and cranked up the volume enough for us to hear. It was already on a CNN show featuring international news. The clips of violence in streets all over the world made me nauseous. In the last clip, leader after country leader ceremoniously signed something while seated before their countries’ seals and flags.
“The United Nations has banned Clann activities and abilities worldwide,” Tarah said, her voice hoarse. “And all the countries are agreeing to support it.”
“They can’t all be anti-Clann,” Steve protested, his voice too loud. The lower floor of the house became quiet. So much for the holiday family fantasy.
He didn’t seem to notice or care as he continued, “What about the smaller countries? The ones who always stay neutral?”
Tarah shook her head carefully. “No one wants to go against the U.N. Not on this. They’re all afraid of what would happen if they get flooded with the Clann refugees no one else wants.”
What she meant was that none of the other countries wanted to get blown up by angry, displaced outcasts like the previous U.S. president had.
“Well, great. Now what?” Steve spat out.
Good question. Because that sort of killed all my ideas for Tarah and me too.
“I might have an answer for that,” Grandma Letty said, her confident voice breaking the tense silence. She flipped the pancakes onto plates and brought them over to the island, sliding a plate before Tarah and myself. But the smell didn’t interest me at all now as my stomach rolled and churned with acid.