Page 17 of Sweater Weather (Sapphire Falls Orchard #1)

SEVENTEEN

Bells

I wake up with a start as I feel someone move beside me.

Considering I usually sleep alone, I’m petrified about what creature has crawled into bed with me.

But when I open my eyes to see Tilly and an unfamiliar room, my head starts pounding.

I don’t remember how we got here, and I definitely don’t remember falling asleep in her bed.

I’m naked under the sheets, so we clearly had sex.

As I think about it, I get glimpses of her touching and tasting me, her body begging me to fuck her, and us falling asleep together.

I almost went home last night, but she asked me to stay for whatever reason.

She probably felt bad with how late it was.

But now it’s morning, and I have a million things to do at home.

So I slip out of the bed and grab my scattered clothes from the floor.

It’s going to be a pain in the ass to get dressed in the clothes from last night just to walk home twenty-five feet.

But it isn’t like I can slip next door naked.

I grab my socks and start down the stairs quietly.

I’m tiptoeing on each step, but as I reach the last step, I see a figure in the doorway, and I almost scream.

“Bells?” Hattie’s voice keeps me from screaming, and I step down the last step.

“Hattie?” I raise an eyebrow. What is she doing here so early?

“Bells!” Ollie peeks out from behind Hattie, and I smile.

“Hey, Ollie.” I smile. Hattie and I exchange an awkward glance. It’s obvious I’m attempting to flee a one-night stand.

“Is Aunt Tilly awake?” Ollie asks excitedly.

“Uh.” I freeze, unsure of how to answer that.

“Why don’t we start breakfast, and I’ll check on Tilly?” Hattie says, ushering her son in the opposite direction.

When he’s out of earshot, I grab my shoes and start to put them on. Hattie returns and looks at me curiously.

“Tilly’s upstairs, but she’s not exactly… decent,” I say delicately. I feel like I’ve been caught by my parents sneaking someone over.

“We usually do Saturday morning breakfast here. I should’ve realized from last night she might not be, uh, up to it,” Hattie says softly.

“No worries, I’m just headed out,” I say awkwardly.

“Do you want to stay?”

“Oh, no thank you. I have a lot to do today. But I’ll catch you guys later.” I smile. Pushing the front door open, I almost slam into Lina holding a tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

“Oh! Hello! Looks like someone had a good night,” Lina says smugly.

I blush. It isn’t like I can deny it. I silently pray I’m not going to run into anyone else in my very short walk home. I mean, how many people need to know what Tilly and I did last night?

“I told you that top would work.” Lina winks.

“Okay! See you all later!” I race out the front door and toward my house, not stopping for a second until I’m safely inside.

I toss my clothes right into the laundry and head for the shower.

I need to clear my head and wash last night off my skin.

Not that I regret it. If anything, I’ll be thinking of it for days to come.

I can feel the way Tilly kissed my skin, the way her tongue felt on my body, and how we just melted into each other.

Everything will be reminding me of her until I push it out of my mind.

We’ve done this once before, and this will be no different.

I know I have feelings for her, but I’m not about to go all Ted Mosby and think there’s something more here.

She and I want a hookup, to let go of all that tension we have.

But that’s all it is—it’s just weird she asked me to stay last night.

The hot water washes over my body, and I relax.

Pouring shampoo in my hands, I run my fingers through my hair and close my eyes.

If I don’t think about it too hard, I can imagine it’s Tilly touching me.

There was something different about last night.

Maybe just because we know each other better than we did months ago.

I rinse my body off, wrap one of my fluffy towels around myself, and head for my room.

Laying down on my bed, I reach to my nightstand for my phone.

It isn’t there, and I realize I didn’t come in here before I showered.

Did I leave it in my clothes? The jeans I was wearing have pockets, but I don’t remember seeing anything in them.

Does that mean… Oh, shit. I left my phone at Tilly’s house somewhere.

It isn’t bad enough that I left like a bad one-night stand and ran into her two best friends on the way out.

Now I have to redo my walk of shame to get my phone?

Nope—you know what? She can keep it. I’ll buy a new one.

Okay, that seems bad for the environment, but I definitely am not going over there right now to get it.

I don’t even have a way to ask her for it without going over there.

And it’s not like I remember where I left it.

Maybe I left it at the bar—that would be better.

Not that I want to go all the way there to see if they maybe have my phone, either, though.

Ugh. I’m usually more responsible than this.

Now I’ve made a mess of everything in one night.

That’s what I get for getting drunk and hooking up with my irresistibly hot employee.

She isn’t just my employee, but I don’t know what else she is.

Is there a word for someone who hates you but also fucks you and is your employee but also sort of a friend?

I decide to get dressed and FaceTime El—she’ll know what to do.

I can’t lie here overthinking. So I throw on some workout clothes and open my laptop.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t pick up, and I grumble.

She texts me a few minutes later, telling me she’s traveling but can text me.

I’m about to email and explain I left my phone at Tilly’s house when I remember I can send texts from my laptop.

I log in with the cloud and start messaging her.

ME: I hooked up with Tilly again, last night. And left my phone there

EL: How was the sex?? Better this time or last time??

ME: So much better. I almost came with her eating me out which you know NEVER happens.

EL: holy shit! She was that good?? I need details or the number of her friend

ME: We went to a bar with friends of ours, got drunk and handsy in a cab. Then went back to her place. It was hot as hell and then she asked me to stay over

EL: So why are you texting me and not still at her house?? It’s like nine in the morning!

ME: I sort of did the walk of shame…

ME: and her two best friends caught me leaving…

EL: omg

ME: Now I feel like an idiot bc I left my phone and I see her all the time

EL: maybe she feels the same? Like that it was just a hookup?

ME: but what if I don’t want it to be just a hookup?

EL: maybe she feels the same

ME: but how would I know??

EL: uh maybe by talking to her??

ME: gross. no.

EL: LMAO.

EL: valid

Groaning, I push my laptop aside and decide to distract myself.

I eye the pumpkin muffin that Lina brought over.

It has pot in it, and right now I need to relax.

I take a few bites, and I don’t feel anything, so I take a few more.

Lina said not to have more than half the muffin, but it tastes so good.

I listen to her despite wanting more and wrap the other half up.

Heading downstairs, I start catching up on the chores around the house.

The laundry is first, where I double-check for my phone, and then the dishes.

I start to feel the weed kicking in, and my brain is light and airy—almost as if every thought is like cotton candy instead of sharp potato chips.

I don’t know if that makes sense, but it makes sense to me.

I decide to put on Twilight while I clean; it’s a comfort movie, even if I hate being referred to as the main character.

I’m sweeping up when I decide to take a break and lie on the couch.

The blankets look too cozy not to relax under, and I can take a few-minute break.

Five minutes later, I’m itching for a snack.

I don’t have a lot of choices in my fridge, but I settle on a bag of croutons with ranch dressing to dip them in and some gummy bears.

I sit back on the couch and watch Bella and Edward fall in love.

Will I ever have that? Do I even want that?

Maybe not some toxic love between a vampire and a human, but real, life-changing love.

When Taylor and I broke up, I didn’t really bat an eye.

It was more annoying knowing I’d be working with them all the time.

They’re competitive and only wanted the job I did, so I couldn’t have it.

But maybe I wasn’t really in love with her.

We got along fine, and we dated for a while, but I never felt that life-altering spark—not the way I feel about Tilly.

Not that I’m in love with her either; what she and I have is mostly sexual tension.

I crush a bag of pepperoni slices and a chocolate bar before the munchies start to fade.

Lina must grow some potent shit. I’ve never had a high like this before.

I feel relaxed, carefree, and just want to nap—now that the munchies are gone.

As the end credits of the movie roll, I change the laundry I forgot about into the dryer before I turn on New Moon.

It’s sort of depressing, but you can’t binge the saga without watching all the movies—which is apparently what I’m going to do now.

As I close my eyes, I hear the music playing in the background and the vampires talking—Bella begging to be turned into one and Edward saying no.

I wonder how I’d handle being a vampire.

It seems like there’s a lot of running involved, which I wouldn’t like.

But you don’t sweat, and I’d be fast, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?

I don’t think I could handle the whole blood-drinking part of it, though.

I’d have to find a way around that or something.

Do vampires faint? If they do, is it ever over blood?

With my luck I’d be the first vampire fainting when they try to feed.

Tilly pops into my head, and I think she’d make a good vampire.

She’s already pale and beautiful, but she’s strong and doesn’t have a problem with blood.

Maybe I’d be better off as a wolf, but it seems like a lot of work not to shift and lose your clothes.

It’s not like I could run around topless like the male wolves.

I mean, I probably could, but I’d also get arrested for it.

Maybe Tilly knows a trick for getting me over my blood phobia.

I reach for my phone and realize it’s still at her house.

Maybe I should go over there and get it.

But as I stand, I see Edward shirtless on-screen, and all I can think about are those memes where he’s telling her, “This is the skin of a killer,” and I burst out laughing.