I can't believe I had my first night out and at Cade's place.
Oh shit. I hadn't even slept over at Luke's place before. How did that happen?
I opened my eyes slowly, blinking at the unfamiliar ceiling. The room was dim. The posters on the walls stared back at me. The boxer. The basketball player. The action movie guys. Right. I was still at Cade's apartment.
I turned my head and saw that I was on his bed. He had given me the bed. He took the couch. I remember forcing him to take the couch when he tried to sleep on the floor. He argued for like five minutes before giving up.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes. The room was quiet. The guys must still be asleep.
Then I looked down at the floor.
Cade was there. Sleeping on the rug.
I screamed.
"Ahhh!"
He jumped up, looking around like someone was attacking us. His hair was all over his face and his eyes were wide.
"What?! What is it?!" he shouted.
I clutched my body, pulling the blanket closer to me. "What are you doing here?! I thought you took the couch!"
He blinked, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the door. Then he looked at me.
"I was going to. But then Marcus and Ryan started playing some game and they were being loud so I came back here to sleep on the floor. You were already asleep. I didn't want to wake you."
I stared at him. He was still in his clothes from yesterday. He had a small pillow under his head and a thin blanket over his legs.
"You slept on the rug," I said.
"Yeah."
"Without a proper blanket."
"It's fine. The rug is soft."
I shook my head. "You're insane."
He smiled that smile. "Maybe. But I'm also a gentleman."
I rolled my eyes. "Get out. I need to get dressed."
He stood up, stretching his arms above his head. His shirt lifted a little and I looked away fast.
"Fine, fine. I'm going."
He walked to the door and stopped. "There's extra clothes in the closet if you need something. I'll be downstairs."
He left and closed the door behind him.
I sat there for a moment, still processing what just happened. Then I looked at my phone.
7:43 AM.
School started in like twenty minutes. But I wasn't going. I was bunking. For the first time in my life, I was skipping class.
I checked my messages. There was one from Aiden. I opened it and my heart dropped.
Aiden:
"Change of plans. Don't come to the library today. Something came up. We'll reschedule."
I frowned. That was weird. Aiden never canceled. He always showed up. Something must be wrong.
I wanted to text him back and ask what happened. But I didn't know if he would answer. He wasn't the type to share things easily.
I put my phone down and looked at the closet. I opened it and saw a bunch of oversized shirts and hoodies. I picked a plain black hoodie. It was huge on me. I pulled it on and it went all the way down to my thighs. Like a gown. It covered everything.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like I was wearing a dress. I laughed a little.
"Okay. This works."
I opened the door and walked out. The apartment was already awake. A few guys were in the living room. Marcus was on the couch. Chris was making something in the kitchen. Ryan was sitting on the floor playing a game.
When they saw me, they all stopped.
"Whoa," Marcus said. "That's a good look on you."
I crossed my arms. "Don't start."
Chris laughed. "He's just saying what we're all thinking."
I shook my head and walked toward the kitchen. Cade was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. He looked at me and his eyes went up and down once. Then he smiled.
"Nice outfit."
"Shut up."
He laughed. "I'm serious. It looks good."
I sat down next to him. "So, what's the plan for today?"
"Whatever you want."
"I don't have a change of clothes."
"Then we'll get you some."
"I'm not spending the whole day in your hoodie."
He shrugged. "Then don't. But I'm not complaining."
I sighed. "You're impossible."
"I know."
***
The rest of the morning was surprisingly fun.
I watched the guys play video games. Marcus lost every round and kept yelling at the screen. Chris made pancakes and they were actually good. Ryan showed me a card trick that I still don't understand. Jake came out of his room with messy hair and asked me why I was there. I said "I don't know either" and he laughed.
Around noon, I realized that I hadn't been this relaxed in a long time. No Betty. No parents. No school. Just a bunch of guys who treated me like I was one of them.
"Hey," Cade said, sitting next to me on the couch. "We need to go to the supermarket. We're out of food. You wanna come?"
"Sure."
We walked out. Kyle and Marcus followed because they needed to get something too. It was a short walk to the nearest store.
Inside, the supermarket was busy. Cade grabbed a cart and started throwing things in. Chips. Soda. Frozen pizza. I walked beside him, watching him shop.
"So," I said. "What exactly do you guys do? Like, for real?"
He looked at me. "You really want to know?"
"Yeah. I do."
He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "I fight."
I blinked. "Fight?"
"Yeah. Underground. For money. It's not a big deal. Just for fun."
I stopped walking. "You fight? Like, in a ring? With other people?"
"Yeah."
"For fun?"
He smirked. "I told you. It's not a big deal."
I stared at him. He looked so casual about it. Like he was telling me he played soccer or something.
"Does it pay well?" I asked.
"Enough."
I didn't know what to say. So I just kept walking.
We were in one of the aisles when it happened.
I was looking at some snacks and didn't see a box of cereal that was sticking out from the shelf above me. It tipped over, falling right toward my head.
"Watch out!"
Cade moved fast. He grabbed the box before it hit me, pulling me into him at the same time. I fell against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, the box now in his hand.
We stood there, frozen. His face was so close to mine. Our lips were just inches apart.
I could feel his breath on my skin.
Then I heard Kyle's voice from the other end of the aisle.
"Hey, you guys find any- oh. Never mind. I'll just wait."
Marcus laughed behind him. "We'll just be over here. Taking our time."
I stepped back quickly, my heart racing. Cade looked at me with that same grin.
"Lucky catch," he said.
"Yeah," I said. "Lucky."
But I wasn't talking about the cereal.
When we got back to the apartment, the guys were all hanging around the living room. Cade put the groceries away and I sat on the couch, still thinking about what happened in the store.
Later, Cade sat next to me. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
He looked at me for a moment. Then he said, "I know this is all new for you. But I'm glad you came."
I looked at him. "Me too."
And I meant it.