Coastal Crossroads
Morning came way too early again. It always did. As a night owl, the early morning sun streaming in my face was my version of a nightmare. Even though the Mansion Masquerade had been three days ago, I still felt like I was trying to catch up on sleep.
But Noodle and Marshmallow didn’t seem to care about my abnormal sleeping pattern. They jumped on the bed at seven, knowing their food schedule by heart.
I yawned and stretched my arms above my head, then took out my hair tie. I raked my hands through my knotty curls as I brought them back down. Between the lack of hair care last night and the bun I slept in, my hair wasn’t looking so hot this morning.
The first thing on my to do list was coffee, though. Maybe even a double dose—I could make some here while I let the dogs out, fed them, and possibly took a shower just to redo my hair. Then, I could bike up to Muggsy’s for another cup.
I reached down to pet Noodle, but he had other ideas, taking off out the door with Marshmallow on his heels.
“Okay, okay, I’m up, I’m up. Man, you two are demanding. How do you even know what time it is? You can’t read a clock.” I stretched my legs, then dangled them over the side of the bed while I yawned one more time.
As soon as I put the dogs safely outside to run around, I headed toward the pantry to get their food. That’s when I smelled it—the scent of freshly brewed coffee.
I paused at the counter, my gaze traveling down the length of the marble slab until I found the culprit. It shouldn’t have been such a big mystery, but I hadn’t turned the coffeemaker on. Yet, it sat there, pot full of steaming hot, freshly made morning go-go juice.
There was even a mug sitting next to it.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were big coffee drinkers, so they opted for a maker with a large pot, instead of those one cup brewers. I was grateful for that, because I could easily throw back three cups in a morning, and brewing a single cup each time seemed wasteful, not to mention time consuming.
Marshmallow pawed at the back door, begging to be let in, so I gave up on the coffee and went back to get them. I filled their bowls, and they dug in.
Out of energy at the moment, I plopped onto a bar stool and pulled out my phone. Emma had texted about switching shifts next week, so I answered her first, happily accepting the switch.
Grandmum hadn’t sent anything. Part of me wondered if she even realized she left me at the mansion. Maybe she thought since I got a ride there, that I had a ride back. If I was still at home, she wouldn’t have left without me, I was sure about that. It must have been an oversight.
I opened my texts again as a thank you from Emma came in, but that wasn’t the one I clicked into.
The message from the unknown sender, with the clue to Eleanor’s game, was what my finger landed on. After the Masquerade, I had completely forgotten. I felt guilty about that. Eleanor had set something special up, and I hadn’t even thought about it all weekend.
“Climb the stairs where memories run free, find the room where nostalgia’s the key,” I whispered to myself, rereading the message over and over.
It seemed easy enough. But I found myself completely stumped. Was I overthinking it? Was there some hidden meaning I wasn’t understanding?
Also, how many clues would there be? Was this the only one? And what did the first text mean, the prize wasn’t the only prize? How many prizes were there?
Nothing made sense, and I knew I would continue to sit there and drive myself crazy until I got some caffeine into my system. Everything was better post-coffee.
I glanced up, staring once again at the coffee pot and the mug.
At the same time, Reid padded down the stairs. My attention drifted toward him, flashbacks of him in the library filling my mind.
He had on a pair of gym shorts and a plain white t-shirt now, another tighter fit one. He also had a small towel in both hands, rubbing at his damp hair. If he turned around, there would be wet spots on the back of his shirt, around his shoulders, because he always forgot to dry that area.
I snapped my mouth shut before I started drooling, because seeing him again right now didn’t make anything better. Being attracted to him made all my emotions and feelings even more confused and sad.
“Good morning,” he said, sounding way more awake and chipper than I felt. I waved and turned back around, exiting out of the text message. “Hey, a little déjà vu, huh?” He chuckled, glancing at the towel and back at me.
I rolled my eyes, remembering our first encounter with me in the towel. It seemed like a lifetime ago. “Funny.”
“Coffee?” he asked, heading toward the pot and pouring a cup.
I gaped at him. Reid didn’t drink coffee. He despised it. It didn’t matter if it was hot or iced, a latte or even a frappe. The taste of coffee in any form made him cringe and gag. He preferred green tea or just water.
“You made coffee?” I questioned as he slid over the mug toward me, having put some half and half in it. I accepted it gratefully, but stared at him in amazement.
He glanced over his shoulder with a grin. “Yeah. I set it up almost two hours ago, but just hit on before I went in the shower, so it’s fresh, I promise.”
My jaw dropped. Two hours ago? I checked the clock on my phone to make sure I did the math right.
“Reid. It’s only seven. What were you doing up at five?” Just thinking about waking up at five made my head hurt.
He shrugged as he grabbed the loaf of bread and popped a few pieces into the toaster. “Habit.” I watched as he gathered the salt, a bottle of seasoning, an avocado, and the eggs from the fridge.
My jaw stayed open as my gaze followed him around the room, making breakfast. More specifically, my favorite breakfast—avocado toast with scrambled eggs on top.
A second later, a plate slid into view, the avocado toast done up perfectly.
“Thank you,” I said softly, still unsure what was happening.
First, he waited up for me the other night. Then, he made coffee. Now he was making me breakfast?
He was acting like nothing happened between us, and that confused me even more. Was that how I was supposed to be acting? Being around him wasn’t as hard as I assumed it would be, but things were different. Pretending they weren’t would only lead to more confusion and eventually it would blow up, I just knew it.
Reid finished making the eggs, plating some for himself and serving me the rest. He sat next to me at the counter after filling a cup of water. Noodle booped his leg, and Reid dropped a tiny piece of scrambled egg for him.
“Plans for the day?” Reid asked a minute later.
I glanced at my phone, remembering that I was going to work on this clue today. I didn’t know if there was a time limit or anything, so I figured the sooner, the better.
Part of me wanted to tell Reid about it, to get his opinion. I had no doubt he could solve it in no time flat, but was that even allowed? If I didn’t solve the clue on my own, would that disqualify me from whatever prize, or prizes, there were?
“Work later. Dinner shift. Then…” I paused, not sure if I should remind him about Declan and the party. “There’s a pool party.” Reid’s brows lifted in a hopeful manner. “The one Declan asked me to go to.” And the brows slammed back down again.
His face hardened, his jaw twitching as he chewed the last bits of his eggs. He took a big gulp of his water, then blotted his lips with a napkin held a bit too tightly in his hand. He stood and made his way to the sink to wash his dishes, his spine straight, his back rising and falling with every sharp breath he took.
“Looks like you have your day planned, then,” he said, not bothering to look at me.
My jaw dropped. Was this how it was going to be? Granted, maybe I should have left the Declan thing alone, especially after what happened in this kitchen the other day. But then again, it was my life. Reid broke up with me, and I was free to see other guys if I wanted.
“I guess I do,” I answered, equally as annoyed.
I glanced up at Reid, finding him frozen in place between the sink and the island, his hands at his sides, shoulders slumped. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but it leaned more toward sadness, if I had to guess.
“You’re going to a party with him. A pool party. A Bayside pool party. Why him, Mars?” he said, softer than he had before.
I didn’t really know what to say. For the time being, I gave him a nonchalant answer, trying to match his nonchalant, the past is in the past attitude. “Why not?”
It was dumb. It was vague. It didn’t answer anything, for either of us. But at least it was something, because the way he was looking at me right now would have made me fold otherwise.
Reid’s stare used to make me weak in the knees, and nothing about that changed. For a moment, I reconsidered staying at the Bennett’s for the money. Reid said he would stay out of the way, but this morning was proving otherwise.
I didn’t hate it. But I also didn’t know what to do about it.
His eyes stayed glued to mine for beat, then he broke contact. I gasped, like I hadn’t been breathing.
His frown pulled down his whole face. “You could do so much better, is all I’m saying. You’re such an amazing, smart, beautiful, kind person, Marlowe. And he’s… well, I just know you could do better. That’s all.”
Then he took off, heading back upstairs without looking back, both dogs trotting after him.
I watched as he went, but only one thing ran through my mind.
I did better once. I dated you…