Chapter Twenty-Six
Daisy
The morning sun peeks through the curtain, shining across my eyes. I groan, turning on my side and realizing the hardness beneath me. Memories of last night flood back.
The double-movie night. Pushing the couch back to make more room on the floor so we could lay out blankets and pillows and sleep together. All of us.
Gus is sleeping in front of me, breathing softly. Beyond him is Rhett. I see his hair is a mess even from here.
And behind me… is Wade. But I can’t feel him, meaning… I don’t know if he is still human. I don’t know if he made it through the night. And if he didn’t, I don’t know what that means for them.
I don’t know what changed in him to make him come into the house yesterday, eat dinner with us, watch a movie and stay.
He’s been hot and cold for a while, so it’s not entirely surprising, but this time felt different than the others.
Maybe it was just a change of heart, but for the first time, it felt like he was trying, like he wanted something.
And we know that’s all it takes.
But was it real? Or did he somehow find out?
Rhett had been bugging us to tell him. Did he?
Was Wade putting on a facade to see if it would work?
If he did, Wade may never recover mentally from this.
Everything has been going so well, but this could be the thing that brings everyone down.
That brings us all back to the beginning, to who we were before.
To who I was before I knew that people turning into chickens was a possibility. Before I knew that curses were real. Before I knew what it felt like to be wanted and appreciated, and happy.
And what about them? If Wade knows, wanting to be here may never be for the right reasons… meaning he’d be stuck here forever. Would Rhett and Gus stay here with him? Would I stay longer to help them figure it out?
Time is dwindling down for me too. I only have until the end of the summer, which is a little over a month away. And the closer I get, the more I don’t want to leave either.
I take a deep breath, preparing myself to look behind me, not sure what I’ll see. Will it be a human? Will Wade be there, fast asleep like everyone else? Or will it be the beautiful dark red chicken with the hard stare?
I’m halfway there when an arm comes around my waist, and I pause out of shock. The man behind me freezes too, like he didn’t realize what he did. Like maybe he did it in his sleep, but now he’s awake.
“Sorry,” he mutters, lifting his arm.
I grab it, pulling it around me and settling against him. We stay like that for a moment, his breath evening, and I assume he’s fallen back asleep. He must have because he isn’t freaking out about being human. I turn in his arms to face him. His eyes peek open.
“Morning,” I whisper.
A soft smile forms on his lips before it turns into a frown. His eyes pop wide open.
“Morning?”
My smile widens, and I nod. “It’s morning.”
He sucks in a breath. “It’s morning.”
I can’t pull the smile from my face. The shock and excitement shining in his eyes is contagious.
His lips are on mine before I know what’s happening. It isn’t overly sexual, more of a celebration—a long, firm press of his lips against mine.
“Thank you,” he says, pulling me closer to him.
I settle in his arms and we fall back asleep.
When I wake up next, I’m alone on the floor, the blankets tangled all around me. I smile to myself as I listen to the three of them laughing in the kitchen.
They’re still here. All three of them. They’re still here. And maybe I want to be here too. Somehow, we can figure it out. I get up and go into the kitchen.
All three of them smile at me, and my cheeks burn.
“Morning,” I say.
They return it.
“Let me make you some pancakes,” Gus says. “Batter is already done.”
“Okay.”
I sit, and Rhett puts down a mug of coffee in front of me, made just the way I like.
“Thank you.” I smile up at him.
He kisses my head.
I meet Wade’s gaze across the table. He winks as he picks up his own mug to sip from.
A truck horn that I’d recognize anywhere sounds from outside.
“Rhett and I are going into town with Charlie,” Gus says over his shoulder.
“Do you need anything?” Rhett asks.
“He’s going into town again? We were just there.”
“Said he forgot something at the hardware store,” Rhett explains.
“Oh, okay. No, I’m good. Thank you.”
“I’ll meet you outside,” Rhett says to Gus, kissing me on the head one more time before heading out the door.
Gus puts the pancakes in front of me, kisses my lips, then hurries out the door too.
“Did you eat already?” I ask Wade.
“I did,” he says, taking another sip of his coffee. “Gus’s pancakes aren’t great.”
I huff a laugh as I cut into them, noting they’re not very fluffy.
“I’ll make them next time,” I say.
“I’d like that.”
I eat, feeling the heat of his stare as I do. I look up now and then to smile, and he just keeps watching me.
“I was wrong about you,” he says carefully.
“What do you mean?”
Shaking his head, he leans back in his chair. “I guess I thought you were going to make everything worse for us, but…” He shrugs. “It was the opposite.”
“I didn’t really do anything.”
“You did everything,” he says. “And I was hoping that after breakfast, you’d let me thank you.”
“Thank me? That’s not necessary.”
“Oh, but I’d really enjoy it,” he says, his tone full of innuendo.
My cheeks burn and I focus on my food, knowing what he’s getting at and not sure how to respond to it.
Everything with Gus and Rhett just happened…
either naturally or because of alcohol. We didn’t talk about it, didn’t plan it.
This makes me feel much more vulnerable.
I’m not used to dirty talk or talking about sex at all… especially like this. So casually.
I take my last bite of food, and Wade is already taking my plate and putting it into the sink. I finish my coffee and stand to bring it to the sink. His arm comes around my waist once it’s out of my hand.
“You can say no,” he says. “I’d understand.”
“No,” I say. “I mean, I don’t want to say no.”
“So, it’s a yes.”
“It’s just… not necessary.”
“Of course it’s not necessary.” He lowers his voice. “But I’d be lying if I said listening to you with them hasn’t had me thinking… things.”
“You heard us?” I gasp.
“Oh, yeah. And honestly? I’d just like a chance to make you moan louder.”
“Holy cow,” I whisper, staring into his honey eyes.
“So… can I please take you upstairs and try?”
I can’t speak. All I can do is nod.