Chapter 9 – Presley
PRESLEY
Iwasn’t surprised when Ariel followed me to my bedroom to go to sleep. I was rattled by the break-in, so I knew she was too. Even though I knew the front door was secure, and Ink was in the living room, I still locked my bedroom door and pushed my dresser in front of it.
“If there’s a fire, we’re trapped,” Ariel said.
I pointed to the two windows in my room. “No, we’re not.”
“Do you think they’ll come back?” she asked quietly.
“No, I don’t, but I know how our minds work, so I pushed the dresser in front of the door to keep our imaginations in check.
” I truly didn’t think whoever broke into my house would return, but if they did, they would be met with a big, tattooed biker.
Even though he didn’t seem the least bit scary to me, I had no doubt that he could be if necessary.
I assumed Ariel would fall asleep as soon as we got settled in bed, but I was wrong. After a few moments of silence, she asked, “Do you like Ink?”
“Yeah, he seems like a nice guy.”
“That’s not what I mean, Mom.”
“Oh,” I said, feigning ignorance. I knew exactly what she meant the first time. I just wasn’t prepared to answer. “Um, I guess I haven’t really thought about it.”
“You should think about it.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I think he likes you. And you haven’t really dated anyone, like ever.”
“I’ve dated. You just didn’t know about it.”
“Really?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I sometimes went on dates when you spent the weekend with your grandparents. I wasn’t going to bring any men around you until I knew they had staying potential. Obviously, none did.”
“I had no idea,” she admitted.
“Good. You weren’t supposed to.”
“For what it’s worth, I like Ink. And I think he likes you.”
“Are you giving me your permission to date Ink?” I teased.
She laughed. “I’m just saying I’d be okay with it if that’s something you were concerned about.”
“You are, and always will be, my number one priority. Now, get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”
“Good night, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Sleep good, sweet dreams. See you in the morning.”
“Sleep good, sweet dreams. See you in the morning.”
Morning came much sooner than I cared for. I don’t know if it was because a guest in my house or because of everything else going on, but I woke up shortly after the sun rose.
After taking care of my morning business, I quietly unbarricaded the door and walked out to the living room.
Ink appeared to still be asleep, so I went to the kitchen to see about coffee and breakfast. Thankfully, the burglar didn’t take my coffee or anything from the refrigerator.
However, they did take most of our dry goods and nonperishables, including the sugar.
“What are you doing?” Ink asked, startling me.
I jumped away from the drawer I was rummaging through and pressed my hand against my chest. “Holy crap. You scared me,” I breathed.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “I heard you moving around in here and came to see what you were doing.”
“I’m looking for sugar packets,” I said and resumed my search.
“Sugar packets?”
“Yeah. For my coffee. And yours, if you want coffee with sugar. I didn’t think to check last night, but I guess the thief stole my sugar as well.”
“I can drink mine with or without sugar.”
“Score!” I shouted and triumphantly tossed numerous packets onto the counter. “I knew we had some. Would you like some coffee?”
“I’d love some.”
As I was making our coffee, I remembered what Ariel said before we went to sleep. I think he likes you. Suddenly, I felt overly self-aware. Was he looking at my butt? If he was, was my butt eating my yoga pants? At least I was wearing a bra.
“Here you go,” I said, handing a mug to him. “Are you hungry? I have eggs and a few pieces of bacon.”
“Actually,” he started, but was interrupted by his phone ringing. “Excuse me,” he said and walked out the back door to answer his call. He returned a few minutes later carrying two large bags. “I have breakfast.”
“What? How?”
He grinned. “I know people.”
“Thank you. How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t. My treat. And let’s skip the part where you insist and I refuse a handful of times before we eat. Irene will have my hide if I let her food get cold.”
“Fine,” I agreed. “But the next meal is on me.”
“Deal.”
It didn’t occur to me that I’d asked him to have another meal with me, and he’d happily agreed, until much later.