The Truce

Chapter 26

Something soft (a shirt?) landed on my head, and I ripped it away with a groan.

"Come on, Kay," Natalie said. "I need you to try stuff on."

"No, leave me alone," I grumbled and curled into Sebastian's side more snuggly. As ready as I'd been for Thanksgiving break, I didn't enjoy this stupid Black Friday marathon that Natalie insisted we complete every year. "Why are we even here?" Neither of us usually shopped at Macy's.

"The sales. Duh!"

"They just mark everything up so they can make it seem like a great sale," I said. "You're probably better off waiting for a regular sale."

"Stop whining and come on." She sounded exasperated.

"Too tired." I stubbornly refused to open my eyes. "People shouldn't even be awake right now." Shopping at three in the morning was insane.

"You can take your teeth out and nap later, Grandma. Let's go."

I planned to ignore her but when Sebastian laughed, I leaned away a little to scowl at him. It was much easier to convey my irritation when I was this sleepy.

"A little help please." She appealed to Sebastian.

What was he supposed to do? Magically make my body believe it had gotten more sleep? I was about to ask something to that effect when Sebastian pushed me back a little and kissed me. All his kisses were great, but this one was more passionate than usual. Suddenly, I couldn't care less that my best friend and her boyfriend were two feet away. I was ready to crawl in his lap and get way too intimate for a public place. Before I could so much as put my arms around him, however, he leaned away, looking amused.

Much more awake, but confused by the abrupt end to that kiss, I blinked at him for a minute before realizing what he was doing.

"Traitor," I grumbled, pushing away from him to stand. Thanks to Sebastian, my heart was racing, and adrenalin coursed through me. You couldn't have paid me to go to sleep just then.

Looking triumphant, Natalie grabbed my arm and began pulling me away. When I glanced over my shoulder, Sebastian and Wes were watching us go, grinning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up, I was disoriented. After taking a second to look around, I realized that I was in Sebastian's room. In his bed.

The last thing I remembered was Sebastian driving us home from our Black Friday ordeal, so I guess I fell asleep in the car. He must have carried me up here rather than waking me up and sending me home. A glance at the clock told me it was almost noon. His mom would be at work, which meant we were alone in the house.

I'd been in this room hundreds of times and, at the moment, he wasn't even here, but my current position made me think of that incredible and much too short kiss, and I suddenly felt like I needed a cold shower.

Of course, thinking of taking a shower with him practically outside the door made my temperature rise even more. Before I could actually burst into flames, I got up and ran to the bathroom. Once I took care of the most pressing issue, I washed my face and borrowed some toothpaste and mouthwash, before attempting to make my hair look normal and heading downstairs.

The sight that greeted me in the living room made me freeze and entertain thoughts of that cold shower again. Sebastian was stretched out on the couch with his hands behind his head as he slept. His shirt had ridden up quite a bit, revealing a good section of his toned stomach.

How in the world had I ever expected anyone to believe that I didn't think he looked amazing? I must have sounded like an idiot. My hands balled into fists in an effort to keep them to myself.