Surrender

chapter 4

Chapter 4

Being a gentleman through and through, Chris had insisted that Sophie take the bed, but Sophie stubbornly refused. The man had saved her life, for goodness sake. The least she could do was take the couch in the living room.

            But now that the sun had shone through the window, revealing the predicament she was in, she groaned in pain and rubbed a hand against the back of her neck. Despite the plentiful blankets and pillows that Chris had provided her with, she still managed to injure her neck.

            Groaning, she rolled onto her side and blindly searched for the phone on the coffee table. She still couldn’t believe that Angie didn’t reply to her SOS. This was completely unlike her. Before Angie had met Rick, the sisters were inseparable. Now Angie simply didn't have time to hang out with Sophie, let alone answer her phone calls. Rick must have really had Angie wrapped around his finger…. Sophie was determined to give him a piece of her mind.

            “Morning,” Chris said from behind the kitchen counter, holding a coffee mug in his hand.

            “Oomph!” She fell onto the rug, the blanket coiled around her legs like a snake.

            “Are you okay?” he asked.

            “Peachy.” She blew her loose bangs out of her eyes and straightened up. She folded the blanket and placed it next to the mountain of throw pillows.

            Chris grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured Sophie some coffee.

            “Cream, sugar?” he asked as he pulled the refrigerator door open, ready to grab the carton of half-and-half.

            For a split second, she let her mind wander. The dark of the night hadn’t done Chris justice. He was incredibly handsome, she realized in the light of day. So handsome that he looked like he belonged on the front cover of a magazine.

            She shook her head and rubbed at her eyes before she took a sip of the hot, bitter coffee in front of her. It was too early in the morning to be thinking about that. Besides, she would never betray Sammy. “Black is fine, thank you,” she told him. Her back straightened like an arrow. “What time is it?”

            “About a quarter past nine." Noting the deer-in-headlights look in her eyes, he asked, "Is everything okay?"

            “Oh no, no, no.” Shaking her head frantically, she placed the mug on the counter and looked down at the clothes she was wearing. Chris’s clothes. She needed to change. Needed to get out of here. Needed to get to the coffeehouse. Jade was probably cursing her right now for leaving her alone during the morning rush. Sophie literally could not afford any slip-ups. Her business was about an inch away from bankruptcy.

            She raced down the hall and grabbed her rumpled jean shorts and tank top from the dryer.

            Sleep clouding his eyes, Eric stumbled toward the bathroom, and Sophie took advantage.

            “Sorry!” She slammed the bathroom door shut. “I’ll be quick!” She shouted from the other side.

            She tossed the oversized shirt and shorts to the side and haphazardly pulled on her jeans shorts.

            Bang!

            Her elbow collided with the shower door. Pain jolted through her funny bone. "Shit!"