A Timeless Place

Chapter 13 - Part I

My phone rang, an incessant ringing noise. I thrashed around in my bed, reaching my hand over to my bedside.

"Hello?" I said into the phone, my voice hoarse and thick with sleep.

"Wakey wakey!" a voice responded cheerfully. Damn Wes. How was he always so chirpy in the damn morning.

"What do you want?" I grumbled down the line.

"Still not a morning person," I could even hear the smirk in his voice.

"I'm going to hang up," I muttered, already slowly drifting back to sleep.

"School starts in five though," he said.

"WHAT?!" I shouted, thrashing around to get up. My legs were tangled in my blanket, causing  me to trip, stumble and fall on the hard ground. This was not looking up to be a good day...

"Did you just fall?!" I could hear him laughing loudly down the line. "Relax, it's 7.50, there's still forty minutes."

"I hate you," I muttered.

"Hurry up, I'm already waiting outside, sleepyhead," he hung up, still chuckling. I swear, when I get my hands on him...hitting him may be the last thing on my mind if I got that far.

I threw my phone on the bed, taking a quick shower and changing into black tights and a cyan sweatshirt. I finished getting ready and headed out.

"So we've progressed from texts to calls? Did you upgrade your stalking level?" I said, getting into the passenger seat.

"Good morning to you too," he said, amused, while pulling out of the driveway.

"Good morning," I replied.

"I texted you before I left my place but you never replied," he explained.

"Oh," I said sheepishly. "My bad." I checked my phone as sure enough, there was a message from him.

"You two are late today," Eli commented as we walked in, already putting down our orders. She smirked suggestively. "Late night?"

"Good morning, Eli," I said, moving to the counter and ignoring her question.

"Oh, and Wes' clothes are wrinkly and his hair is the messiest I've seen. I would say he looks dishevelled," Eli smiled slyly. "Fun night I presume?"

"Oh, we had plenty of fun, if you know what I mean," Wes smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

I groaned and moved towards the other side of the long counter where Jordan was making coffee.

"Hey Jordan," I smiled.

"Hey Kitty," he responded with a genuinely kind smile that was impossibly symmetrical. That smile was so characteristically Jordan's.

"What did you guys get up to yesterday?" I asked as the machine ground coffee beans.

"Just worked, nothing that interesting, really," he responded. "Not as interesting as your night, it would seem."

"Not you too!" I groaned. "I was blackmailed, remember!"

He laughed, frothing milk and pouring it in two cups. He popped caps on both and slid them out. I grabbed one, taking a grateful sip as Wes came up, snagging the second.

"You better tell me all the juicy details later!" Eli said slyly.

"I want to know what happened, too!" Jordan said excitedly.

"Nothing happened!" I protested. "We went to the park, sang, ate dinner and went to the beach. We accidentally fell asleep there for a bit, hence why Wes looks like a drug addict, and drove home. That is all."