Where There's Light | ✔

27. The Kiss

I was awaken by an alarm. Eyes closed, I reached for my phone on the bedside table, trying to hit snooze. All I got was the cold glass surface of the table underneath my fingertips.

"Please, turn it off."

At the sound of the sleepy male voice my eyes shot open. Memories of the night before flooded my mind. I wasn't at home. I was at Gia's. In bed with Nolan, his arm securely wrapped around my waist.

The alarm was coming from the dresser. Squinting in what little light peeked through the blinds I saw a pile of clothing, a phone lighting up on top. Gia or Bee must've found Nolan's things and brought them some time last night.

I moved to get up and shut off the alarm, but Nolan's hold around my waist tightened. As much as I enjoyed our current position, part of me knew it had to end.

"Nolan." My calls were met by him pulling me closer, nuzzling up to my neck. It took a lot for me to not give in and melt into his embrace.

"Nolan, wake up." I tried again, that time throwing my elbow back and getting him in the gut.

A sharp inhale and muttered curse came from behind me. Then he released me. The bed shook as he put some distance between us.

I sat up, facing him. His brown eyes were wide. I could practically see the gears turning in his head, trying to piece together the night before. Then his face paled. A look I'd seen too often on Bee after a night of partying flashed across his features.

"Bathroom's through there." I pointed and he was gone in a flash.

The retching and heaving made my own stomach turn. I tried not listen to it as I got up from the bed, walking across the room to turn the alarm on Nolan's phone off.

I was back to sitting on the bed when Nolan emerged from the bathroom, wiping his mouth with back of his hand. "Why the fuck...do I have a tail?"

The hard angles of his face seemed sharper. His brows drawn to the center, eyes slit as if I was to blame for his current attire. The too small cat costume countered the effects of the glare.

"Because you decided to go streaking."

He froze, his stern look melting from his face. Then he rushed back into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door, as he emptied the contents of his stomach.

Having done this for my best friend many times before, I grabbed his clothes from the dresser and set them in the bathroom. "Get dressed. We're going out for breakfast."

An hour later our faces was clear of zombie make-up and Nolan was no longer dressed as a cat. We made our way through discarded plastic red cups that littered the ground of Gia's house. Our shoes stuck to the ground and crunched over chips and pretzels.

He didn't say anything as we drove to the nearest McDonald's, ordering breakfast and coffee from the drive thru. We didn't want to subject the patrons to the stench of a late night teen party, so we sat in my car to eat.

"You're not going to ask what happened last night?" I said, biting into my McGriddle.

Nolan stared into the black liquid that filled his coffee cup. "Do I want to know?"

"The streaking was the worst of it."

He squeezed his eyes shut. Either trying to remember or forget about running naked through the party.

"You don't remember anything?"

He took a long sip of his coffee, staring out the window. "I remember...the kiss."

I coughed, choking on my food. "With who?"

His eyes shot over to me. "You." At my silence he continued in a less confident tone, "We kissed."