Makes sense.
“Cole?” I muttered.
He wasn’t here. I couldn’t believe that he hadn’t snuck up here last night. I mean…I was lying naked in his bed. All he had to do was pick the lock and come snuggle me.
And yes, I know it was weird to be naked in his parents’ house. But I wasn’t about to sleep in my dress. And the clothes his momhad given me - a pair of sweatpants and an itchy t-shirt - were way too hot and uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, they were my only option unless I wanted to eat breakfast in the buff. Because as I looked around the room, I realized my dress was missing. Where the hell was it?
I threw on the itchy clothes and checked myself out in the mirror. I expected my red hair to be everywhere and for my face to look like a naked mole rat thanks to my invisible brows and lashes. But Tanner’s bracelet fixed all that. My dark hair was a lot less susceptible to frizz than my natural hair. And it even made my brows and lashes dark.
Tanner may have been an awful person, but his bracelet invention was ridiculously awesome.
I followed the aroma of freshly cooked bacon all the way downstairs to the kitchen.
Cole and his dad were sitting at the kitchen counter while his mom added a stack of pancakes to an already ridiculous spread of food. Bacon, eggs, hash browns…all the best things. But the yummiest thing of all was Cole when he stood up to greet me. In his thin gray sweatpants and white T, he was looking like an absolutesnack.
I tried to avoid checking out his package in front of his parents, but I couldn’t help myself. Maybe he actually was as big as he claimed…
“Good afternoon,” he said.
“Huh?”
He pointed to the clock. 2:30.
Geez.I couldn’t believe I’d slept so long. Actually, I could. Yesterday had been the most exhausting day of my entire life.
“Grab a plate,” said Mrs. Halifax.
“Please tell me you didn’t wait for me to start cooking…” The thought was horrifying. Being late to breakfast was one thing, but making everyone wait until 2:30 in the afternoon? Mrs. Halifax would have been totally justified if she’d slapped me across the face with a pancake.
“We always eat a late brunch on Sundays,” she said.
I couldn’t tell if she was lying. But it was nice of her to not make me feel too guilty. In fact, I had a lot more to feel guilty about than just being late for breakfast. “I’m so so sorry for what happened last night,” I said as I filled my plate with bacon and eggs, being sure not to make eye contact with Cole’s dad.
“It’s really fine,” said Mrs. Halifax. “We’re just so glad that Tate finally brought a girl home to meet us. I was starting to think he might be a gay.”
I choked on my eggs.A gay? Who talks like that?
“Mom,” said Cole. “Just because I don’t bring girls home doesn’t mean that I’m gay.”
“Well I wasn’t sure. You remember the Petersons, right? Their boy Trevor used to have all of those sexy lady posters in his room too. But then at Thanksgiving one year, well…let’s just say the turkey wasn’t the only thing getting stuffed at the Petersons.” She shook her head. “Poor Mrs. Peterson still hasn’t fully recovered from what she saw.”
Cole’s dad started laughing hysterically.
I officially loved his family.
I wolfed down a strip of bacon and then finally mustered the courage to face Cole’s dad. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel great,” he said. “Well, as good as you can feel after having a heart attack.”
My eyes got big. “You really had a heart attack? I thought it was just a panic attack?”
“Panic attack? Ba! What kind of sissy do you think I am? It was a heart attack. The paramedics said it was one of the worst they’ve ever seen. But it’s gonna take more than that to take me down.” He puffed his chest out.
Cole looked at me and mouthed, “He’s lying.”
Ah, so Cole gets his perviness AND his cockiness from his dad.“Well I’m just glad you’re okay,” I said. “I promise we won’t sneak in again.”
