• • •
His bed was oversized, but they slept tangled together.
And awakened to the buzz of Chay’s cellphone.
“Mmmf,” Chay growled.
Bianca gave a sleepy laugh. “That’s supposed to be my line.”
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head as he reached across her and fumbled for the phone, which turned out to be on the floor next to the bed.
“What?” he said.
“And a charming good morning to you too.”
Chay sat up and ran his hand through his hair. “Sanchez?”
“Sorry if I woke you,” Sanchez said, not sounding sorry at all.
“What time is it?”
“Seven.”
“Not on the East Coast.”
“Yeah, well, according to Liam, you’re not on the East Coast. And if you were, it would be ten in the morning. Time to get your ass in gear, bro.”
Chay sighed and swung his legs to the floor.
“You’re right. And I would have called you in another couple of minutes.”
“Bull,” Sanchez said cheerfully.
“Yeah. Sorry, Declan. I just haven’t had much sleep lately.”
Sanchez chuckled.
“Things have been happening is what I mean.”
“Right. So it would seem. Look, the reason I called is because I’m free today. So if you’re gonna need me, now’s the time to say so.”
“I need you,” Chay said. “My place or yours?”
“Your choice.”
“Here, then. Say in two hours?”
“Done. Just clear me a space and make sure your printer’s up and running.” Sanchez paused. “Okay if I bring someone along?”
“What someone?”
“A girl. She’s a student. At UCSB. The University of California at Santa Barbara.”
“Dude. Don’t tell me you’re into cradle-snatching.”
“She’s twenty-four.”
“Hey. I was only joking.”