Sweet (Landry Family 6)

I sit on my mat and reach for my toes. My back cracks, releasing the stress from the past couple of days. Really just the last day.

“What did you think about that last place we looked at?” Kinsley asks.

I remember the one-bedroom unit we stumbled upon just a few blocks over. It’s above a coffee shop near Halcyon, a trendy little boutique that I’m obsessed with. We had wrapped looking at four different places and were going for a quick cup of coffee when we found the available sign in the window.

It felt like kismet. And when we went inside? It felt like an answered prayer.

And a terrific distraction from my anger at Nate.

“It’s a great size,” Kinsley. “And in a great location.”

“And the landlord is super sweet.”

The little old lady wearing pearls—Mildred was her name—was a doll. And I think she liked me. However, the decision will come from her daughter, who was a little more standoffish.

Fingers crossed.

“I hope they choose me,” I say, knowing that they had multiple applications submitted for the space. “I need to get out of Nate’s. Stat.”

My stomach tightens at the mention of his name. The inside of my body becomes a cacophony of emotions—a harsh discordant mixture of feelings that I can’t sift through fast enough to make sense of them.

“Did he ever talk to you?” she asks.

“Ha. Yes, actually. He said exactly one word to me. Wanna guess what it was?”

Her eyes go wide. “I’m afraid to.”

“He said no.” I spread my legs and bend to the side. “There’s an irony in that, don’t you think?”

“What did he say no to you about?”

“Pancakes, of all things. Ryder asked me to make him pancakes,” I say, stumbling over the words because he didn’t quite ask me, but for all intents and purposes, he did. “Anyway, he stood by me—shirtless, no less—and leaned against the counter. I avoided making eye contact because I had a hot skillet in my hand, and I know my limits.”

Kinsley laughs.

“But I asked if he wanted one, and he said no. Then went over and talked to Ryder.”

“What’s his deal?” She moves her legs and bumps my foot in the process. “Sorry. But seriously, Paige, what’s going on with him?”

“I have no idea. One minute, he’s kind and playful, then the next, he’s telling me he’ll never touch me again, and the next, he’s kissing the hell out of me …” I squeeze my eyes shut and just let myself relive the kiss for a moment. “And then that shit last night? Hell, no.”

My eyes open again, and I look at Kinsley. She’s biting her bottom lip, awaiting my rant.

“So which Nate do I believe?” I ask. “Do I believe the guy who wants to be friends? Or the guy who wants to be friends and then orally penetrate me late at night?”

“No. Never say that again.”

I laugh. “Or do I believe the guy who just wants to make sure that I never date another man because he and I are friends?”

She holds her temple as if she has a headache too.

I stretch to the other side, irritated that my body is tightening more than it’s loosening.

“Maybe Mildred will call you soon, and you can get out of there,” Kinsley says. “You know you can always stay with me too.”

“Honestly? I might. I’m going to be calm today and look at apartments. Then go back and get a shower, and then I’ll find something to do tonight away from the house. I’m going to give him today to talk to me—not that I even really want to hear his excuse if he has one. But if he doesn’t even try, then all of it is bullshit, and we aren’t friends anyway, and I’ll sleep in a cardboard box.”

She gasps. “Don’t call my place a cardboard box. It’s an inch bigger than that.”

I laugh and recline back, placing my palms on the mat behind me. The sunshine streaming through the window hits my face. I soak up the rays. This is all the D I’m going to get, apparently.

“I’ll be right back. Gotta pee,” Kinsley says.

I nod but don’t move. For the first time since last night, I’m actually comfortable.

“Dad said you’re our guest, and I can’t ask you to do things for me.” Ryder’s cute voice echoes through my brain.

Is that why Nate was cold to me this morning? Or was he just a jerk over last night?

I stretch in front of me again and groan. This is so stupid. I shouldn’t have to guess this shit.

What did I even want from Nate, anyway? I don’t know. Besides a safe place to stay, I’m not sure what else I hoped for or expected.

Sure, we flirted. It was fun and definitely a give-and-take sort of scenario. But did I think anything would come from it?