Far From Home

“Terribly. They weren’t the least bit impressed. Sure, it’s technically on Brad’s property, but my folks never come back here. Not even for their wedding anniversary. They’d rather go to a hotel with room service.” The fire came to life, filling the room with an orange glow. “Much better.” When I turned to Sam, she was still standing in the doorway. “Dude, take off your coat and stay awhile.”

“How often do you come back here?” She slung her jacket over the back of the sofa, then sat down.

“Thanksgiving.” Sitting beside her, I said, “I love my family to bits, but at feeding time, things tend to get a little nuts. I come back here to decompress.”

“All on your own?”

“Sometimes my sister comes with me while our folks watch the kids, but yeah.”

Removing my coat, I let my head fall back and closed my eyes. The crackling fire was music to my ears as the tension that had been building ever since we arrived last night started to fade. Granted, the reprieve only lasted so long. As soon as Sam shifted her weight beside me, my thoughts went right back to her. To her even breaths and the sound she made whenever she rubbed her palms on her pants. It was a nervous tick she had and one I’d noticed shortly after we’d started school together.

It was especially bad before a test, but she always passed.

All that fretting for nothing.

“Man, it really does heat up the place, doesn’t it?” she asked as the fire flickered and cast long shadows across the room.

I cracked open an eye. “It’s very effective. In any case, if you can’t find me at the house tomorrow, chances are I’m back here.”

“You don’t want me to come with you?” I couldn’t mistake the disappointment in her voice.

“I was planning to,” I said as I turned to face her, “but what about the bear?”

“Okay, okay. I get your point.” She rolled her eyes at me, then sunk into the couch cushions. “If you happen to bail on your holiday gathering, I’d love to join you.”

“Great.” Because I was hoping you would.

Chapter Five

Sam

The crackling of the fire was loud enough to drown everything else out. It was also a lot warmer than when we’d first walked in. Granted, I couldn’t honestly say if the warmth was because of the firelight or the little bit of room we’d left between us.

Either way, I did my best to relax as Taylor lay her head back against the couch cushions. She looked so peaceful then, and it wasn’t until she cracked open an eye when I realized I was staring.

I hadn’t meant to, but seeing her at ease helped. With her eyes closed, I got to admire the woman I’d gotten the pleasure to know over the last few months as the soft glow of firelight danced across her face. I knew what she looked like, and I’d spent more than enough time staring at her when she wasn’t looking, but the absence of light and the long shadows the fire cast across her face made it different somehow. Mysterious but exciting.

Even as the fire died down and Taylor’s breaths deepened, I could still make out her lips and one eye looking back at me.

“What?” Her voice was heavy with sleep.

“Am I not entertaining enough for you?” I teased, ducking just in time to avoid a pillow to the face.

Taylor glared at the pillow still in her hand, then set it in her lap. “It’s a conditioned response,” she said with a shrug.

“I’m so used to coming here to relax that I tend to crash as soon as I walk in the door.”

“That sounds kind of nice, actually.” Being able to turn off the stress? Yes, please.

She leaned back and glanced at the ceiling. “I was dying to come here during exams.”

“The dorms are only a few hours away, so why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to ruin it, you know? I refuse to bring bad things into this space.”

“Exams weren’t that bad,” I said gently

.