“What is it?” Jay looked at me with curiosity written on the fine features of his face.
“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s just…I can’t believe this sometimes.”
He stood up and walked towards me with a soft expression on his face. When he was standing in front of me, he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on my lips.
“Believe it,” he said in a solemn tone. He pressed his mouth against mine and I felt a shiver of desire run through my body. “You want to go to bed?”
I yawned. “It’s late,” I said. “And we had a long day of doing nothing.”
Jay smirked and slipped his hand into my shirt, stroking my breasts until I shuddered. “Not exactly nothing,” he whispered into my ear. “We did have that marathon sex session this morning…”
“You call that a marathon?” I joked. “Here I was thinking you were a star athlete…”
“Wow, kitty’s got some claws,” he said, chuckling and mimicking a cat in attack mode.
I laughed. “Come on, you,” I said, getting up from the table. “Time for bed. But don’t worry, I don’t really want to sleep yet…”
***
In the morning, Jay got up at the crack of dawn—six on the dot. He claimed that it was a habit he wasn’t able to break, but as someone who has never been a morning person, I could have sworn he did it just to torture me.
“Jay, please,” I grumbled, rolling over and reaching for him. He was already gone and my fingers only made contact with the cooling sheets.
He grinned at me from across the room. Then there was a sound like something buzzing, and he darted off into the other room.
Sleepily, I closed my eyes. Jay’s bed was so comfortable that I easily could have drifted off for another hour or two. On mornings when he had training, I often did stay in bed until his return, upon which I’d leap in the shower and try to act like I’d been up for hours. But Jay always saw through the ruse, and I had a feeling he’d figured out truly lazy I could be when I was in vacation mode.
But that’s what I was here for—a break from real life.
“I’ll be right there, Mary,” I heard Jay say into the phone.
I sat up in bed, struggling to hear what else he was saying to this ‘Mary’ person, whoever she was. I could hear his footsteps pacing in the other room but had no sense of the dialogue, and after a moment I gave up, flopped back and covered my face with a pillow.
“Kate?” Jay’s voice was louder this time, and I shoved the pillow aside and yawned. He was standing at the foot of the bed, pulling a sweater over his head. “Are you awake?”
I blinked. “Barely,” I said in a bleary voice. “What was that?”
“I have to go,” he replied, an apologetic tone in his deep voice. “I’m so sorry, Kate, I’ll explain everything later.” He gestured around. “Until then, my flat is your flat, make yourself at home.”
I shook my head, rubbing my eyes with a fist. “I really should get going,” I said. A flash of guilt hit me like a brand. “I’ve been a horrible sister. I’ve ignored Lizzy so much the last couple of days.”
Jay nodded. “You can show yourself out, then,” he said. Stepping forward, he leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll explain everything later,” he said again.
I thought I saw a guilty look on his face but he grinned suddenly, crinkling up his eyes. “Just as soon as I’m home, okay? Want me to call you?” he added.
I nodded. “Thanks,” I said softly.
Jay darted into the bathroom and seconds later, I heard water running from the tap. I wondered what was making him run away from me so early. Even on mornings when he had practice, he didn’t leave until after seven.
Once he was gone, his apartment was almost too quiet to bear. I took my time getting ready in his bathroom—Jay had a magnificent soaking tub—and then dressed, putting my hair up in a messy chignon. My stomach rumbled as I let myself out of Jay’s post building. I hadn’t eaten since the omelet, so I decided to grab some fresh breakfast foods for Lizzy and myself. Maybe we could go to the park and snack and gossip, catch up on things. I felt ashamed for not having been a better sister over the past few weeks, and I vowed to myself that I’d start working on fixing that today. No more getting wrapped up over Jay.
On the street, I caught a cab. “Can you please drop me off at a grocery store?” I asked, smiling at the cabbie.
He looked at me with a vaguely confused stare. “At this hour?”
My smile faded slightly, and I nodded, feeling almost defensive. “Yes. I want to get some breakfast,” I said, sticking my chin out.