"Coffee," I moan, sweeping an arm out and pulling her back into bed.
"I can’t get coffee if you are holding me in bed against my will." She laughs, but there have never been words to ruin the mood more quickly. I immediately release her as my pulse spikes. She rolls to the side and eyes me warily. "Leo?"
"Coffee," I repeat, but she can read my discomfort.
Rubbing my eyes, I smile sleepily while trying to play it off. But Sarah doesn’t buy it for a single second. She bites her lip and rolls her eyes when I don’t attempt to explain. I know she wants to ask; I also know she won’t. Yet another reason Sarah has me buzzing like a broken streetlamp. Aren’t we just two of a kind? I don’t ask questions because I don’t want her to have to face her demons by answering. And I think she wants to avoid asking questions to keep me from reciprocating with my own inquiries. But then again, that might just be my reason too.
"Woman, get me some caffeine stat." I rake my teeth over her shoulder and push her from the bed.
She smirks and pulls on one of my T-shirts before heading to the kitchen.
I scrub my hands over my face, wishing I could scrub my memories too. Well, everything except Sarah.
"Oh God!" she screams from the other room. Her voice isn’t jovial or teasing—it’s filled with fear and sends me flying to my feet. With a whoosh, my heart dips in my chest and I dash from the bed.
"No, no, no, it’s okay." I hear a man’s voice as I round the corner into my dining room.
The sun is peeking through the windows, but with the curtains drawn, it’s still dim inside. Sarah is quickly backing up and we crush against each other as I rush forward. With one quick swoop, I force her behind me.
"Who the fuck—"
"Alpha-Tango-Juliette-eleven-nineteen," he says before he finishes with, "And you’re naked."
Fucking Johnson.
"Jesus Christ. What the hell are you doing here?" I bark, turning to hold Sarah.
"Covering for you while you take your girl on vacation," he responds.
"Yeah, but you don’t come in until nine."
"I’m covering for you—and you start at seven."
"How about you call next time you decide to come in early? I do live here, ya know," I snap before turning to Sarah, who’s peering over my shoulder with a confused look on her face. "You okay?" I ask, but she doesn’t respond to me.
"Aiden?" she questions.
Still as naked as the day I was born, I turn back to find the same confusion on Johnson’s face.
"Oh shit! Sarah Erickson?" He laughs.
"Oh my God. Hi!" she squeals and rushes toward him, throwing her arms around his neck. "How the hell have you been? You scared the shit out of me."
"Sarah, go get dressed," I growl as her shirt lifts, exposing her panties.
"I could say the same to you," she replies, not even bothering to look back at me. "God, how long has it been since…" She stops and her shoulders tense.
"Dressed. Now," I bite out, desperate to get her out of the room.
I had no fucking idea she knew Johnson. Sure, they went to the same place for therapy, but what are the fucking odds that they were friends? It’s suddenly very clear to me that my worlds have officially crossed. Johnson knows everything about me while Sarah knows absolutely nothing. If I can’t get Johnson alone and tell him to keep his mouth shut, this could become a really fucking bad game of Six Degrees of Separation.
"Sarah," I warn.
"Oh good Lord," she complains but walks out of the room, heading toward the bedroom.
"We need to talk," I say the minute she turns the corner.
Johnson crosses his arms over his chest and nods. "It seems we do."
"Let me put on some clothes. I’ll meet you in the office in five."
I head down the hall, trying to figure out how I’m going to play this. When I walk in the room, I find Sarah pulling her jeans over her hips.
"How do you know Aiden?" she asks.
"He works for me."
She nods and mildly relaxes.
"And he’s a close friend."
She closes her eyes and drops her head cussing.
"What’s wrong? How do you know Johnson?" I ask just to make her nervous and stop her from asking any more questions until I can formulate a plan. But as I watch her face pale, I immediately feel like an asshole for putting her on the spot. "Hey. I’m going to go brief him on some work stuff. You should really get packed. We need to leave for the airport around nine."
"Leo, we need to talk." She sighs, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"We have a five-hour flight ahead of us. We can talk later." I pull on a shirt and shorts and squat down in front of her.
She’s a mess of nerves and I hate it. I’m assuming she’s worried that Johnson’s going to spill it all about her past and it cuts me to the quick.
"How long have we been together?" I ask, brushing her hair off her neck and kissing just below the ear.