The Way We Rise by Cassia Leo

Author:Cassia Leo [Leo, Cassia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Story of Us, Book 3
Publisher: Gloss Publishing LLC
Published: 2015-08-18T04:00:00+00:00

Houston: Make sure you have Skippy close by to comfort you while you watch episode 13.

Me: Thanks for the tip.

Houston: There’s more where that tip came from.

Me: Very punny. See you soon. :)

* * *

When I wake in the morning, Houston is laid out facedown on the bed next to me. He came home at almost midnight last night and headed straight for the shower, claiming he was covered in sour mash. When he fell asleep, I resisted the temptation to smell the clothes he threw in the laundry basket.

Houston hasn’t given me a reason not to trust him. And I will continue to believe him until I get a solid reason to suspect he’s doing something other than working late, as he has been doing more frequently over the past two weeks since they started testing out a new summer ale in their pilot brewing system. I’m guessing that whatever happened with the vat yesterday will only set them back, and he’ll probably have to work late again tonight.

Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I realize Houston will be getting up for work in about twenty minutes. I don’t have to start getting ready for work for another couple of hours, so I decide to make us some breakfast. He’ll need a good meal to deal with the aftermath of whatever happened at the brewery yesterday.

Sliding out of bed, I stealthily leave the bedroom. I wash my face and brush my teeth quickly before I head to the kitchen to cook. The orange juice is freshly squeezed, the eggs have been whisked, and the bacon is sizzling in the cast-iron skillet by the time Houston stumbles into the kitchen.

His hair is sticking out in all directions and a large crease slashes across his left cheek. He squints at me through the light pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. All I can think is that he looks absolutely exquisite, the way the morning light bounces off his golden-caramel hair and paints buttery streaks of light over his taut abs and broad shoulders. He’s glowing. God, the man is hot, sizzling perfection. I can practically hear the fizzle of the fuse in my head, followed by the loud pop! of fireworks going off inside me.

“Look out!” he shouts, reaching for me as if he’s about to save me from an incoming grenade.

He yanks me away from the stove, but not before the grease in the skillet pops, splashing a walnut-sized blob of hot grease onto the top side of my forearm.

“Shit!” I scream, with only one thought in my head: Get to the sink!

Houston beats me to it. He grabs me by the waist and sets me down on the counter next to the sink, then he turns on the faucet. I place my arm under the stream of cool water and sigh with instant relief. Then I let out a few curse words as the stinging returns.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his eyebrows knitted with genuine concern.

I sigh as I pull my arm out of the water and laugh.

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