7

After lunch, Hannah and I headed home. I was beginning to feel the effects of crossing multiple time zones, so after we unloaded the car, I went to my room and flopped on my bed face first. Pulling the fleece pink blanket that covered the foot of my bed up over my head, I fell into a deep sleep. Like river of drool sleep. When I woke up, it was pitch black outside. I fumbled around in the dark for my phone which read eleven PM. My stomach grumbled in protest. I wondered if there were leftovers from dinner in the fridge. Rolling out of bed, I noticed a note on my bedside table.

'I didn't cook since I was at Jake's all day but there's a sub sandwich for you in the fridge. Love you. -Mom'

Sweet. Food. I put my arms over my head, stretching my back, and then headed downstairs. The rest of the house was quiet. Hannah's door was open and her room was dark, so I'm guessing she was at Dean's. The door to my parents' room on the first floor was shut with no light under the door. Probably catching up on sleep from their late night stakeout last night. I walked into the kitchen and set my phone on the island.

My parents had done a kitchen remodel right after I left for California, so it took me a second to orient myself. The fridge, thankfully, was still in the same place. I opened it and found a sandwich from Sandwich Sal's waiting for me. Unwrapping it revealed my favorite, a turkey bacon classic. Turkey, Colby Jack cheese, bacon, ranch, mayo, lettuce, and cucumbers. I ate one almost every day my senior year of high school when I took advantage of our open campus lunch policy. After pouring myself a glass of orange juice, I settled onto a stool next to the island.

A quick scroll through my messages reminded me I had to call to make a new appointment for my car. Sigh. I wondered how far they were booked out. A lot of people didn't want to drive the hour to go somewhere else, plus if the second closest option was cancelling all their appointments, that would make getting in even harder. I took a deep breath and set my sandwich down. Pressing the number in Courtney's text, I hoped there was a way I could at least leave a voicemail. Sure enough, a message played and then the beep came.

"Uh yes, hi. My name is Sara Diaz and I'd like to make an appointment to have my car serviced. Please call me back at 818-555-9275. Again, my name is Sara Diaz and that number is 818-555-9275. Thanks."

Done. That wasn't so hard. I picked up my sandwich and took a big bite, ranch running down my hand. I jumped as my phone buzzed next to me. Seriously? Who was calling me? I never talked to anyone on the phone, except my family and even then it was a video chat. Grabbing a napkin to wipe my hand, I glanced at the number. No effing way. Taylor Auto. It was eleven o'clock at night! Did he have an answering service? Fine, whatever, just rip the bandaid off and get it over with.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Sara?" My heart skipped. Why was Kade personally returning my call? Didn't he have people for that?

"Yes, this is she," I replied, the words trying to stick in my throat.

"Hey, it's Kade. I got your message about your car," he said. He sounded tired.

"Uh yeah, but it's late. What are you calling me now?" I asked, hooking my feet behind the bottom rung of my stool.

"I'm at the shop getting some work done. I saw your name come up on the caller ID just now and checked your message. Does Monday work for you?" I could hear him typing at a computer.

"What time Monday? I start work that day, but I can see if my dad can maybe get it over there." Of course he'd have to take me to my job and there's nothing better than the boss being dropped off by her daddy on her first day.

"7:30 too early? If you want, we can loan you one of our service vehicles," he said, still typing.

"No that's fine. I will have her there."

"Her?" He sounded amused. "You still driving that Camry?" My parents had worked out a deal with Kade's uncle for a used Camry that he had bought at a police auction and fixed up my senior year of college. I paid for half from my savings and they paid the other half as my graduation present. She wasn't pretty (the bumpers didn't match, one quarter panel was a different color, and there was a scratch on one side where I rubbed a lamp post I got a little too close too) but she was mine and I didn't have a car payment.

"Yep, still driving Cammy," I confirmed.

"Cammy. I forgot you called it that," he laughed and I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, well, I will be there at 7:30 on Monday. Thank you for getting me in on such short notice," I said trying to hurry our conversation along.

"Happy to help," he replied and there was a long pause. "I should get going. I need to close up shop and get home."

"You should do that. Thanks again, Kade." Saying his name felt weird.

"You're welcome. See you Monday, Sara," he said and hung up. Hearing him say my name was just as weird. When we were together, I was 'baby'. I could count on one hand the number of times he said my first name while we were dating and all of them except for maybe one were done during intimate acts. My stomach caught fire remembering those acts and I drained my orange juice in an attempt to quench it. I would not remember how he looked with his eyes closed, mouth open, head thrown back, my name a moan on his full lips…nope was not going to remember that.

I finished my sandwich and returned upstairs. After I brushed my teeth and went to the bathroom, I changed into my pajamas. When I went back to my room and laid down, I found myself wide awake. Between my nap and my last thoughts of Kade, my body was wired. Trying to keep my mind from going down the rabbit hole of sexy Kade memories, I texted Hannah to find out where she was hiding. When she didn't reply, I texted Lola and Courtney in our group chat.

'Hey, sorry for missing your texts earlier. Just woke up.'

I laid there, hoping they were awake to keep me occupied.

'Go back to sleep. We're in the same time zone now. It's midnight,' Lola typed back.

'Can't sleep.'

'Eight hour naps will do that,' Courtney typed.

'That and I just got off the phone with Kade.' In the same moment I was regretting telling them that, my phone's video chat ringtone went off. I groaned and answered. Lola was already in frame with Courtney joining her in seconds. They were both in Lola's room.

"It's not what you think," I told them, cutting them off. "I called and left a message about my car and he returned my call."

"At midnight? Normal business people don't return calls in the middle of the night," Lola pointed out. I didn't tell her about the many late night calls I made to staff and guests.

"He was working and saw my call come through," I explained.

"So? That's what answering machines are for," Lola shot back.

"I did leave a voicemail. I wasn't expecting a call back until Monday," I said.

"What did he say?" Courtney asked, yawning.

"All he did was make an appointment for me."

"Why is that keeping you awake?" She raised an eyebrow and Lola tilted her head to the side, expecting an answer.

"I don't know. It was just the way he said my name and just hearing his voice. It got in my head," I groaned again.

"How did he say your name?" Lola asked, confused.

"It wasn't so much how he said my name, it's more that he said it. I haven't heard him call me by my name in forever. It just reminded me of when he used to use my name…" My voice trailed off as I started back down memory lane with steamy Kade thoughts.

"Ohhhhh. Ohhhhhh. Okay I've got ya now," Lola said with a laugh.

"You wanna explain it to me?" It was Courtney's turn to be confused.

"Sex, Court, he used to say her name during sex." I couldn't hold my laughter when I saw the realization dawn on Courtney's face.

"Ohhhhhh. Really? Was he a talker?" she wanted to know.

"Not really. Sometimes if he had a lot to drink but he did make this great moaning sound," I remembered. My face instantly flushed thinking about his mouth by my ear making that delicious noise.

"Didn't Matt complain that you were the noisy one?" Courtney reminded me. I laughed. Kade had shared a condo with one of his younger brothers when we were dating. I may not have been the most considerate late night house guest.

"Guilty," I admitted. The girls laughed.

"Well considering how long it's been since you've slept with a guy, I can see how a late night call from an ex who used to make you scream during sex would keep you awake," Courtney sympathized. Lola snorted.

"Time for you to get back in the saddle honey," Lola said.

"Probably," I agreed. "I need to get settled at work first, though."

"Fine," Lola agreed with a yawn. "But don't sit so close to me at church tomorrow. I don't want us both to burst into flames because of your lust." I forgot about church. My parents would never let me skip and if I wanted to keep face in this ridiculous small town, I needed to put my butt in a pew. Even Lola, who was the consummate wild child, still showed up Sundays in her conservative dresses she kept just for the occasion.

"Alright, we should probably go to bed. See you girls tomorrow. Love ya," I told them. We signed off and I laid there staring at my ceiling. Flashes of the last time Kade and I had sex played in my head. My thighs clenched in response. I could almost feel his hands on my skin, his tongue running over me, the pleasure from each thrust. Damn. It.