Free Out of Time (Out of Line #2) (Volume 2) by Jen McLaughlin Page B

took off her helmet and started up the pathway toward the stairs. After yawning loudly, she added, “I need to do some more homework, then we’re going to bed early. I didn’t sleep well after you left last night.”
    I hadn’t asked her to come home with me, and she hadn’t suggested it. It still stung that after our first fight as a couple, we’d spent the night apart. “Yeah, me either.”
    “Next time, no matter the fight, we sleep together. Deal?”
    “It’s a promise,” I said, leaning down to kiss her.
    When she broke off the kiss, we walked hand in hand to the door. Halfway there, she looked over her shoulder, her brow furrowed. “Did you hear that?”
    “Hear what?” I immediately stopped walking and pushed her behind me. I scanned the shadows for any sign of movement. “What did it sound like?”
    “A footstep.” She bit down on her lip. “Is someone watching us?”
    I closed my eyes and listened. There wasn’t a sound, not even a breath or a footstep. She was getting as paranoid as I was, because as far as I could tell, no one was there.
    “I don’t think anyone is there,” I said, reaching behind me to squeeze her hand. “Maybe it was a raccoon or something.”
    “Yeah. Probably.” She laughed uneasily. “I’m imagining things.”
    “Hey, better safe than sorry,” I said, smiling at her. “If you ever think you see or hear something, definitely let me know. You might notice something I don’t.”
    “I will.” We reached the door and she waited for me to open it. When I didn’t, she shot me a look. “Uh, are you going to open the door?”
    My heart skipped a beat or two, and my palms grew sweaty. Was this a good idea? It was too late to go back now. I’d already made the steps toward this, and I wasn’t one to back down. “ You open it.”
    She looked at my empty hands first, then up at my face, her brow crinkled. “Okay? Give me your key.”
    I crossed my arms. “Why don’t you use your own?”
    “Maybe because I don’t have one?”
    “Check your back pocket,” I said, my voice low. I really hoped she didn’t freak out or throw the key back at me or tell me I was moving too fucking fast. When she just stared at me, her cheeks flushed, I tapped my foot. “Well? Go on. Check.”
    She slid her hand into the wrong pocket, then moved on to the right one. Hopefully it hadn’t slipped out on the ride, or all this show was for nothing. When she pulled her hand out, the little gold key in her fingers, I held my breath and waited to see her reaction.
    Slowly, her wide eyes rose from the key until her gaze collided with mine. “You gave me a key? To your place?”
    “I did.” I tugged on my hair and shifted on my feet. “If you don’t want it, it’s cool. I just thought it would be nice for you to be able to come over here whenever you wanted, even if I’m not here. You could come here and study, or sleep, or eat, or whatever you wanted even if I’m…”
    … not here .
    Yeah, I already said that.
    I stopped talking and stared at my feet, because I was babbling like a fucking idiot. I didn’t like acting like an idiot, although I’d been doing it way too much lately. Apparently, love and idiocy went hand in hand.
    “Finn?”
    I lifted my head and dropped my hand. “Yeah?”
    “This is so…wow,” she said softly. “Thank you.”
    I nodded, not sure what else to say. I wanted her in my home all the time, so I gave her a key. It was simple. “Go ahead and see if it works.”
    It did. I already tested it.
    But at least it gave her something to do besides stare at me looking all happy and yet somehow sad. It’s like she knew why I was really doing this. Even if I was gone, it would be like she was with me whenever she came here, and that meant something.
    She slid the key into the lock and turned it, giving me a shaky smile when it opened. “It works.”
    “Good,” I said, my voice gruff. “Go in, then.”
    She went inside and flipped on the light, stopping a