Free Bent by Hb Heinzer Page A

porch, there was no temptation to go further than either would be willing to if they were thinking clearly. At the top of the steps, she turned to the left and led him to the hanging swing at the end of the porch.
    Once he settled into one side of the swing, Julia nestled into Micah's chest. They sat in silence, hypnotized by the gentle sway of the swing. Micah's soft caress on Julia's arm started lulling her to sleep. "Are we going to talk?" She asked, straining her head back to see his face.
    "Do we have to?" He softly kissed the top of her head and brought his hand to her face. "I'd prefer to sit here and enjoy the night with my best friend."
    Best friend. The words carried so much weight and truth it took away Julia's breath. Even through all of the hurt and pain, she agreed with him. He was her best friend as much as she was his. There was nothing else to say that couldn't wait.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
     
    Julia was startled to life by the smell of coffee wafting through the house and sun streaking the gray walls of her bedroom. The last thing she remembered was lying her head on Micah's lap in the early morning hours. Now, she was laying in bed dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Reassuring herself that she hadn't drunk enough last night to do something as stupid as sleep with someone and not remember it, she raced downstairs.
    "Morning, sleepy," Micah called out as her foot hit the bottom stair.
    She turned into the kitchen, annoyed by his cheerful mood as much as by his presence in her kitchen. "What in the hell are you doing?" she barked.
    Micah turned to the refrigerator. "You know, for a smart woman, you ask some really dumb questions," he laughed.
    Julia narrowed her eyes at the playful comment, "I'm serious. What are you doing in my house at a ridiculous hour?" It really wasn't that big of a deal and he was trying to do something nice for her but that didn't change the fact that he was messing with her mind before caffeine.
    "First of all, it's almost nine, hardly a ridiculous hour," he stated, fighting back a smile, "And second, I thought I'd make you coffee before I got to work. I'm going to be working on the other half of the porch and I knew how much you enjoyed yesterday's wakeup." He handed her a mug of steaming coffee. She noticed that he'd pulled out the largest mug, her favorite, and he'd put cream and sugar in it. She wondered if it was a fluke or if he remembered how she liked her coffee.
    "Thank you," she grumbled.
    Once Julia had a chance to take the first drink of the morning, Micah grabbed her hand, leading her to the front porch. Sitting on the small table to the side of the swing was a bag from the cafe. "I brought you a cinnamon roll too. You used to like them."
    She patted the swing as she sat down, inviting Micah to join her. "I don't get you, you know that?" she said before taking a bite of the roll.
    "Back at ya." Micah bumped into Julia's shoulder, causing coffee to slosh over the edge of the mug. "Sorry."
    "You should be." Julia offered Micah a bite of the roll as a peace offering. "And I'm sorry for being bitchy this morning."
    Jumping off the swing, Micah told her that it wasn't a new thing for him to experience her less-than-pleasant attitude in the morning. Before she think of a suitable comeback, Micah ducked around the corner to get to work.
    She could get used to sitting on the swing with coffee every morning if she could find a gorgeous man to hand-deliver a roll to go with it. Julia grabbed her iPad and returned to the swing to get some work done. Most of the emails waiting for her were junk, but one email caught her off-guard.
     
    Hey stranger!
    Want to explain to me why it is that I found out from Turner that my big sister is back in town? You said you were coming back to Wisconsin, but didn't mention you were coming back to Brooklyn. Kinda rude. And what about you hanging out with Micah Friday night. You're going to start hearing a lot about him around