Free Lucky Break by Kelley Vitollo

thinking that way. She needed to stop letting Kade take up so much space in her brain.
    Once she got everything into the house, she couldn’t bring herself to stay inside. She hoped fresh air would clear her thoughts.
    After slipping on a white cami and a pair of black yoga pants, she found herself sitting in the swing on the front porch. It wasn’t because of curiosity over Kade, she told herself. It wasn’t.
    Yeah, right.
    The longer she sat outside swinging, the heavier her eyes got. She’d always been like that. Her friends used to tease her that she could fall asleep anywhere. There had been one time, when she was camping with Rowan’s family, that she and Rowan went to lay out on a dock by their camping spot. The rest of the family had all gone fishing, but she hadn’t been interested and Rowan had stayed with her.
    “Can you believe Kade is going out with Marlisa tonight? She’s such a bitch!” Sidney said to Rowan.
    “You don’t like anyone Kade dates. I wonder why that is…”
    Sidney didn’t have to look at Rowan to know she had a huge smile on her face. “Shut up.”
    “I’m just sayin’.” They were quiet for a few seconds before Rowan added, “She’s totally a bitch though. And she has big ears.”
    “No, her nose!”
    “I think her eyes are also too far apart.”
    They both laughed. She loved her girl talks with Rowan. Being with Kade was great, but there was nothing like her best girlfriend. “Thanks, Freckles.” She didn’t know what she thanked her for.
    “Any time, girl.”
    Sidney let her eyes drift closed.
    “Is she sleeping?” She heard in the back of her mind.
    “Of course she’s sleeping. This is Sidney we’re talking about.”
    It was like she knew there were voices, but she couldn’t wake up. Couldn’t tell if it was a dream or not.
    “Sidney, wake up.” Who she thought was Dream-Rowan poked her.
    “Peaches. Get your butt up before you regret it.”
    Yep. Had to be a dream. Kade was with Marlisa.
    “I’m warning you, Peaches. I came all the way out here to see you guys.”
    Sidney ignored Dream-Kade. She felt herself getting lifted and then… “Ahh!” She screamed as the ice-cold water shocked her system.
    “I’m thinking your name needs to be Sleeping Beauty instead of Peaches!” Kade splashed her, laughing, while Rowan stood on the dock, giggling at both of them. Sidney wanted to be mad, too, but she couldn’t. Not with Kade here.
    “I thought you had a date tonight?” Sidney swam away and Kade chased her.
    “I do. We’re not going out until later, so I decided to come up and torture you guys for a little while first.”
    That meant he wouldn’t have time to do much of anything else today. He might even have to rush for his date, but still, he’d come to hang out with them. He could do much better than Marlisa, but she couldn’t let that bother her right now.
    When the three of them were together, that made everything perfect.
    Sidney let her eyes fall closed, reveling in the memory. She’d sit here for a few more minutes, and then go inside.
    …
    Kade drove home from the bonfire down at the lake. They were a tradition in Shamrock Falls during the summer, when at least half the town got together and just hung out. Shakes was there being wild and crazy as ever, making faces and pulling all the women onto the dance floor. He loved attention and he knew how to get it. Despite his age, he still spent the whole night dancing, even when no one else was doing the same. He even fell a few times but just got up and kept going. The old guy was a riot, though he did like to interrupt Kade at really bad moments. Kade still wasn’t happy about that.
    He noticed Shakes wasn’t getting around as well as he used to. Kade heard there was a group of women who took turns cooking him dinner and helping him around his house.
    It was incredible how close a town could be. That was one of the things he’d missed when he’d left. Tonight he’d just sat back and