Free My Life as the Ugly Stepsister by Juli Alexander Page B

up.” I doubted Jonathan’s parents wanted me lurking in their yard after midnight.
    Crap! I gave up and ran back to the porch. Mojo and Buddy gave a few last barks, of joy if I wasn’t mistaken, and then calmed down.
    If I was stuck here, I was going for the swing where I could stretch out. Buddy would just have to share.
    I sat on the swing and swung my legs up onto the cushions. I leaned back, not too sure what I’d be putting my head in, but I was too tired to care. Buddy jumped up instantly and rested his head on my chest. Mojo must have realized we were in Buddy’s territory because he settled for climbing up next to my feet.
    I hadn’t even realized I’d been getting a little cold until the heat from the dogs warmed me up. A blanket might have been more effective, and more sanitary, but I was resigned to spending the night on the porch.
    Buddy raised his head an instant before the sliding glass door opened. I jumped but didn’t bother getting up. Running away would look even stranger than lounging with the dogs.
    Jonathan slipped out the door. “Hey, I wondered if they were barking at you.”
    In the dim light, I could see that his hair was tousled from his pillow. My heart thumped in my chest. Buddy stayed put. I guessed he was comfortable.
    “Sorry,” I said in a half-whisper. “They started barking when I tried to leave. So I thought this would be better.”
    He eyed me and my two bedfellows for a minute. “You guys look pretty comfy there.”
    I was hoping he couldn’t see me blush in the darkness. “I, um, tried the chair at first, but no way could I spend the whole night in that.”
    “You do know what they say about lying down with the dogs.”
    One of my dad’s favorite sayings. “Yeah, I know. I’ll get up with fleas.” Yuck. “Mojo’s been treated. Plus, that’s really just an expression, right?”
    Jonathan smiled. “Buddy usually sleeps in my bed. So I think you’re pretty safe.”
    “Did we wake your parents up?”
    He shook his head. “I doubt it. I’m just really tuned in to Buddy. I expected him to have some problems, but I didn’t want Mojo to have to be alone. Dad drew the line at two dogs in the house.”
    Poor Buddy. He’d been booted out because of Mojo.
    “It’s okay, though,” Jonathan hurried to say. “Buddy is having a blast with another dog around.”
    Hopefully, he meant it and wasn’t just trying to make me feel better. I didn’t know whether to stay or go. “Mojo will probably be okay now, if I go…” I didn’t sound the least bit convinced.
    “Do you want me to stay out here so you can go home?” he asked somehow reading my thoughts. “I don’t mind sleeping here if it would make you feel better.”
    “No. I don’t really mind staying. I hate to make you do it.” I was afraid he’d argue, so I said, “Besides, it isn’t really home over there anyway.”
    “At least let me get you a blanket and a pillow. I’ll set my alarm for early so you can leave before my parents wake up.”
    “You don’t—”
    “It’s the least I can do,” he said and slipped back into the house.
    He didn’t seem to think I was a total freak for sleeping on his patio.
    He came back loaded down with blankets and pillows.
    “Thanks, Jonathan. It’s really not that cold out here.” It was still August after all. The nights were cooler but not cold.
    He handed me a blanket and pillow and then set another pair down on the ground. “Be right back,” he said.
    I tucked the pillow under my head relieving the tension on my neck. Much better. Then I covered myself with the blanket as much as I could without burying the dogs. After just the vinyl cushions on the metal frame, the bedding felt decadent.
    Jonathan came around the side of the house carrying a cot.
    “The swing is fine, Jonathan,” I said when he reached me. “But thanks.”
    “The cot’s for me,” he said, setting it up a few feet away and putting the pillow and blanket on it. “I’m not letting