When Sky woke up, it was noon already. The bright light of the sun and the chirping of birds entered the room through an open window, the breeze that was surprisingly warm for the end of October, made the white curtains dance like ghosts in the empty room. The air smelled like the sea, and of coffee, grass, and trees, and those lazy weekend mornings when you have no rush to wake up, to get out of bed.

Sky yawned and sat up, running a hand through the mess of her curls. The bed was empty, there was no sign of Cody anywhere, but his scent still lingered on the sheets and Sky remembered the warmth of his body against her own, the feeling of his arms around her when she was drifting to sleep.

Except for the Ravenclaw socks, she was naked, but this time it didn't cause her to freak out. She remembered what had happened - well most of it anyways. She remembered drinking Champagne with Cody, talking about books, laughing and joking, and then—

Her cheeks blushed. She had been pretty straightforward, hadn't she? But clearly, he hadn't minded. He had kissed her with such passion that it still made Sky short of breath, and then there had been some kind of hand action—

She was pretty sure that was all that had happened in this bed. But of course, there had been more before that. Cody had fucked her at the party, after fighting Hawk—

I'm not gonna think about Hawk. Not now, jeez!

It felt wrong to even remember him at a moment like this when she was waking up in another boy's bed. Determinedly she pushed away the image of the Red-mohawked boy, trying to ignore the pain that thought always caused, and brought a hand to her chest, pressing on her aching heart until the pain subsided and she could breathe again.

Enough. Enough of him, enough already.

With a sigh, she glanced around and noticed a pile of clothes, a towel, and an unopened toothbrush on a chair next to the bed. On top of them was a small paper note that said, with Cody's beautiful a bit old-fashioned handwriting, "You can borrow these if you want to."

Even if Sky was feeling surprisingly good, considering the amount of alcohol she had consumed the night before, taking a shower and brushing her teeth sounded like an awesome idea. Briskly she got out of bed and picked up the towel and the toothbrush, heading towards Cody's bathroom.

When she exited the bathroom some fifteen minutes later (just a quick shower - she hadn't washed her hair. Cody didn't have a conditioner and Sky didn't want to deal with the disaster that would have caused to her curls), the bedroom was still empty. She heard some sounds from downstairs, plates clattering, and a thought of breakfast made her stomach growl as she suddenly realized how hungry she was.

Funny - she couldn't remember when was the last time she'd had an appetite. Her broken heart and the opiates had taken care of that and hadn't it been for Dad's constant worrying, Sky barely would have eaten anything these past weeks. But now—

A smell of coffee and bacon drifted into the room through the doorway, and Sky's mouth watered.

Quickly she hopped into the boxer shorts and the simple, gray sweats Cody had left on the chair for her, then found her bra that was still on the floor, pulled on the T-shirt and the socks—

Sky couldn't help laughing. No way were they Cody's! They had unicorns and rainbows and Sky absolutely loved them, even if she suspected they were borrowed from Leigh's closet. Which was probably good, since Cody's socks would have been way too big for her. Sky smiled as she pulled on the socks - that boy, he really had thought of everything.

Dressed and cleaned up, Sky picked up her phone from the desk and opened it. Dad had asked if she was okay and when was she coming home, so she quickly replied I had so much fun! Just woke up. I'll be home in the afternoon, love u!

There were also texts in the group chat she had with Moon, Sam, and Yasmine, which made a worried frown fall on Sky's face as she remembered their argument the night before.

Please tell me everything's okay, Sky

are you at Cody's?

Please answer as soon as you get this

We are all worried ❤️❤️❤️

I'm fine, just woke up

no need to worry!

I'm sorry about last night

I know I was a crappy friend 😓

The answer came almost immediately.

it's fine

are u ok?

I'm fine ❤️

better than fine tbh

🤭

Oh? 👀

you had a good night?

or is he keeping u in chains in his basement?

That made Sky laugh and roll her eyes.

no

that doesn't sound so bad, tho 👀

Oh my God 🙄

I'm glad ur okay, sweetie ❤️🤗❤️🤗❤️

why don't u come here?

we're making brunch and watching a movie

Sounds great

see u in a bit 🤗🤗🤗

Stuffing the phone into the pocket of her sweats, she started following the scent of freshly ground coffee, the growling of her stomach telling her she could easily have a cup of coffee and some breakfast here and then a brunch with the girls later.

She found Cody in the kitchen.

He was standing by the counter, his back turned to her, breaking eggs into a bowl. On the stove nearby, there was a frying pan filled with bacon, the coffee maker was just finishing boiling a fresh patch of delicious smelling, dark roast coffee, and on the kitchen table, there were plates for two, a platter of freshly cut fruit, and some toast. The glasses were filled with orange juice that looked and smelled like it was hand squeezed.

Sky stopped and let that sight sink in, just observing Cody before he noticed her, as he stood there barefoot, wearing a pair of faded, low-hanging jeans and a white T-shirt. He was making her breakfast, and not just some crappy bowl of cereal, but a real breakfast with all kinds of delicious things that made Sky's stomach growl.

"Hey," Sky said, walking closer. "Wow, you really shouldn't have gone through all this trouble."

His shoulders stiffened, the hand holding an egg stopped in mid-air for a heartbeat or so. He didn't turn to look at her when he broke that egg, let the yolk and the egg white splash into the bowl as he replied:

"Well, I thought you'd be hungry."

"Damn right I'm hungry," Sky grinned and leaned on the counter next to him.

He glanced at her, without answering her smile, then turned his attention back to the eggs in the bowl, tossed away the empty shells, and picked up a whisk instead. He started beating the yolks and the whites into a smooth, yellow mass with brisk movements of his wrist. Sky noticed he was left-handed, a fact she might or might not have known, she couldn't remember.

There was something stiff in his posture, the line of his jaw was hard, his shoulders were tense. The bruise on his cheek where Hawk's fist had struck him, was turning blue, there was a cut on his lower lip too, that was now closed but Sky remembered the taste of blood in their kisses last night. But that wasn't what caught her attention, it was his eyes - red-rimmed, tired, with dark shadows under them. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week.

"Is something wrong?" Sky asked, suddenly worried. His silence was sitting between them like a living thing, turning the air hard to breathe.

"I— I didn't get a lot of sleep."

He kept his eyes on the eggs, kept whisking them, then reached for the salt and added some into the mix.

"Why? What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" he asked, and the way he said it made Sky realize it was something she had done.

"Oh, God. What did I do?" She groaned her cheeks heating. "I didn't puke in the roses again, did I?"

"Ah, no—" he let out a strained laugh. "No, the roses are fine."

"Then what? What did I do?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he took another frying pan from the cupboard and turned on the stove, added some oil to the pan, and waited until it was hot enough.

"Cody, come on—" Sky said, getting a bit frustrated. "I clearly did something to upset you. Please, just tell me what I did."

"Don't you remember what we talked about? What you said?"

He glanced at her, then poured the eggs into the pan and the smell of fried eggs and oil filled the air.

"No. I'm sorry—" Sky brought her hands to her hair as if brushing her fingers through her curls would shake the memories to the surface. "Shit, I was so drunk! I must have blabbered all kinds of stupid things."

He didn't say anything but kept his eyes on the food he was cooking. He looked absolutely miserable, and realizing it was her fault, made Sky feel like shit.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. "Whatever it was, I'm sure I didn't mean it."

He made a sound that was half a laugh, half a groan. "I think you did."

"Hey— This is not fair. I'm trying to apologize and I don't even know what for. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for my stupid, big mouth— I— I had so much fun last night and I'm sorry I've ruined everything."

"You had fun?" His voice was thin, strangled. He kept moving the eggs on the frying pan, keeping his eyes on this task as if it took all his concentration.

"Yes! I had more fun than I've had in—- I don't even remember when." Sky replied truthfully. "I— I thought you had fun too."

"I did," he spoke, still not looking at her. "Last night was... amazing."

"Then please, can we just forget whatever I said?" Sky laid a hand on his arm. "Please?"

He stiffened under her touch, the hand holding the frying pan went motionless and Sky saw how his throat bobbed.

"Please?" She said again, that word soft and silent. "Or do you want me to leave?"

He swallowed hard, then shook his head. The scrambled eggs were ready, their rich scent filled the kitchen. Cody's hand was slow when he turned off the stove.

"I don't want you to leave."

"So I'm forgiven then? That's only fair, since I forgave you for mistaking me for a hooker," Sky tried to joke. "Whatever I said can't have been as bad as that."

She had kept her hand on his arm, and now she noticed he wasn't looking at the eggs on the pan anymore, he was looking at her hand on his forearm, her small hand with blue nails on his firm arm that was covered with dark hair.

"Cody?"

"Yeah—" he seemed to snap out of whatever it was he'd been thinking. "What?"

"Am I forgiven?" She leaned closer to him, her hand still on his forearm, feeling the toned muscle under the skin. "Is there anything I can do to make it up?"

Finally, he turned to look at her, and compared to her he was tall. His sad eyes were almost green in the bright sunlight, his cheeks were flushed, and again his beauty blinded her.

"You know what?" he said. "Just forget about it. We were both drunk as fuck."

"Yeah, we were," She gave him a relieved smile. "Thanks to you."

"Thanks to my parents," he answered and the sadness in his eyes melted away. "Though I'm still hoping they won't notice the missing bottles—"

"Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I'm not just saying I had fun, right? I really did. And I... I appreciate everything you did for me yesterday. You didn't have to do all that - kiss me, or fight Hawk—"

"I did that because I wanted to."

"Why?"

He turned his eyes away. "Maybe I'm just awesome that way."

Sky was extremely aware of his closeness, she sensed the heat radiating from his body, saw the quick rising and falling of his chest, felt the slight tremble of his muscles, as she slid her hand on his arm, from his forearm to his bicep. He tensed under her touch, but didn't move away, did nothing to stop her. The rosy spots on his cheeks were growing.

"I think you're awesome in many ways," Sky said, and let her hand move back down, all the way to his fingers which were still gripping the frying pan with a white-knuckle grip. Gently she unclasped that tight grip, took his hand in hers.

"You do?" His voice was dry, he had to clear his throat.

"I do. And... I don't know what this thing is, between us, but I like it. I like just... being with you. And I don't want you to be upset about something I said drunk and stupid. I don't want you to think I'm an asshole."

"I would never think that," he breathed. "We both know I'm the asshole here."

"You know, you keep saying that, but I'm yet to see any evidence," Sky noted. "An asshole wouldn't cook me breakfast. Or let me borrow his clothes."

"Sky— there are things you don't know. About me. I— I'm not a good person."

"Well, then we are a great match because neither am I," Sky said. "And what you don't know about me, could fill a book."

He abandoned the stove and the frying pan, and his attention was now all on her. He moved closer to her so that he was standing in front of her as she was leaning her back on the counter. Slowly, just like the night before at the party, so slowly that she would have time to tell him no if she wanted to, he leaned closer. But instead of pushing him away, Sky met him halfway, her lips opening for the kiss, even before their lips met.

The kiss was deep and heated, it sent sparks through Sky's body. Cody's hands gripped her waist and she gasped into the kiss as he lifted her up and sat her on the counter. The empty egg bowl and some glasses fell and clattered, but they barely noticed. He pushed himself between her thighs, his hands cradling her face as he kept kissing her, and Oh, he was such a good kisser, his lips were soft and hot and hungry on hers, and he wasn't sad anymore.

"You look so fucking hot wearing my clothes—" he muttered, breaking the kiss, his chest heaving with fast breaths.

"You look so fucking hot wearing anything, or nothing— I don't really care," Sky giggled, and brought her hands to the hem of his shirt, pulled it up, and over his head.

His upper body was just as gorgeous as Sky had remembered, her mouth went dry with need when she laid her hands on his abdomen. The muscle under the soft skin was as hard as marble, but she felt how he shivered under her touch as she slid her fingers over his six-pack, down, fingertips following that teasing trail of dark hair that led southward from his bellybutton.

It was intriguing. His chest was hairless, his face smooth and almost girly - Sky wondered if he even had to shave. But the other parts of his body had dark, masculine hair, his arms, his legs, his lower abdomen.

She let her hands move to the waistband of his low-hanging jeans, and he let out a trembling sigh. His shoulders rose and fell with that strained breathing, and Sky loved the way she could make him burn like this.

She felt like she was on drugs, even if she wasn't. She knew this was stupid, reckless, absolutely nuts - but she didn't care. Last night with Cody - it had been amazing. He could so easily make her forget about the things she didn't want to think about. When she was with him, she wasn't the Sky with a broken heart and a shattered soul - she was someone else completely. She was the girl who would drink Champagne and talk about books all night, she was the girl who didn't hesitate to kiss a random guy and have sex on the kitchen counter. She could make this cute boy wild with lust, and that was nice, that was perfect, that was just what she needed to get over Hawk and all the crap he had put her through.

Let Hawk fuck Maya all he wanted to. It wasn't like he was the only one who knew how to play this game.

Cody's hands had moved to her hips, to her thighs, and his breathing was fast, uneven, his lips were devouring hers, his tongue tentatively touched her lips and she opened for him, let in that tongue, let it meet her own as her hands roamed over his naked shoulders, felt the firmness of his chest.

He was perfect, a fucking perfect rebound guy. Everything in the way he touched her told her he wanted her, that he wanted her body, and that was how it had been from night one, wasn't it? When she had met him on the back porch of this house a bit over a week ago, he had looked at her from head to toe and he had flashed her that crooked grin and told her to kneel, because that was what he had wanted from her, that, and nothing more.

Though it wasn't just him taking his pleasure now, was it? It was also him giving her pleasure, and fucking Hell, he was good at it.

She pulled him closer by wrapping her legs around his hips, the front of his jeans pressed against her, and Sky felt his erection, big and rock-hard already. That made Sky grin, Oh yes, Oh yes, she liked how needy he was, how quickly she could make him hard.

He groaned into the kiss, grinding his cock against her, his fingers digging into her ass, and then—

Sky yelped as he picked her up, and carried her away from the kitchen, laid her down on the soft, fluffy carpet of the living room. His lips were back on hers, his hands were pulling up her T-shirt, and it was like she was on fire, like there was an electric current flowing from his fingertips to her skin, making her burn.

They were ripping off each other's clothes. His jeans had to go, her sweats too. When she was naked, his lips found her breasts and he moaned when he kissed them, the sounds that left his lips were madly arousing, they were the sounds of a man who'd been dying of thirst and had found an oasis. The way he was licking and biting her nipples made her squirm on the carpet under him, it made moans and whines escape her lips. Her fingers gripped his hair, his neck, his back, their bodies were moving as one, hips rocking against each other, chests heaving, hearts beating so fast Sky couldn't make out the individual beats, it was like there was a hummingbird caged in her ribs.

His dick was enormous, and Sky whined as he pressed it between her legs. She was wet from just the kissing, from the way he had sucked her nipples, Hell, she was wet just from looking at him, because there was no denying it, he was hot. Not as hot as Hawk, but—

Not thinking about that asshole! For all I know he's fucking someone else right now too.

"I'll get a condom—" Cody groaned, and broke the contact of their bodies, making Sky whine in need. She didn't protest, though, and let him stand up - it was great that he took care of this thing, that he was the one with a functioning brain. With him, Sky felt like she didn't have to worry about anything.

He returned quickly, with a pack of condoms, and then his lips were back on hers, his hands back on her body, and his fingers—

"OhmyGod—" Sky moaned, opening her legs wider. He broke the kiss and knelt on the floor between her legs, and his thumb was rubbing her clit with slow, gentle circles. It was good, so fucking good, it made her squirm and whine, the coil in her gut was getting tighter and tighter.

She glanced at him, saw the way he looked at her, his eyes wide and dark with wanting, he looked at her as if she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. His other hand was on his cock, as he pumped himself with slow strokes while he watched how she was coming apart under his touch.