"Cadence, are you awake?"
Her eyes flickered open for a second, confusion setting in before she promptly shut them. The room was bright--which meant it was morning. Her head wasn't pounding; rather than feeling like she had been hit by a truck, she felt like she could pick one up and throw it.
But she was still confused. She buried her head beneath a pillow before asking, "Why are you utilizing the IAC when you're here?"
"Because I left about three hours ago," he replied slowly.
Cadence groaned, her hand shooting out to the empty space beside her. Of course he did. She glanced at the clock. She couldn't believe it was 10:30. She had actually slept for almost ten hours without waking up at all.
And she really had to pee.
As she climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom, she was absently grateful that IAC couldn't pick up on bodily functions. "I'm awake now," she finally replied.
"Good. I need you in my office in thirty minutes," he replied.
She groaned. Even with her super speed, that was rushing it on her morning routine. "Can you make it an hour?"
"No, Eliza made contact with Laura this morning, and she's going to dial back in at 11:30, so we need to talk as a group before then." She didn't respond at first so he dangled a carrot. "Starbucks hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin get you there?"
He knew her too well. "Venti?"
"Of course."
"All right. See you in a bit," she replied, flipping on the shower and setting about brushing her teeth.
She decided she needed to talk to Cale right away before he caught wind of what had transpired the night before. Even though he would never know what she was doing, she felt weird talking to him while she was in the shower, so she chose to wait until she was done with that and then see if she could get ahold of him. She was distinctly aware that Aaron had kissed her--and that she had kissed him back--but she was not unfamiliar enough with the Guardian Leader to think this changed anything between them. She was confident, however, that Cale would not mind the sleepover. She wasn't sure whether or not he could handle the rest--not yet anyway. Maybe she could tell him about that later, much later, like in forty or fifty years....
* * *
"You saving that spot for someone?" Elliott laughed, eyeing the Starbucks order sitting at the table in front of where Cadence had sat the day before.
"Had to do something to get her awake and over here," he replied, absently shuffling papers around on a side table nearby.
Elliott sat down in the chair he'd been sitting in as well, sipping a cup of coffee courtesy of the Keurig machine next to Mrs. Carminati's desk. "How'd it go last night?" he asked nonchalantly.
Aaron stopped and looked at his friend suspiciously. "Have you talked to her?" he asked.
Elliott mirrored his shifty expression. "No, why?"
Aaron eyed him cautiously for a moment to see if he was telling the truth before he replied. He decided he really hadn't spoken to her, so he answered, "It went fine. She slept," he shrugged, "I slept. There was a lot of sleeping. That's all."
Now Elliott really was suspicious. "And?" he asked.
"And... nothing," Aaron said dismissively.
"Bull...shit..." Elliott mocked him.
"Cadence," Aaron said nodding at the door.
"Huh?" Elliott asked, confused, as there was a knock on the office door. "Why does she knock?"
"She's polite?" Aaron hazardously guessed. "Come on in," he told her through the IAC so he wouldn't have to shout.
"Thanks," she said, as she swung the door shut behind her. She was shaking her head and looked very unhappy. She managed a small smile when she saw he had delivered on his breakfast promise, but then her face fell again. "Thanks," she repeated, gesturing at the Starbucks, as she pulled the chair out and sat down.
Aaron and Elliott looked at each other. "Everything okay, kid?" Elliott asked, a concerned expression on his face.
Cadence opened her mouth, as if she were going to answer, but then clamped it shut again, with a heavy sigh. She shook her head sharply and then said, "No, it's nothing. It's just...I don't want to talk about it."
"Cale?" Aaron asked, not wanting to pry but also highly interested in what Prince Charming thought about the sleeping arrangements.
"Yes!" Cadence answered dropping her head into her hands momentarily before pounding on the table in frustration.
"So, he didn't understand then?" Aaron continued to probe, taking his seat next to her at the end of the table.
She shook her head. "No, not even a little bit."
"What did you tell him?" Elliott asked.
Cadence looked at him in the same skeptical way Aaron had earlier. She glanced at Aaron, who shook his head a minuscule degree, indicating that he had said nothing. "I just told him that I was having trouble sleeping, that I knew I would be able to sleep if you were there," she gestured at Aaron, "and so we slept in the same bed. I told him it was no big deal, you know? But he seemed desperately hurt... and offended." She took a long swig of the hot chocolate, still shaking her head. "I don't know. I guess he has a right to be upset. I'd probably be upset if he was sleeping with some other girl, too."
"An ex, nonetheless," Elliott pointed out.
She glared at him. "Thank you, Dr. Sanderson. I'm aware. I just... didn't expect him to react that way. That's all."
"I'm sorry," Aaron said. He started to reach for her hand, but thought better of it, and nervously tapped the table instead. "You didn't tell him anything else?" he asked her privately. Cadence slowly shook her head no, subtly enough that Elliott did not see.
