"Oh. My." Is all I can say. Almost all I'd managed to say since we'd driven to the Mountain King Spa and Resort. And by 'we' I mean Lacey, Simone and I. The main lodge of the Spa spreads for acres, glass and wood and clever pebbled paths through evergreens and heated pools where steam curls in dreamy mists. I clutch the strap of my purse tightly as we check in, my head swiveling in wonder around the plush lobby with it's double fireplace, atrium ceiling, and lush plants.They somehow managed to drag me down here for a proper clean-up after I told them about my not so official date with Noah. I wasn't even half as excited about it as they were, and it's almost as if they've been planning this for a long time. Lacey greets the desk clerk with a friendly smile, calls him by name, and chats easily about how much she and her companion had enjoyed their stay earlier in the season. He all but simpers over her, calling up a bellman

Every night for three days, I wake in the grip of a nightmare, drenched in sweat, with screams locked in my throat. Always the same: I'd be in Noah's house again from two years ago, and everything would play out accordingly the way it did that same night, except it's Clarke aiming the gun at Noah and pulling the trigger. Night after night, just before I pull myself awake, I'd watch him whimper and writhe as the bullet bites into his flesh, draining all life from his eyes.But this night, it gets too intense that I wake up with a scream, my whole body trembling with fear and terror. I pull the sheets off my body and head out the door, walking straight down to his room to see if he's okay. I know he is, but the dreams are beginning to get out of hand that I now fear for his safety. What do the dreams mean? Should I be worried? Or is my head just playing tricks on me? It's midnight and the halls are empty. The door to his room creaks open w

I wake up with Noah braced on his elbows and gazing down at me, idly playing with my hair. The sheets are covering my body up to my bare chests, and his is just above his waist."Hey," I murmur."You sleep with your eyes open, do you know that?" He says it with a smile. "It's quite mesmerizing."I glance towards the window and see it's still night out. "How long was I gone for?""A little over an hour. It's 10' pm.""I'm sorry I feel asleep." "It's alright." He rubs a thumb between my eyes. "I liked watching you sleep."I stretch, then shift so that I'm cradled by the pillows. Experimentally, I lay a hand on my breast. My heart is bumping along at a normal rate now rather than with that snare drum riff it had reached when he nuzzled just there. It's an odd feeling, to have someone suckling you, to have him pull you inside him. And to experience those mirror tugs in the womb. Everything he did makes my body feel diff

It feels like the first week of summer all over again where we hosted this Welcome party. Now we're hosting another, and this time it's a send-off party. The kind of gathering where we say goodbyes to the friends we made over the holidays. I overhear a couple promising each other to call and text everyday, some breaking up because they can't commit to a long distance relationship. I can't even find Noah anywhere, and I'm nervous about how we'll end up after this summer. I don't want to be remembered as some random girl he hooked up with during a summer vacation in Hawaii. Yes, I want to be remembered, but not that way. "Hey, lover girl." I holler at Simone, signaling for her to come over. The sun went down hours ago and it's a beach party with bonfires lighting up the whole place. "Hey to you too." She downs a bottle of beer in one gulp and throws the empty bottle to the sand. "So, this summer ended, and so did my relationship." "W

I've always suffered from this horrible disadvantageous condition— it's called waking late on days I'm supposed to have early flight schedules. I'm starting to think it's an actual thing, so I'm not surprised it's less than an hour for my flight and I'm still on bed, feeling something fat and fluffy on my face. "Whiskers?" Its Mabel's voice that wakes me up. Not the fluffy stuff on my face. Whatever it is. Gradually, I open my eyes, and I'm face to face with a white feline. It brings out its tongue to lick my nose before purring with pleasure.  Last time I checked, we didn't have a cat.  "Whiskers! There you are." I hear footsteps approach my bed as Mabel carries the feline off my face. "Sorry. I thought I left her downstairs."  I ask the obvious question. "When did we get a cat?"  "Last night. I found her outside beside our waste bin. She seemed so lost. Is it okay if I keep her?" I ease out of my bed. "Just make s