Sloane had drifted in and out, knowing she should go, but too cozy to move. Lester rolled over and she roused herself a little bit, woken more easily by the guilt swirling around in her chest. She'd overstepped and probably ought to get home before anyone noticed she was missing.

Gently she pressed her forehead against his shoulder for a minute, trying to think how best to extricate herself from the situation as quietly as she could muster. After a few deep breaths, she figured sliding out the end of the bed was easiest. She was small, there was no way she'd be able to climb over him without either falling or getting tangled up in the sheets. Tossing her blanket over Lester, Sloane tried to scoot herself down to the end of the bed and over the footboard as slowly and gently as she could. When she figured out what was going on in her head, she'd come back through the front door and apologize properly.

The floorboards creaked under her weight and she paused, holding her breath to see if she'd woken him.