Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

to find the perfect position to fall back asleep. Need more sleep...just a few more minutes. Some combination of the noise and movement roused Lia, and she let out a short, high-pitched groan as she wiggled and stretched. Although my eyes were closed, I could tell she had rolled over to face me.

“G’morning,” Lia yawned. The noise alone was enough to make me yawn reflexively back at her. “How’d you sleep?”

“Honestly, that was by far the best night of sleep I’ve had in my life.” I cracked one eye open and found her staring at me lazily, still halfway in the clutches of sleep. “Well, this life, for sure.” A small grin curled my lips as I closed my eye again, wrestling a pillow down into a more comfortable position. It felt good to be able to talk openly about having past lives, something I hadn’t discussed with anybody in a long time.

My arm was still around her, so I abandoned the smushed pillow and pulled her close, opting instead for her shoulder. Her skin was soft and hot against my cheek, a much more comfortable resting surface than the old down pillow. I felt Lia’s breath quicken in her chest, and she patted my head quickly before withdrawing from the bed to stand up. “W-we should probably get up soon, it must be morning by now.” Her speech was awkward and her voice high-pitched, clearly flustered.

“Lia, wait.” I put a hand on her shoulder and sat upright. Slowly, she turned to me, her face bright red. Arching an eyebrow, I gave her a quizzical look. “If I’m remembering things correctly, you specifically put my arm around you last night.”

Her eyebrows shot up as she let out a small, shy squeak. “Y-yes, I did.”

She’s obviously new to this sort of thing. “But now, you’re feeling embarrassed about it.” She didn’t say anything, choosing to instead look away and fiddle with the bedsheets. I chuckled and shook my head. “Listen, Lia. There’s nothing to feel awkward about. Sleeping next to someone doesn’t need to mean anything.”

Throwing the blanket back, I scooted to sit next to her on the edge of the bed. “I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable. I guess I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I had any sort of...real human contact, and obviously I got carried away with it.” I patted her on the shoulder. “I don’t want things to be weird between us, you know?”

Lia looked to me, wide eyed and shaking her head. “No! It’s not your fault! It’s my fault, really! Things aren’t weird!” She wrung her hands in her lap. “It’s just, I’ve never really slept in a bed with someone else, so when I woke up, it was just...startling?”

I laughed. “Yeah, I can imagine that might be startling.” I stood and moved to the chair at the end of the bed and began to sort through my clothes. “I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page. I obviously wouldn’t want to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable in any way.”

She jumped up from the bed, her face bashful. “No, really, I’m fine! It was...nice.” Lia looked away, but I caught a small smile on her face through the embarrassment.

“I’m happy to hear it.” I shrugged on my plain white undershirt, working my way up the buttons. “I have to warn you, though. Judging by how things went yesterday, I think your parents are going to give you a hard time about it.” Lia froze, her face becoming deathly serious. “They popped their heads in this morning before you woke up.”

An angry pout spread across her face as she stomped over to her dresser. She changed from her nightgown into a comfortable looking white sundress, patterned with small red flowers. “You stay in here. I’ll be right back.” Lia went to the door, quickly slipping through before closing it behind her. As I continued to dress myself, I heard laughter from Marten and Hana, followed by angry, furtive whispers from Lia. About the time I had belted on my pants and slipped into my boots, Lia was back in the doorway. “You can come out now, Lux.”

Chuckling, I exited the room with her into the bright morning sunlight of the house. Rounding the corner, I saw Marten and Hana sitting in the living room, both anxiously awaiting our appearance. Marten was grinning ear to ear. “Lux! How did you sleep last night?”

Lia stomped her foot and glared at her father. “I slept like a log. It’s the first proper bed I’ve slept in in weeks!” Now that I knew Marten’s personality better, it was easy to avoid his attempts to fluster me. “I have to thank you both again for letting me stay here, and for watching over me while I was injured. I’ll certainly do whatever I can to repay you.”

Marten waved a hand at me. “Oh, enough of that, Lux. You’ll always have a place under our roof and at our table.”

“Speaking of which, I was just about to make us some breakfast. Would you like some, Lux?” Hana chimed in.

“Oh, no thank you. I’ve never been much of a breakfast person.” I smiled graciously. “I was actually hoping to take a walk around outside to help myself wake up.”

“I’ll go with you!” Lia bounced out in front of me, excited. “I can show you around the town!”

“Excellent.” I turned to Marten. “Do you have a cloak I could borrow? Preferably one with a hood?”

“By the door.” He motioned vaguely with his hand. “Be careful out there, you two.”

“Of course.” I moved to the basement door. “Lia, I need to grab a few of my things. You should have some time for breakfast before we leave, if you’re hungry.”

“Okay!” Lia dashed off around the corner to the kitchen. I shook my head and laughed, marveling at her energy. Compared to her, I might as well be an old man again. My belongings were still tucked