Rise: Populations Crumble, Book 2 by Gandy, A. (read book .txt) 📕

through my morning routine. There’s no sign of Patrick when I emerge, and the house is quiet. As I amble into the kitchen, I smell coffee and spot a wrapped package with a pink frilly bow on the counter. On closer inspection, the tag has my name on it. Well, kind of; it says Sadie O’Roarke. Scowling, I lift the lid off of the box to find my fertility tracking wristband with three spare colored bands.

My eyes roll of their own accord. Sure, it’s way less invasive since you gave me more color options. Ugh. With a resigned sigh, I select the green band and slide it back onto my wrist. While I tighten the strap so it doesn’t flop around, the sound of a door clicking shut catches my attention. I look up and see Patrick, in sweat-plastered workout clothes, coming in the door. His smile is instant, and he shows no signs of being upset about spending his first night as a married man on a couch. I would like to say my stomach didn’t tighten at the sight of his shirt clinging to the muscles of his chest, but that would be a lie.

“Good morning!” His voice is chipper. “Did you sleep well?”

“Uhm, yes. How about you? I know the couch in the bedroom is kind of small.” Guilt colors my voice, but I firmly remind myself that it’s okay to need some space.

“Just fine. I could just barely hear the waves, and I slept like a log.” He moves past me to the brimming coffee pot and starts rifling through the white cabinets in search of a mug. On his third cabinet, he finds what he’s looking for and turns around with a blue nautical mug which matches the house’s décor. He pours a cup and scoops in three heaping spoonfuls of sugar before asking, “Are you hungry?”

“I could eat. Do we have stuff to cook here, or do we have to go back to the guest house?”

“Hmm.” he opens the fridge. “It looks like we have the basics. Eggs, some fruit, bacon. Will that work, or would you rather see what they’re serving there?”

I think it over and bite my lip. “Let’s stay in. It might be kind of awkward running into Teddy and Faith first thing this morning.”

“Why, exactly?” He asks with a chuckle.

I shudder. “Because! We know what they’ve been doing. And they don’t know what we haven’t been doing. Awkward.”

His face sobers at the reminder, and he sets eggs and strawberries from the fridge on the counter. “Sadie, there’s no reason to feel awkward. I’m sure we are not the only couple in this program who needed a little extra time to get comfortable with each other before jumping in bed. We’re taking it slow, remember?”

He leans over and snakes an arm around my waist and gives me a quick side hug and a kiss on the side of my head, and then turns and starts working on breakfast.

“Why don’t you let me do that? You look like you might want to shower.” I gesture to his workout gear. “Where were you, anyways?” I slide past him and start washing the strawberries.

“Just went for a quick run on the beach. It’s beautiful out there! If you wanted, you could come with me tomorrow morning.” He waggles his eyebrows at me.

“Patrick, there’s a lot we don’t know about each other yet, but I think you should at least know that I’m not a morning runner. I’m a morning sleeper.”

“Well, you can’t blame a man for trying.” He snags one of the berries and pops it in his mouth before heading to the shower.

A few minutes later he emerges, just in time to help me dish up our fried eggs, fruit, and toast. We make our way to the built-in kitchen table, which has a bay window overlooking the ocean. I’m savoring my second bite of toast when I hear a chime coming from the front of the house. Patrick and I look at each other, then around to try to locate the source of the noise.

“Do we have a doorbell? I didn’t notice last night.”

“Probably, but who would be coming to visit us this morning?” He points out the unlikelihood.

We both make our way out of the dining area and I instantly spot the source of the noise—not the doorbell, the television. We’ve got an appointment in the guest house.

“Ugh, couldn’t we at least finish breakfast before they summon us? Don’t they know it’s early?” I grouch, and head back to the breakfast table.

Patrick sits back down across from me before answering, “It says it’s just an introduction meeting, I’m sure it won’t be too bad. There are probably some other couples here who we’ll get to meet.”

That’s Patrick, putting a positive spin on things. Doesn’t he realize it’s too early for that? I reach over and grab my cup of cocoa and give him a return shrug. “We’ll see. Faith told me that it’s probably for them to lay down some more ground rules.”

He looks confused. “Like what? Don’t go in the communal swimming pool without a shower? Don’t hang your underwear to dry on the porch where everyone can see them?” he jokes, and shovels in another bite of eggs.

“No, like fertility tracker stuff. I hope she’s wrong.” I trail off, not wanting to delve into the conversation yet.

“Well, it’s okay. We can finish our breakfast and then go see what’s up,” he says reassuringly.

After loading our breakfast dishes into the dishwasher, we head to the guest house for our introduction meeting.

Once we arrive at the guesthouse, we’re directed to a small conference room where three couples are already waiting, including Teddy and Faith. We choose seats next to them and exchange quick greetings before an employee makes her way to the front of the room to begin the presentation. She looks to be in her early fifties, with a hint of graying hair around her temples threaded into the blonde.

“Good