Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Yes, I’d say a refund is warranted.” She pauses and turns, and the corners of her mouth flex down. “Okay. Yeah. Thanks. You too. Bye.” She sighs again, pulls her phone away from her ear, and touches the screen to end the call. She looks downright despondent and doesn’t take her eyes off the view out the window. I give her a moment to gather herself—it’s abundantly clear I’m not her favorite person, but as much as it might seem like it to her, I’m not out here trying to shit all over people—and then do my best to breach the awkward silence.
“So…”
Good job, Mack. Smooth delivery.
Her back straightens suddenly, and my eyebrows draw together. Something is happening; I’m just not entirely sure what. And evidently, she’s not ready to give me a clue yet either. Instead, she turns to face me, crosses her arms over her chest, and a sassy attitude emanates from her stance.
“They’re refunding us?” I ask, hoping innocent questions don’t incite her inner beast.
“Yes. RentBNB is going to take the loss for the huge inconvenience their system caused.”
“And, what? We’re both supposed to leave?”
She shakes her head. “They said it was up to us to figure it out, as with this short notice, they wouldn’t be booking it again anyway.”
“That’s great,” I say with a smile, perking up. “Free vacation for both of us.”
“Uh, no.” Her eyes go so wide they consume her pretty face. “No way. Not for both of us. One of us, maybe. But not both.”
My eyebrows draw together. Jeez. Does she really dislike me so much that she’d give up a free vacation? “So, what? You’re leaving, then?”
“What?” She narrows her eyes. “I never said I was leaving. And considering I was here first, you should leave. Not me. Plus, my flight isn’t until Saturday.”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t think vacation rentals follow ‘shotgun’ rules. You can’t ‘call it’ or race me to the front seat of a beachfront condo. And my flight isn’t until Saturday either.”
“I’ve already showered here, Mack. I’ve been on the bed. I’ve put my stuff away. The place is basically broken-in for me. Therefore, I should be the one to stay.”
“Having showered here is the criteria we’re basing this on?” I ask with a scoff, thoughts of a truce and toning it down long forgotten.
“Yes.” She doubles down.
“Fine.”
Her head jerks back. “Fine?”
“Fine,” I repeat, guzzling down the rest of my wine, setting the glass on the table, and then heading straight for the hallway bathroom. With a hand between both my shoulders, I strip off my shirt before I reach the door, and the air conditioning pebbles goose bumps on my freshly exposed skin.
Immediately, Katy comes unstuck from her place in the living room and starts chasing after me.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Her voice is a screech. “What are you doing?”
“I’m showering.”
“Oh no, you’re not!”
“Yes. I am,” I disagree, unbuttoning my shorts and shoving them to the floor so I can step out of them as I walk.
“Oh my God!” she yells behind me. “You just took off your pants!”
“Very astute, Ms. Dayton. You should be a teacher.”
“Shut up, you lunatic. Stop taking off your clothes!”
“I really don’t want to shower in my clothes,” I contest, doing a little spin in my boxer briefs to give her a grin. “All that wet fabric freaks me out.”
“What?” she yells, annoyed with my nonsense.
“I have a thing about wet clothing.”
“No, you don’t.” She scoffs. “You literally had a water balloon fight at school yesterday!”
“Ah, but you only get wet if you lose.”
“What are we even talking about? Stop trying to change the subject, and stop taking off your clothes!” she commands on a scream, her volume and panic escalating notably as I step into the bathroom, grab the waistband of my boxer briefs, and start to shove them down as well.
“Sorry,” I say without turning around. “Can’t.”
“Oh my God, that’s your ass. I see your ass!”
“Bare asses are usually involved in showers, Katy, but I think the biggest question here is, why are you staring at my ass?”
“You’re a total psycho, you know that?”
I look back over my shoulder and wink.
I also laugh when I take in the shocked look on her face, and she lets out a cry of animalistic proportions. “Oh my God, this isn’t funny!”
“Trust me, Katy Cat, it’s funny,” I call over my shoulder as I step into the shower and turn on the spray. “Anyway, if you want to finish up with your shower, don’t be afraid to come in here. I, personally, am not scared of a double-booking,” I tease, working her up even further.
Katy might not like the idea of getting into a shower with me, but I wouldn’t mind even a little. Something about her attitude gets another—ahem—part of me excited.