Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Chapter 14
Bishop
“Shhh,” Kara hissed as I closed the front door behind me.
“Sorry,” I replied, raising my hands in surrender. I was usually a little more careful about not letting it slam behind me, but I hadn’t been paying attention.
“Charlie’s sleeping,” Kara said, walking toward me.
“She sick?” I asked, taking off my boots.
“No, just tired,” Kara replied. Something in her expression seemed off, but I had no idea what it was and I didn’t really have time to figure it out.
“Alright,” I said, nodding. “I’ll be quiet.”
“Why are you in such a rush?” Kara asked, laughing as I hurried toward the stairs.
“Runnin’ late,” I called back over my shoulder.
“Hot date?” she joked.
“Somethin’ like that.”
I ignored the shocked look on her face as I continued up the stairs. I knew what she was thinking. And yeah, I still had a thing for her best friend. Who wouldn’t? But Charlie had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want to start anything with me—and that was fine. It was her call and she’d made it.
But I was tired of sitting at home alone all the damn time. It was different when I’d been hanging out with everyone, and we’d had this whole sitcom roommates thing going. It wasn’t like that anymore. Charlie was always busy and Draco and Kara had their own shit going on and were usually studying or hanging out in their room.
It wasn’t wrong for me to have a life. It wasn’t wrong for me to make other friends. It wasn’t wrong for me to date.
So, I’d been branching out. I’d started going out for a beer with a couple of guys I worked with and their girlfriends. I liked them. It wasn’t as easy as hanging out with Draco and the girls, but it was better than nothing and I was fucking bored at home. A week before one of the girlfriends had brought along a friend.
One thing had led to another and this would be the second date in a week—I glanced at my watch—which I was going to be late for if I didn’t haul ass.
Ignoring the way my stomach flipped as I glanced at Charlie’s closed bedroom door, I grabbed some clothes and made my way quietly into the bathroom to shower.
Charlie and I had come to a happy medium, I thought. We didn’t see each other much, but we didn’t avoid each other either. We’d parted on good terms and I still considered her a friend. I wasn’t mad, by any means. I knew she was overwhelmed by the shit she was dealing with, and even if I didn’t understand why she thought that hooking up with me would make things harder for her, I was at least sympathetic to it.
I refused to feel guilty about seeing someone else.
If I kept telling myself that, eventually it would be true.
Fifteen minutes later I quietly shut the front door behind me and headed back out to my truck. I hated being late. I think it was probably something I’d picked up from Uncle Beau. Gus, bein’ late is the quickest way to show disrespect for the person waitin’ on you.
God, I missed that old fucker. Part of me was glad that he hadn’t been around when I’d gotten sent up—that he hadn’t had to see me like that. He would’ve been so pissed that my life had gone off the rails. I was pretty sure that he’d be happy with where I was at now, though. Working with my hands, good friends, nice place. Hell, the downstairs of the house I was living in was bigger than our entire trailer. He would’ve gotten a kick out of that, even if I was living with three roommates.
At some point, I was really going to make him proud though. Make good money, have a place of my own, a sweet woman, maybe a couple of kids. Yeah, definitely a couple of kids.
I parked outside Tally’s house and watched as she hurried out the door toward me.
Tally’s kids?
I immediately dismissed the prospect. She was sweet and sometimes funny, but I couldn’t see anything long term with her. Something just wasn’t right. We didn’t really fit.
“Hey,” she said, climbing into the passenger side. “I almost called to see if you were still coming.”
“Sorry about that,” I murmured, leaning over for a kiss. “Got hung up at work.”
“Construction, right?” she asked, pulling on her seatbelt as I backed out of her driveway.
“Yep,” I said, glancing over at her.
She was pretty. Short brown hair that curled wildly around her face, big brown eyes, and when she smiled she was a stunner. I looked back at the road.
“That’s the nice thing about my job,” she said with a small laugh. “I start so early that I get off pretty early.”
I nodded.
“But it sucks if I want to stay out late,” she continued. “Do you want to still get dinner before the movie?”