Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Kerrie stayed a few nights a week, but she had her own apartment closer to the center of town and worked a lot of hours as a nurse. Her dream was to be a traveling nurse, which I fully supported. She was great with people, and if she wanted to go off and travel the world to help people, I wouldn’t stop her.
Tonight, she was already in the kitchen finishing up grilled chicken and asparagus for dinner. I walked up behind her and pecked her on the cheek.
“Hey,” Kerrie said, focusing on flipping over the chicken to sear the other side.
“How was work?” I asked, falling into the routine of asking the same questions. It felt like we had the same conversation every time we saw each other, going through the same motions that felt so shallow. When was the last time we had a deep conversation?
“Busy. Multi-vehicle car crash,” Kellie replied as she tightened her ponytail, her blonde hair reaching the bottom of her neck.
“Damn, really?” I asked as I fixed us both a glass of water. She was a health nut, but I couldn’t blame her since she saw what happened when people ate terribly all their lives.
Kellie nodded and plated our dinner before joining me at the dining table, sitting across from me.
“Did you guys get a lot done today?” she asked.
“Yeah, a few things. We’re bouncing around some new ideas,” I told her as I cut into my chicken. I took a bite and hummed beneath my breath. “This is really good.”
Kellie smiled a little.
“Thank you,” she said.
We fell into silence, eating our dinner and only sharing a few glances with each other. The atmosphere wasn’t awkward or tense. It was just… empty. Devoid of emotion. It shouldn’t be this way, but we started off as good friends who had a little bit of chemistry. I believed that we were both just lonely at the time and fell into a routine with each other that we called a relationship.
I invited her to stay over for the night, but she shook her head and said she wanted to meet up with a friend. She pecked me on the lips, and the touch was so light and quick that I hardly felt it. Honestly, even when she really kissed me, I didn’t feel much then either.
I got ready for bed and slipped under the covers, staring up at the ceiling and letting my mind drift. Per usual, it went right to Delilah. She often came to mind, even if I tried not to let her. I was in a relationship, if I could call it that. I ran away when Delilah wanted to get close to me, so I lost any chance of being with her. Last I checked, she was with some big producer.
I shouldn’t look her up, but I couldn’t help it. She was the only woman I had ever fallen in love with, and I could never get that special night that we spent together out of my mind.
As the rest of the guests steadily filtered out of the ranch house at the end of Delilah’s 18th birthday party, we snuck away to my bedroom so that I could give her my present to her privately. I invited her to have her party at the ranch house since it was big enough to hold all of the guests, and maybe I wanted to hang out with her as long as I could.
For so long, I crushed on her, and of course, she had to be Brianna’s best friend. It felt… forbidden, like she was off limits. I didn’t know how much longer I could resist her, though. We hung out all the time, sitting on the porch and playing music together or riding our bikes into town. She was part of my life.
“Have you talked to that record label guy?” I asked her once I shut the door to my room, watching her plop down on my bed dressed in her black top with thin straps and a red skirt. She looked beautiful with her black, wavy hair and dark brown eyes, a light pink tint adorning her cheeks.
Delilah nodded.
“Now that I’m eighteen, I can make decisions for myself. He told me that they’d help me get set up in New York and immediately put me in the studio,” she said before sucking in a deep breath. “It’s just… a lot.”
I sat down next to her, our thighs brushing. I could hear the nervousness in her voice, but I knew that this was what she wanted. She had always talked about getting out of this town and making something of herself. I didn’t have any interest in leaving my hometown, but I pushed her to follow her dreams. Music led her away from here, while music kept me planted here.