Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Come in!” Bonnie peeked around the corner and waved.
“I brought sugar.” I held up the box.
“Oh my God. I think I love you,” Jake teased, and damned if the stupid little joke didn’t make my cheeks heat. I really needed to stop this crush.
I set the box on the table and opened it. We all dug in. I noticed Jake went for a maple bar. I loved apple fritters.
He took a bite, then licked his fingers. When his eyes found mine, I turned away. I was fairly certain I’d never wanted to be someone’s finger so much in my life. “Good?” I asked Bonnie, trying not to ogle her son.
“I don’t know how I could live without chocolate.” She took a bite and moaned. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“I try hard,” I joked, and they laughed.
The truth was, Bonnie didn’t have a whole lot of stuff. Everything at Jake’s was mostly boxes, clothes, and a few small items like shelves she had on the wall in her bedroom and things like that. All the big items, like a fridge, her apartment either came furnished with or it was getting delivered later that afternoon. They likely didn’t really need my help, but I was glad to give it.
We chatted for a few minutes while we ate the doughnuts, and I tried to keep my eyes off Jake. I was thinking a lot about our shopping trip and the cabinet he’d talked me into buying. It felt nice to have something that was really me in the place.
“All right, crew. We ready to do this?” Jake asked.
“Yes, sir!” I teased, saluting him.
“Oh, I see how it is, funny guy.” He walked around the table and nudged me. “Are you making fun of me?”
“I would never.” I gasped playfully and put a hand to my chest like I was shocked he would say such a thing.
“Mm-hm. For some reason I don’t believe you. Let’s get going.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me with him. Even though it was more of a buddy-ole-pal touch and not an I-want-you touch, butterflies immediately went wild in my belly. “We’ll start upstairs. We already brought a lot of it down.”
I nodded, and his arm dropped away. I missed the warmth of his touch. It was nice to feel close to Jake that way.
He was definitely the crew leader. He wasn’t bossy or an ass or anything, but he directed us in what to take and the best way to pack it all in the truck. He was good at making it all fit, moving things around so we only had one load in a small U-Haul.
Jake drove the rental to Bonnie’s new place, and I followed along in my car, Bonnie in hers.
She lived on the third floor of a cute little light-blue building with flowers out front and lots of windows. We went inside before we began unloading. Bonnie must have made a previous trip because she already had some sports drinks in the fridge, which she gave us both.
“Let me show you around!” The excitement in her voice was palpable. It made a giddy feeling rush through me too.
It was a small place—one bedroom, one and a half baths, and a patio. It was on the older side but had been taken care of well. I couldn’t wait to see what she did with it.
“I would love a little place like this,” I said.
“Are you kidding? You live in a gorgeous complex.” Jake frowned, then looked at his mom. “Not that your place isn’t great.”
She laughed. “I get what you’re saying.”
“Yeah, I know, but it’s…a lot? Sort of like what we were talking about the other day. It’s not my style.”
I hoped they would drop it right there. Jake was looking at me as if I was this puzzle he couldn’t figure out, and Bonnie was giving me the mom look, which I loved but was embarrassed of all the same. “Should we start unloading?” I asked. Thankfully, they let the subject go.
The three of us took load after load into the apartment. Each box had the room it belonged in written on top, and before we knew it, we were done, and I had no reason to continue hanging out. “I guess I should go.”
“Are you kidding? You helped us with this. At least let us buy you lunch,” Jake said. “Do you like Chinese food?”
My eyes rolled back. “Oh my God. I love Chinese.”
He ordered some delivery, and we walked around, listening to Bonnie tell us where she thought she would put everything, until lunch arrived.
“Carpet picnic?” Jake asked, and Bonnie smiled.
“Carpet picnic.”
I could feel there was a memory behind it. “Is that a thing?” I asked as we placed boxes of food in the middle of the living-room floor, along with paper plates and plastic utensils.