Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 72427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
I looked down at my cut-off jean shorts and boob-revealing pink tank top.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m not wearing this.”
He looked sad. So sad, in fact, that his lip poked out into the smallest of pouts.
“Damn,” he said, pout disappearing. “I was going to bring lunch, too.”
Then he was gone, nodding at my father who was still sitting in the parked truck.
My mother was still in the truck, also. She was too busy shoving a donut into her face to notice Lock leaving.
My dad, however, didn’t miss a single thing.
Dad got out just as Lock was riding his motorcycle down the road.
I watched until I couldn’t see him anymore.
Mainly because his ass looked like two juicy melons sitting on top of that motorcycle seat.
When I sat down on a motorcycle seat, my ass formed around the seat. The seat didn’t conform to me—not like Lock’s did.
And those pants!
Holy shit.
The pants, paired with the tight shirt that showed off an impressive chest?
Yeah, that was definitely something I needed a picture of, you know, for educational purposes later.
I whipped out my phone, wondering if I could zoom in really fast, when my father finally made it to my side.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
I looked at him guiltily.
“He just offered me a job.” I looked at him shamefacedly. “His mom owns her own imaging company. They cater to pregnant women wanting sonograms and stuff.”
I was honestly afraid to look at him when the silence went on for so long.
Finally Lock disappeared from sight, and my photo opportunity was lost.
I looked over to see my dad staring at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You like him,” he said. “You want to stay because of him.”
I flushed.
“I want to stay because I like it here,” I admitted. “Him and me talking at the wedding? That was just a huge coincidence. One I want to explore? Yes. But also not all the way why I want to stay. I like…being me here. I like the anonymity of it. I’m not too far from home that I can’t get there fast, but I’m also not working in a city where my father and his club rule with an iron fist.”
He sighed.
“So what are we doing with your stuff?” he asked.
Somehow, I knew he wasn’t going to like this answer, either.
***
One o’clock was quickly approaching, and before I knew it, I was showering in Lock’s pool house and tearing my way through boxes looking for something suitable enough to wear to an interview.
I finally found a black dress that would suit my needs, slipped it on, and then went about getting ready.
When I came out of the bathroom, my dad was looking at the pool that wasn’t a pool.
It was just a rather large hole in the ground that used to once be a pool.
“This place is weird,” he said.
It was.
“Wait until you see the main house,” I told him. “He bought it and totally renovated the inside. But instead of walls, it’s one big open area. Like…only the bathroom has a door around it. The rest is just open.”
Dad frowned.
“That’s…odd,” he said. “Was it condemned or something?”
I went about explaining what Lock had told me, and he shook his head.
“Lot of work for one person,” he admitted. “Looks like he was about to start working on the pool house, though.”
I’d noticed that, too.
There were tools and shit inside, and some of the bathroom had been torn down as if that was where he was starting first.
“Wonder why they had a pool house, anyway,” he said. “It’s like the size of a postage stamp back here.”
“All pool and pool house,” I agreed. “I have to admit…having a pool would be really nice. I could totally work on my tan.”
Dad looked at my already tanned skin.
“I gave you a permanent tan, you don’t have to work on shit,” he rumbled.
“Where’s Mom?” I asked.
“Buying you sheets and curtains,” he murmured. “She asked me to go with her, but I decided that I’d rather shoot myself in the foot than step foot in a home store with her when she’s acting like that.”
‘Like that’ meaning she wanted to decorate and buy stuff.
Dad hated shopping.
“All right,” I sighed, looking at my watch. “I have to go.”
Dad pulled me into a one-armed hug.
I squirmed when his sweaty chest began to hit my face.
“Ewwww,” I said, pushing him away.
He grinned and let me go, but not before dropping a kiss onto my forehead.
“See you when you get back,” he said.
I felt something akin to panic hit me.
“Dad,” I said. “You’re not waiting here until Lock gets back.”
He gave me a droll look.
“Of course not,” he lied.
I sighed and stared up at the eaves of the pool house, noticing that the gutters looked in desperate need of repair. Honestly, the whole place did.
But at least it looked cozy and comfortable. Sure, it could use a few coats of paint, and the insides really should get a makeover from the seventies carpet, but it was definitely livable and the kitchen was about twice the size of my apartment—the entire apartment. Though, very outdated and in need of an update as well.