Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
She studied me for a minute and then nodded slowly. “For you, yes, anything.”
I caressed her face, trying to push away worries that she could pull away from me as she starts to heal.
“Let’s get dressed and get outta here. We’ll go for pancakes, take a walk and see where we end up. I’ve just gotta send a few quick emails.”
“Can we go feed the ducks at that pond across the road?”
“Sure.”
I joined her in the shower after dragging her trunk over. That was it, I was done playing. Done waffling. The alternative, putting her in the spare room or in the apartment down the hall? No. I’d be in there every night carrying her back to my bed. It was pointless to keep fighting it. Fighting it was taking too much of my energy and headspace and that energy and headspace could be put to much better use by using it to deal with Kruna and the other loose ends left by my pop.
When I climbed in the shower with her, she’d spun around looking startled.
“Water conservation,” I said, matter-of-factly, and then grabbed her by the hips and pulled her close.
I kissed her, we washed each other’s backs, and then after washing ourselves got out and got dressed. It was pretty obvious by how she looked at me and how long she took washing my back that she wanted sex in the shower. But, I wanted to let some anticipation build for a bit and get her outta the house. If I started with her in the shower, I’d be in bed with her all day.
“The trunk isn’t in there,” she said.
“It’s in there.” I was rubbing my head with a towel. I motioned to my closet. She stared at the closet door and then looked at me, confused.
“You wanna be mine?” I asked.
She nodded hesitantly. “I am yours. For as long as you want me.”
“Then you’re in here with me,” I said. I tossed the towel and slicked my hair back with my fingers.
She teared up.
I walked over to her and held her close. “I don’t know that this isn’t wrong, baby, but it feels like I have no choice.”
“What do you mean?” She sounded crestfallen.
“I’m tired of fighting with myself over this. It feels like a losing battle. You and me have stuff to figure out, but we’ll figure it out as we go. I don’t know where this is going with us but I’m choosing to do the wrong thing here and see where it takes us.”
“Dare,” she whispered, “this feels so not wrong I can’t even explain.”
I nodded, getting her, totally getting her.
“And that’s why I’m all in, baby.”
She melded into my body, putting her arms around me. “Unpack your stuff in there, make room for it. But do it tomorrow. Right now, let’s go get you some pancakes.”
Debbie never felt like this. She never felt like she was truly mine. Angel felt like she was mine. Could’ve been because she was so willing to be mine. Or maybe it was because lying there with her in my arms the previous night I decided I was just going to take her, fuck the consequences.
She held her emotion in check. I got the impression that was hard for her, that she was happy, that she wanted to show it, but she was deferring to me.
We got dressed in jeans and tees and hoodies and went for pancakes.
I wanted to ask her questions, do the things you usually did when you were getting to know someone, but didn’t know how to approach things with her. So instead, we were quiet, though comfortably so, and while she was taking in the sights around us, I was taking in her. I couldn’t help but wonder what it’d take to see who she was, who she really was.
After eating, we were walking through a nearby park and about to feed the ducks. After that I thought we’d walk down to the museum, which was just a few blocks from the duck pond.
“I could see that pond from the balcony, see the ducks. I was thinking it’d be fun to feed them,” she told me, so I’d ordered an extra order of pancakes to go and we took them with us.
But as we approached the pond and passed a few benches I got my world rocked and not in a good way. I saw the last person I’d wanna see.
Debbie.
It was lunchtime and this park was in the business district, walking distance from the condo. Deb worked as a receptionist in a local law office according to what Casey said the other night, said Deb had been working there just a few months. I told Casey I couldn’t care less but suspected I’d eventually cross paths with Deb since this neighborhood was where I worked and lived.