Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
I look up at her and smile. “You smell fucking delicious.”
“The landlord left some apple conditioner in there. I couldn’t help myself.”
I get up off the floor and sit down next to her, our first night together coming back to me in a rush.
Two days. I’ve known this woman two days and I feel like we’ve been soulmates for all eternity. Before I can stop myself, I reach for her, my hand slipping around her waist, my mouth diving for her neck. She tenses, like maybe she thinks it will tickle, but I kiss her gently, just below the ear. “Fucking. Delicious.” Then I pull back and smile.
“You do realize that there’s nothing to eat in this town.”
“Fuck this place. Post Falls is only about a hundred miles away.”
She laughs. Loud. “Well, it’s too far for us. I hate to break it to you, but the gas station is out of gas and I’ve only got sixty-seven—errr, probably sixty-six miles—left on the truck.”
I shrug. “I’ve got a truck too. It’s got a full tank. And when we get to Post Falls, we should just rent ourselves a little house and stay there. Never come back here, ever.”
She points to her backpack. “My shit is already packed.”
I lean in and I’m just about to kiss her when a knock at the door makes us both jump.
Syrsee looks at me. “Two guesses who that is.”
“The church people?”
“Hundred bucks.” She offers me her hand to make the bet.
But I just smirk at her and get up to grab the door.
Sure enough, it’s Joshua. “Uh, hey!” I say this brightly, like I’m not annoyed that the local do-gooder just prevented me from kissing the sexy girl on the couch. “What’s up?”
“Oh.” Joshua looks a little flustered. “Ryet. I wasn’t expecting you.” He peeks past me to find Syrsee. “There you are. I just wanted to check in on you. Emily, my wife, mentioned that you came in for medicine.” Then he eyeballs me, maybe a bit cautiously.
“Don’t worry. I’m totally better. Not contagious at all.”
“I’m glad to hear that. So.” He pauses to beam a smile. He’s something of a contradiction with his longish blond hair. A little bit rebel, but clean-cut and very church-y at the same time. “We have a huge town breakfast on Sundays. I wanted to make sure you knew about it. Just in case you’re hungry.”
Syrsee walks up behind me and gets so close, I can feel her breasts pressing into my back. I want to attack her for this move. Just throw her down on that couch and fuck the ever-loving shit out of her.
She leans her face up to my neck, resting her chin on my shoulder. “We are hungry. And we’d love to come. Right, Ryet?”
There goes my morning fuck. I force a smile. And is Joshua smirking at me? He is. “Would love to join you for breakfast, Joshy.”
The nickname almost makes him frown, but he’s good at this nice-guy shit, so he’s got it locked down before Syrsee even notices. “Great. Come on over.”
“We’re right behind you,” I say. “Meet ya over there in five.”
I close the door and Syrsee snickers, whispering, “You didn’t have to close the door in his face.”
I slip my hands around her waist and tug her up to me so her belly is pressing into my hips. “I was just about to jump you on that couch and the preacher shows up? What the fuck, ya know? Plus, we were moving out today. We need to go house-hunting in Post Falls.”
She pats my chest. “It’s two hours, tops. And two hundred miles there and back every day? That’s quite a commute.”
I make a face. Because I actually forgot that I work here and I need to renovate six cottages before May.
Syrsee snickers at my disappointment. “Pancakes help. Come on. Let’s go play nice with the church people so we can get free pancakes.”
I am a reluctant participant at the church breakfast at first. But after I see the spread they have I settle down a little, filling my plate with all kinds of human food that I’m not normally interested in. Today though—actually, since I met Syrsee—I’m famished.
I like the idea that Syrsee makes me more human, while at the same time, I feel like I can be myself too. It’s weird.
“You look like you’re thinking very hard about that bacon.”
I glance up from the food and find a pretty young blonde woman. And instantly, I know she is Joshua’s wife. I don’t know why it is. They’re not dressed alike, but they look alike in a couples sort of way.
I put two slices of bacon on my plate. “Nah. This bacon was just calling my name.”
“You’re Ryet, right? I’m Emily, Joshua’s wife.” She and I say those last two words at the same time. Which makes her smile grow into something more than just practiced welcoming. More like genuine delight. “Yes. How did you know?”