Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
He nodded, grinning brightly at me. “Yeah, that sounds awesome.”
“School started back last week, right?” Pepper asked.
Jeremy nodded.
“And they’re already giving you art projects? Geesh, that’s a little harsh,” she replied.
I agreed with her, but I hadn’t said that to Jeremy. He already hated school. I was trying to help him find a love for learning. I wanted him to do well and one day make a life for himself out of this one. His father was an alcoholic, and his mom had run off three years ago. Since moving in next door to them, more than once, I had taken his dirty clothes and washed them. His father didn’t seem to think about his kid needing clean clothing and food.
“Why is the door standing open?” Micah barked as his form filled the doorway.
My gaze snapped up to his, and I inhaled sharply. I wanted to be annoyed with his question, but when he stood there, in all his Adonis-like beauty, it was very difficult to breathe properly.
“Because Dolly has a visitor,” Pepper replied, clearly not affected by her brother’s appearance. Her tone suggested she’d like to hit him. “Jeremy, meet my brother, Micah. Micah, this is Dolly’s neighbor Jeremy.”
Micah dropped his gaze to the boy and nodded. “The art project,” he replied. “Dolly isn’t up for projects tonight. She’s had a long day.” He walked past Jeremy with a brown paper sack in his hand and set it down on the coffee table.
“Jeremy was stopping by to check on Dolly,” Pepper told her brother through clenched teeth.
Micah glanced back at me, then to Jeremy and smirked. “Yeah, I bet. Smart kid.”
Not completely sure what he meant by that, I decided getting Jeremy out of here before Micah said something inappropriate around young ears was the best thing to do. I turned my attention back to Jeremy, who was scowling openly at Micah.
“Thank you for checkin’ on me. I’ll see you tomorrow evening around six. Bring the supplies, and we’ll get started,” I told him.
He jerked his eyes back to meet mine, then nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” He started to turn, then paused. “I’ll be home if you need me.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling at the protective tone in his young voice. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings by laughing at him, but it was cute that he thought he could help me if needed.
“Thank you,” I told him. “But Pepper is here, and I am gonna be just fine.”
He seemed to relax at that, then headed out the door. I waited until he reached his apartment door safely before closing mine and locking it.
“You’re an ass,” Pepper said to her brother.
Micah smirked and shrugged. “What? It has been a long day, and Tink needs some rest. Not a horny little kid over here, bothering her.”
I gasped in horror at his words.
Micah chuckled at my expression, then raised an eyebrow. “Tink, surely, you know that kid is beating his dick to you several times a day. You’re his first crush.”
I grimaced. “Micah!”
I did not want to think about a child like that! I swung my gaze to Pepper, who was grinning into her glass. Why wasn’t she horrified?
When her eyes met mine, she laughed and then took a drink.
“Jeremy has no parent to take care of him. His father is a disgusting man who is rarely there, and when he is, he yells at him. I make sure he gets good meals and help with his homework.”
Pepper nodded her head. “Yes. Because you are one of the best people I know, and he is lucky to have you as a neighbor…but he is a boy, real close to the verge of adolescence, and, well, you didn’t grow up around boys like I did.” She sighed, still smiling. “Dolly, you are a gorgeous young female, helping him in ways no one else ever has. Yes, he has a major crush on you, and if he thought Micah was going to hurt you, he’d probably try and take him on even though Micah towers over him. He would do it for you. It’s cute as fuck.”
I stared at her. “He is ELEVEN!”
Micah laughed out loud then. “Yeah, Tink, he is. And at eleven, I was beating my dick on a regular basis. If I got a glimpse of cleavage, I got hard as a damn rock.”
“Why are you calling her Tink?” Pepper asked him.
He glanced at his sister. “Because she looks like Tinker Bell but with darker hair.”
I rolled my eyes. I was done with this day and Micah Abe. “I’m going to get a shower, then go to bed. Pepper, you know where all the blankets and extra pillows are for Micah if he is still intent on staying here.” I didn’t wait for a response and walked out of the room.