Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“What’s that?”
“I said, I can’t wait to show you this place.”
Another time it was, “I think we should get married for real.”
“What?”
“Whatever happened to Captain and Tennille?”
When we arrived in Julian, Aubrey looked exactly as I expected she would. Her face was red from the wind, her hair wild. It took everything in me not to smash my lips into hers.
Shaking out her hair, she asked, “What are we doing first?”
I was so fixated on her, the question hadn’t immediately registered. “Huh?”
She repeated, “Where are we going?”
“I heard this place is known for their apple pie. Why don’t we go find some?”
Aubrey chuckled. “We travelled nearly two hours by motorcycle for apple pie?”
“Pretty much, yes.”
“Only you would do that. That’s one of the things I like most about you. Everything can somehow seem like an adventure. Even just getting apple pie.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It is.” She flashed the sweetest smile. “And I would love nothing more than to have apple pie with you.”
Something had definitely softened her. Maybe it was the ride. That whole experience is very intimate, especially for the passenger, given that you’re putting your life in someone else’s hands. I guess I impressed her.
Score one, Bateman.
Dick…Zero.
We walked to the Julian Café where they boasted the best apple pie in the entire town. The two of us sat in a cozy corner table up against a brick wall. They served us generous slices of warm apples baked with cinnamon into a buttery crust with dollops of vanilla ice cream on top. They weren’t kidding; it was the best I’d ever tasted. At least this day would include something orgasmic.
Our conversation started out easy enough. We talked more about the shelter, her plans to convert her guest bedroom into an office, a new type of yoga she was trying. I hoped to God I’d get to reap the benefits of that someday. I told her about my brief visit back to Hermosa Beach and my plans to put a small shed on her property to store my garden equipment. Then, I sort of went and ruined the mood.
“So, where does Dick…uh…Richard think you are today?”
“Meeting a friend.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh. “Okay. Stretching the truth just a bit.”
“Why is that so funny? Aren’t we supposedly trying to be friends? That was your idea.”
“I use the term friend very loosely. Sort of like—oh, I don’t know—girlfriend.”
“I’m not your girlfriend.”
“No, you’re my fucking wife.”
“Chance…”
“Relax. I’m kidding.” Not really. “Look, my point is, you can convince yourself that this is innocent for now, but I doubt Dick would want you spending time with a supposed friend whose ultimate goal is to steal you from him. Said friend also happens to have a key to your place when he doesn’t. Don’t think I didn’t catch that. Make no mistake about it, Aubrey. Stealing you away from him is my ulterior motive in case I hadn’t made that crystal clear. I’m your friend for now, but that’s not enough for me. Never will be. I want you beneath me every night and across from me every morning at the breakfast table. Fuck that, I want you for breakfast. I won’t be satisfied until I own all of you.” Pissed at myself for losing my composure on what was supposed to be a peaceful trip for pie, I pulled at my hair and looked down at my empty plate. My voice lowered. “I’m sorry. I just can’t fucking pretend.”
Taken aback, she was quiet but nodded in understanding. “It’s okay.”
After my awkward outburst, we needed a change of scenery. I got up out of my seat. “You want to take a walk around, see the sights, before we head back on the road?”
“I’d love to.”
We went for a stroll and ended up stopping inside a small bookstore that also sold trinkets. Aubrey was eying this bracelet that had some Buddhist peace symbol on it. When she became immersed in a Deepak Chopra book, I took one of the bracelets to the register and bought it.
Once we stepped outside, I handed it to her. “Here. I wanted to get you something so that you remember your first trip by motorcycle. I hope it’s not the last.”
“As if I could ever forget this day,” she said. “But that was really sweet of you. Thank you. I love it so much.”
“I know. I saw you looking at it. I was looking at you, because I can’t keep my eyes off you. So…” I put my hands in my pockets and looked around as my words trailed off.
She placed it on her tiny wrist. “Maybe this will help channel some much needed peace in my life.”
As we stood there on the sidewalk, it really hit me that this situation was equally hard on her. I spent so much time immersed in my own fears that I had a tendency to forget what all of this might have been like for Aubrey. To have me come back practically from the dead just when she was getting her life in order. It turned her world upside down.