Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Now, he had a great job, one he loved with a decent income. He was also studying in his spare time. That was the main reason for the quick spaghetti dinner last night. He’d been too busy engrossed in his books to make a real effort.
He thought about Gina.
When they were kids, she’d been the one with the brains. Always had her head in a book until he forced her to look up at him and see what life was waiting for. Then high school came.
That fucking place.
The guys had all been bros over hos, and all of that. He’d listened. Just thinking back to how he acted then, he cringed.
Gina had been his best friend. She never allowed him to feel stupid, and she used to spend a lot of time helping him to understand stuff. He’d been a slow learner, but Gina, she’d been patient with him, no matter if it meant spending hours on the same damn page of the same book. She’d find a way to explain it to him.
Even in high school, when the teacher called on him to answer a question. He’d cut her off. Told her she was useless to him, but if he got stuck or was called upon, and Gina was there, she’d cut right in and answer the question.
She wouldn’t give any derision.
Some of the guys would say she was nothing but a big fat nerd, but he knew what she did, and why she did it.
Gina always understood him. Another reason why he wouldn’t allow the guys to make her a target. Some of the guys—not Phil—they wanted to torment and hurt some of the weaker kids at school. Jared had never found that cool. There was nothing great in hurting those weaker, but he made sure they steered away from Gina.
When they got to their senior year, Gina’s curves had started to show, and damn it, he’d struggled not to go chasing after her. He’d made sure all the guys knew she wasn’t a target.
Any guy, even those who weren’t on his team, got to feel the hard side of his fist.
No one touched Gina. It didn’t matter they were no longer friends, more enemies, she belonged to him. That was why he agreed to share the apartment.
Gina was his.
“Yeah, well, how are classes coming?” Phil asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Huh?”
“You know. You said you signed up for a couple of night courses. Have they finished? Did you pass?”
“Nah, they’re not finished. I’m taking my own pace, you know.”
Phil nodded. “So, what are you going to do with Gina?”
“Nothing. We’re roommates.”
“Oh, come on, man. This isn’t high school. You don’t have to lie to me or pretend you don’t think of fucking her.”
Jared stared at Phil, who rolled his eyes.
“Not all of us are dumb, Jared. I saw the way you looked at Gina. Especially through senior year. Half of the guys wanted to bang her, just to see those tits, but you put her off-limits to everyone. I wonder if she knows that’s why no one invited her to prom.”
“No one deserved her.”
“Then why didn’t you ask her?” Phil asked.
“You know why.”
“Not really. Sure, you’d been a dick to her, but clearly, there was something between you two. You could have taken her.”
He was a fucking coward, and he hadn’t dared to deal with the possibility of rejection.
Chapter Two
Annoyance flashed through Gina as she glanced down at her watch for what felt like the hundredth time.
Jared was late.
There was a big surprise. All he cared about was himself.
She stamped her foot, free from the confines of her heels, and walked into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich. She was hungry, but she had wanted to have this conversation with him without ruining food.
Her notebook of rules was open on the table. They were rather … impressive. It was just a schedule of chores, as well as dos and don’ts. She had left a section of the rules clear so Jared could add his own.
He still wasn’t home.
With her cheese and pickle sandwich made, she walked into the sitting room and sat on the corner of the sofa, keeping the plate close beneath her chin to catch any crumbs. She finished the sandwich quickly, took her plate to the kitchen, washed it up, and slid it into place.
There was nothing wrong with keeping the apartment clean.
They were both so busy, if they lost focus for even a second, they were screwed, simple as that.
After another hour of him not showing, Gina decided to just bite the bullet and accept that he wasn’t going to arrive. She walked into their shared bathroom and stripped naked before stepping beneath the spray of the shower.
It was nice and cold.
Ever since she was a kid, she had always loved stepping beneath the cold shower. There was something quite invigorating about feeling the icy pricks of the water hitting her skin.