Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 155798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
I was content with my world how it was. With Brett. With Keanu, the dog Brett gifted me two years ago, a rescue German Shepherd. He was named after Keanu Reeves, but Brett talked me into dropping the full name policy for our future pets. So Keanu, and he was gorgeous and lovey-dovey and the bestest of the bestest best friend a person could get.
I was currently on my knees getting all sorts of licks and kisses from him because when I slipped out of bed, he came with me, and we were on the first floor of the house. I was in giant sized wool socks and I snagged Brett’s Kings shirt he’d thrown on the chair, and standing, I backed up, eyeing Keanu who was prancing on his front two paws next to me.
We backed up, and backed up, until we were at the end of the long hallway on the first floor and then—bam! We both took off. Or I took off, running as hard as I could in these socks. Keanu was bouncing along with me, his giant tongue hanging from the side of his mouth, until…woosh.
I turned and let the socks let me slide the rest of the length of the entire house.
This was awesome.
As soon I as stopped sliding, we went right back for another trip.
It’d be cool if I could find some sort of engine just to propel me around the house. The whole first floor was either hardwood or a fancy looking tile that looked like real rock. The kitchen had a giant square island in the middle. The cupboards were European style, which I didn’t know what that meant, but I liked the look. They weren’t typical cupboards and one of them even lifted up.
Plus, there was a hidden door.
Actually, there were two hidden doors and a safe room. Brett had the safe room installed especially for me, but I knew in my heartest of hearts that it would never be needed. All the bad stuff was done, or I hoped because the rest was all sunshine, smiles, and sex. Lots of sex, my favorite part.
Brett was so good at it too— “What are you doing?”
I’d been about to let loose for another slide but stopped.
Brett had come down the stairs and stood in the giant doorway leading to the kitchen, stroking his beard, which he trimmed after playoffs every year, but this was his first year in retirement so we’d have to discuss his new policy. It had grown out again after he trimmed it last year.
“Hi,” I was breathless and panting a little bit. The whole running to slide part was some work.
“Hi.” His hand dropped from his beard. He fixed me with a serious look, his hand automatically dropping to pet Keanu on the head because every time Keanu saw Brett, he went nuts and acted as if it’d been ten years since their last meeting. “What are you doing?”
I motioned to the hallway. “Sliding.”
He looked where I gestured. “Sliding?”
“Yeah.” I lifted up my feet. “See? These are perfect for sliding on this floor.”
“You’re having a Tom Cruise moment?”
“What? No.” I was slightly aghast at that. “There’s no moment I’m having. This is a Billie moment. A Happy Billie moment. I’m happy.”
He was back to studying me. As he did, his shoulders lifted up and back down, and his eyes began darkening. A slight tingle was starting to warm me because I knew what that look meant.
The sex was going to happen.
“What’d Will say to you before he left?”
Oh. The tingle went flat. The sex wasn’t going to happen. I misread that look.
I lost the tingle for another reason too, which I was nervous to bring up, but since Brett had asked… “He told me that Harmony is pregnant again.”
His eyebrows shot up. He’d not been expecting that. “Really?”
I nodded, my throat swelling up because of the other part I wanted to bring up to him.
Seeing it, because he was Brett and I was Billie and we were each other’s person, he asked, gently, “What is it?”
Okay.
My pulse skipped a few beats, but brave face. I could do this. I blurted out, “So, I know we’re not married.”
His eyebrows went flat.
“We’ve not talked about making anything official, I realize—”
His eyebrows started to fold down.
“—but we’re living together and it’s been three years and now we have Keanu together, and Nellie Bly is really more your chicken than she is mine or Vicky’s, so we kinda have two pets together now. Which are like our children, so it’s like we have children together and…” I was so nervous. My palms were slick with sweat. I began toying with the end of Brett’s shirt, which was super big on me, which made me love it even more. “And—well—”
His eyebrows were pinched together and that wasn’t a good face.