Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
My life had been nothing before, and now I have everything. There was no way in hell that I was going to give an ounce of my control to anyone. Ever.
So where was I going to find a bed-warmer who would bend to my will and not get mouthy in the process? Obedient, but not some lapdog. Beautiful, but without artifice. The girl next door, and yet so much more?
Chapter Three
Daisy
After work, I thought about going home, but it was too depressing. It wasn’t really my home anymore, was it? It was just a transition shelter until I found myself homeless.
Instead, I headed to my boyfriend’s apartment. Ralph was a few years older than me. We’d been dating for a few months, but a part of me wondered why we were even dating. We might have grown up in the same neighborhood, but we were nothing alike. Ralph had started working at The Bank of Manhattan, and I was a fast food cashier. He was going places and everyone told me how lucky I was to be with someone like Ralph, but the truth was that there was something fundamental lacking in our relationship.
Passion.
There was no chemistry between us. Maybe I was holding back a little, but was it wrong to dream and want a romance filled with heat and an all-consuming desire? Love at first sight. I was too old to believe in fairy tales, but just couldn’t let go of the idea.
It was far better than the alternative. The only love I’d ever witnessed was the brutal hatred between my parents. When it manifested itself physically, there was no amount of pillows that I could use to cover my ears, and the memories still haunted me. I wanted desperately to believe that there was more. That I wasn’t destined to end up in that kind of relationship.
There was no romance between us, but I was already losing even the little bit of home I’d known, and wasn’t ready to give him up just yet on top of that. When I did have his attention, there was always a flicker of appreciation when he looked me over, and maybe one day that might turn into something more. We had a sort of friendship, and that was the base of a good relationship, right?
“Hey, pretty thang,” an old man stuttered as he hobbled towards me. “You got any charity for a down-on-his-luck guy like me?”
Growing up in the Bronx meant that I was an expert at avoiding situations like this, but I was feeling a little raw tonight. He was dirty, smelly, and missing most of his teeth. His long beard was tangled around dirt and grit, and I swallowed hard. Was this my future? Life on the streets with no one to count on but people like this?
“I don’t have much,” I whispered hoarsely and dug into my pockets. “But I’ve got a few quarters. Maybe you can get a hot dog from the vender?”
His eyes lit up with delight as I dropped them into his hand. “Thank you, child.”
Nodding woodenly at him, I continued my walk. The sun was low over the horizon, casting long shadows from the building, but the hazy heat still rose up from the sidewalks. It was that strange time of day where most people were off work, but the night entertainment hadn’t started yet. A few people were moving in and out of restaurants, but most of the pedestrians were like me.
People who just didn’t want to go home.
Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I hurried up the steps and knocked on the door to Ralph’s apartment.
“Hey, baby,” Ralph said, opening the door and leaning in for a hug before abruptly pulling back. “God, you still smell like that place. You couldn’t have at least changed before you came over?”
Plucking nervously at my uniform, I looked down and frowned. “You told me that you thought I looked cute in this.”
Grunting, he plopped back down at his desk and moved the mouse around on the surface. I sat on the couch and crossed my legs. Ralph had a cheap apartment on the upper side of the Bronx. With his new job, he said he’d be able to afford something nicer soon. “I think what I told you is that it would look cute on my bedroom floor,” he said with a side look.
Shifting uncomfortably, I let the subject drop. Sex wasn’t really something I wanted to discuss with him right now. Tucking my hair behind my ears, I tried to smile at him, but his attention was already back on the computer. “What are you doing?”
“Work, Daisy. Some of us have more responsibility than asking people if they want fries with that.”
He was being rude, and I wasn’t sure why, but it gave me an opening. Glancing around the apartment, I noted the pile of dishes in the sink and the clothes on the floor. “Baby, it looks like you could use some help around here.”